Eugene Murphy
Ceist:660. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a decision not to award DEIS status to a school (details supplied) can be reversed. [28832/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 20 June 2017
Ceisteanna (660, 661)
Eugene Murphy
Ceist:661. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the appeals process that is in place for a school that has not been awarded DEIS status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28833/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 660 and 661 together.
Schools were selected for inclusion in DEIS on the basis of their identified level of disadvantage which was determined by the DEIS Identification Process using centrally held data available to my Department. Through this process a school was identified as having a concentrated level of disadvantage to be eligible for inclusion in DEIS. Therefore the question of reversing a decision does not arise as it is underpinned by data which shows the demographic of each school.
The key data sources used in the DEIS identification process are the DES Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online (PPOD) Databases, and CSO data from the National Census of Population as represented in the Pobal HP Index for Small Areas which is a method of measuring the relative affluence or disadvantage of a particular geographical area. 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.
Full details of the process involved in the assessment of schools is available on my Department's website at http://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/DEIS-Delivering-Equality-of-Opportunity-in-Schools-/
I also wish to inform the Deputy that a communication to all schools will issue shortly to provide information on the identification model, including details of how the datasets are used to determine a school's level of disadvantage; the importance of data quality to the process and the need for schools to provide detailed and up to date information to my Department's online pupil databases.
Schools included in the list published by my Department on 13th February are those whose level of disadvantage has been identified as being at the same level as the current DEIS category for schools serving the highest concentrations of disadvantage. Schools which have not been included at this stage, including the one 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 model.
It is important to note that this is a first step in a process and the fact that a school has not been included now does not preclude its inclusion at a later date, should the assessment indicate a level of disadvantage that warrants additional supports. I am fully aware that there are further schools whose concentrated level of disadvantage may not be at the highest level, but may nevertheless be at a level which warrants additional supports for pupils under DEIS.
I am satisfied that the new DEIS Identification Model used to assess the level of disadvantage among the pupil cohort of a school has been applied fairly using centrally held data adopting an objective and scientific approach which has been uniformly applied for all schools, including the school referred to by the Deputy, in the country.
A further process will take account of updated data as it becomes available. All schools are being contacted to request them to ensure that their POD/PPOD data is fully correct and up to date, including Eircode. As soon as the 2016 National Census data becomes available later this summer, this data will be run through the identification model with the fully up-to-date POD/PPOD data. If this exercise reveals that any school which did not qualify for DEIS in the February 2017 round actually meets the criteria applicable to schools with the highest concentration of disadvantage based on the fully up-to-date information then it will be included, subject to resources.
In terms of appeal DEIS Plan 2017 provided for a verification process, aimed at ensuring the model was run correctly and the data supplied by the schools through the POD/PPOD systems was correctly used. This is currently ongoing in relation to all schools who contacted my Department requesting that their data be validated, including the school in question whose application for verification of its data is also being processed. This process is expected to be concluded shortly and schools will be informed of the results.
Following on from the update of the process later this year it is the intention of my Department to make available to all schools information relating to the identification process and their own individual school data.