DEIS – Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, is my Department’s main policy initiative aimed at tackling educational disadvantage in primary and post primary schools and DEIS Plan 2017, launched in February 2017, sets out the vision for future interventions in the critical area of educational disadvantage policy. It builds on what has already been achieved by schools who have benefited from the additional supports available under the initial DEIS programme introduced in 2005.
All DEIS schools receive a suite of supports with those with the highest levels of disadvantage (DEIS Band 1) benefiting from lower class size. Research shows that reduced class sizes have the most impact in the early primary grades and my Department therefore recommends DEIS Urban Band 1 schools, such as the school referred to by the Deputy, should implement the recommended 20:1 ratio at junior level and 24:1 at senior level.
DEIS Plan 2017 commits to an “Evaluation of the level of teaching resources for schools participating in the SSP to be undertaken within the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to inform future policy in this area”. My Department has established a Class Size Working Group to determine what the optimum and most effective class size is for those most at risk of educational disadvantage to ensure improved learning outcomes. Membership of the Working Group includes the Education Partners, the Educational Research Centre and the relevant Business Units in the Department.
