Vol. 520 No. 5
51 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Education and Science if the rating of schools according to the level of disadvantage has been completed; and if he will be making additional allocations to schools on the basis of disadvantage for the 2000/2001 school year. [16138/00]
89 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Education and Science if work has commenced on the classification of schools by level of disadvantage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16178/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 89 together.
As the Deputies are already aware, I have set the tackling of educational disadvantage as a priority and will be bringing forward proposals for a major initiative to address the needs of pupils who are encountering educational disadvantage in the primary system.
As a first step in this process, the Educational Research Centre recently issued a comprehensive questionnaire to all primary schools. Work on analysis of the responses from schools is nearing completion and the results will allow for the identification of levels of disadvantage in every responding school.
I intend allocating additional resources next September to selected primary schools that have the highest concentrations of young people at risk of educational disadvantage. Differing levels of interventions will include extra teacher support and-or extra funding which will be allocated to selected schools and will reflect the levels of need identified. Also, within this new approach, schools that are designated as serving areas of disadvantage will retain the supports they already have and may be eligible for additional help.
I expect to make a further announcement on this matter in the near future.
