Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Sep 2003

Vol. 571 No. 1

Written Answers. - Disadvantaged Status.

Jack Wall

Question:

647 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding the application by a school (details supplied) in County Kildare for disadvantaged status, in view of the fact that the other primary school in the town and the secondary school both are included in the disadvantaged programme as operated by his Department and that Athy has been included in the RAPID programme. [20830/03]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. N. Dempsey)

The scheme, Giving Children an Even Break, subsumes the previous process of designation of schools that serve areas of educational disadvantage and my Department's approach is now refined to ensure that the individual "at risk" pupils are targeted. Primary schools participating in the scheme are in receipt of a range of additional supports including teacher posts and other non-teaching supports to be targeted at disadvantaged pupils. The additional supports to be provided reflect the level of concentration of pupils from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in each school invited to participate in the programme. Scoil Phadraig Naofa is included in the urban dimension of this programme and is benefiting from the allocation of supplementary grant aid towards providing additional educational supports for the children concerned.

Schools categorised as urban in Giving Children an Even Break with the highest concentrations of at risk pupils are supported, where necessary, through staff allocations to implement reduced pupil-teacher ratios of 20:1 in junior classes, infants through second class, and 27:1 in senior classes, third through sixth class. The school was not considered eligible for additional teaching staff, based on the level of concentration of at risk pupils in the school as reflected in the Educational Research Centre survey outcome.