Vol. 535 No. 2
130 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Education and Science if he proposes carrying out a review of the method under which schools were classified as disadvantaged in 1996; and if schools which did not qualify for disadvantaged status in 1996 can be re-examined with a view to being designated in this regard. [11312/01]
Under the disadvantaged areas scheme, primary schools were selected on the basis of priority of need as reflected by reference to a range of socio-economic criteria, for example, unemployment levels, medical card holding, and local authority housing occupancy among the families of pupils. In 1996, 16 schools were included in the disadvantaged areas scheme by virtue of the fact that they were associated with schools that had been selected for inclusion in the scheme in previous years.
It has been found that the disadvantaged areas scheme at primary level is inflexible and does not take account of different levels of need. The scheme has generally focused on schools in larger urban areas, while neglecting smaller but serious pockets of disadvantage in schools in medium sized towns around the country.
A comprehensive survey of all primary schools 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. A number of accepted socio-economic variables were used to compute an index of educational 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 educational 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 settings. Participating schools were ranked in order according to the prevalence of pupils enrolled, who had background characteristics associated with educational disadvantage.
The survey provides a valuable basis for directing resources to the areas of greatest need. The survey outcome forms the basis of the new programme, Giving Children an Even Break, a major initiative which I launched in January last to tackle educational disadvantage at primary level over a three year period. Under the new programme, it is now proposed to refine our approach to ensure that the individual "at risk" pupils are targeted. The new programme subsumes the previous process of designation of schools that serve areas of educational disadvantage.
All of the schools identified as having enrolled pupils with characteristics of disadvantage have been invited to participate in the new programme. Over 2,300 primary schools will benefit under the new programme, based on the levels of concentration of disadvantaged pupils in the schools as identified through the ERC survey. This involves an overall cost of £26 million including the allocation of over 200 additional teaching posts over the three years of the new programme.
Rather than the old method of designating additional schools, the Department now provides support that is commensurate with the levels of concentration in schools of pupils with characteristics that are associated with educational disadvantage and early school leaving.
