Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 April 2017
275. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the details of the matrix used and the results allocated to the matrix when determining the eligibility of a school (details supplied) for DEIS status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16605/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraDEIS Plan 2017 provides for a new identification model for assessment of a school's level of disadvantage using centrally held data.
The key data sources include the DES Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online (PPOD) Databases as populated by schools and the CSO Small Area of Population (SAP) data from the National Census of Population 2011 as represented by the Pobal HP Deprivation Index (HP Index). Variables used in the compilation of the HP Index include those related to demographic growth, dependency ratios, education levels, single parent rate, overcrowding, social class, occupation and unemployment rates. This data is combined with pupil data, anonymised and aggregated to small area, to provide information on the relative level of concentrated disadvantage present in the pupil cohort of individual schools. This data is applied uniformly across all schools in the country.
Schools which have not been included, including the school referred to by the Deputy, are those which have not been identified as having the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage amongst their pupil cohort, under the new identification process, which is fair, objective and has been uniformly applied.
However, as noted in the DEIS Plan, the implementation of a new objective central data-based model of identifying levels of disadvantage within school populations will be followed by a further programme of work to create a more dynamic model where levels of resource more accurately follow the levels of need identified by that model. Once this work has been completed, consideration will be given to extending DEIS supports to a further group of schools as resources permit.
