Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
470. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education if she will include a school (details supplied) for DEIS status particularly in light of the student blend; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47604/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students, including students attending Gaeltacht secondary schools, and address barriers to students achieving their potential.
Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.
In March last year, I announced the single largest expansion of the DEIS programme. This benefited 361 schools. The programme now includes in the region of 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. 1 in 4 students and 30% of schools are now supported in the programme.
This expansion added an additional €32million to my Department’s expenditure on the DEIS programme from 2023, bringing the overall Department of Education allocation for the programme to €180million.
Schools that were identified for inclusion in the programme were those with the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage as identified through the refined DEIS identification model, which is an objective, statistics-based model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model was applied fairly and equally to all schools.
The extension of the DEIS programme to new schools is just one component of work in my vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. While the DEIS programme supports those schools with the highest levels of concentrated educational disadvantage, I also recognise that there are students at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools, including Gaeltacht secondary schools. Since June 2020, and over the past four budgets, I have secured funding to provide measures to support children in this regard.
My Department recognises the need to target resources to those schools who need them most, the next phase of work will explore the allocation of resources to all schools to tackle educational disadvantage.
The DEIS Plan is based on the premise that in order to have the maximum possible impact on providing opportunities for students most at risk of educational disadvantage, then extra resources need to be targeted as closely as possible at those students with the greatest level of need. This will involve further development of the existing DEIS programme, to create a more dynamic resource allocation model where levels of resources more accurately follow the levels of need identified by objective data.
To support this work my Department has invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies Project to review the current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland, this is currently ongoing and the OECD team estimate that the review will be complete in Q2 of 2024. This review will provide an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and, drawing on international examples, inform a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS.
Meeting the educational needs of children and young people arriving from Ukraine and other countries is a priority for the Government, and my Department is determined to support the efforts of school communities across the country who have shown huge commitment and generosity.
The Regional Education and Language Teams (REALTs) were established by my Department in 2022 to support the needs of children arriving in Ireland from Ukraine. As of the 25th October 2023, 17,621 pupils from Ukraine were formally enrolled in schools across the country.
The primary role of the REALT is to assist children in finding school places and to support schools in the area to meet the needs of these children as they emerge, to advise and support my Department in developing new capacity where required, and to coordinate the provision of education services to children and families across their defined area.
The remit of REALTs was extended in November 2022 and includes support for both non-Ukrainian arrivals in the International Protection system and children under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP). This ensures a comprehensive approach to supporting all children in our education system.
Every school in Ireland has a Special Education Teaching (SET) allocation that can be utilised for students with special needs and those needing English language supports. This ensures a baseline of support for all children, irrespective of their backgrounds.
Last year my Department introduced the New Entrant Allocation Scheme to support schools with increased enrolments from Ukraine and provided temporary special education resources to schools to reflect fluctuation in enrolment.
