The Deputy is referring to the comprehensive survey of all primary schools, which was carried out by the Educational Research Centre in 2000 at the request of my Department. The purpose of the survey was to identify the level of concentration in each primary school of pupils with characteristics that are associated with educational disadvantage and early school leaving. Almost 75% of primary schools responded to the survey with completed survey questionnaires.
A number of accepted socio-economic variables, were used to compute an index of disadvantage for each school surveyed. These variables included unemployment, medical card possession and residence in local authority housing which have been found in the past to be valid indicators of disadvantage at school level. Separate indices were used for rural and urban schools to reflect the findings of previous research that showed that educational disadvantage manifests itself differently in urban and rural locations. Participating schools were ranked in order of the number of disadvantaged pupils enrolled.
The survey provides a valuable basis for directing resources to the areas of greatest need and the findings form the basis of the new programme, Giving Children An Even Break, which I announced earlier this year to tackle educational disadvantage at primary level. The programme involves expenditure of £26 million over a three-year period including the allocation of over 200 new teacher posts and supplementary funding to primary schools with concentrations of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The additional supports must be targeted at the disadvantaged pupils in each school. The programme has both an urban and rural phase and the allocation of resources on a 3:1 basis between the two is consistent with the survey finding in relation to the distribution of educationally disadvantaged pupils.
