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DEIS Status

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 December 2017

Tuesday, 5 December 2017

Ceisteanna (179, 201)

Marc MacSharry

Ceist:

179. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a school (details supplied) in County Sligo was not included in the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools or DEIS programme; the reason the school's appeal has never been replied to; the criteria the school did not meet in view of the deprivation in this area and the inclusion of all other surrounding schools in the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51515/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Marc MacSharry

Ceist:

201. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a school (details supplied) in west county Sligo was not included in the DEIS programme; the reason the school's appeal has not been answered or replied to; the criteria the school did not meet; the reason other schools in the area have been included while the school was not in view of the deprivation in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51799/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 179 and 201 together.

We have, for the first time, introduced an objective, statistics based model for deciding which schools merit inclusion in the DEIS Programme, so that all stakeholders can have confidence that we are targeting extra resources at those schools with the highest concentrated levels of disadvantage.

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.

A detailed document explaining the methodology used in the Identification process is available on the Department’s website at

https://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/DEIS-Delivering-Equality-of-Opportunity-in-Schools-/DEIS-Identification-Process.pdf.

Schools were not required to apply for assessment in DEIS, as every school was automatically assessed as part of the DEIS Identification process. Under DEIS Plan 2017, a process to verify the data used was provided for and some schools, including the school referred to by the Deputy, availed of this verification process. As with the new DEIS Identification process the verification process was also a scientific exercise which involved checking the school data, as used in the Identification process, in terms of the quality and accuracy of the data supplied. All schools who applied for verification of their data, including Rathlee NS, were contacted by email on 7th September to notify them of the outcome of the process.

Schools included in DEIS with effect from September 2017 are those whose level of disadvantage has been identified as those schools serving the highest concentrations of disadvantage among their pupil cohort. Schools which have not been included at this stage are those which have not been identified as having the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage amongst their pupil cohort, under the new identification model.

It is important to note that this is the 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.

A further process will take account of updated data as it becomes available. Schools are being advised to ensure that their POD/PPOD data is fully correct and up to date, including Eircode which can now be recorded by schools on both POD and PPOD databases. The HP Index, based on the 2016 National Census data has been published recently.

The plan is for a further assessment of all schools, using these updated datasets. Should this exercise reveal that any school, which did not qualify for DEIS in 2017, meets the criteria applicable to schools with the highest concentration of disadvantage based on the updated information then additional schools may be included subject to available resources.

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