The Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP) is a national programme sponsored by the Department of Education and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. Introduced in 1996, it is a social inclusion programme that is aimed at students who are identified as being at risk of being socially or academically isolated or at risk of early school leaving before the (then) Junior Certificate has been achieved.
Since its introduction, JCSP has expanded from 32 schools in 1996 to 240 schools in 2010. The programme expanded on a phased basis, to almost all post-primary schools participating in the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) in 2010. The JCSP is also offered in Special Schools, Children Detention Schools, and Youth Encounter Projects (YEP).
Of the current 220 schools within JCSP, 172 are designated DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) and 48 are non-DEIS schools. There are 8 Gaelscoileanna, 2 High Support Units, 17 Special Schools and 4 YEP.
One of the initiatives under the JCSP is the JCSP Demonstration Library Project. School librarians work as part of a network of librarians in the JCSP Demonstration Library Project. Within the Demonstration Library Project, there are 32 professional librarians employed by the CDETB who are based in 30 schools that operate the library facility. They are managed by the Senior Librarian.
Librarians are responsible, together with key school staff, for drawing up and implementing library strategies to tackle the literacy difficulties experienced by many JCSP students. An important element of the JCSP is the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy 2024 to 2033 which promotes a school approach, and which incorporates the Library Demonstration Project. Each year, each library receives a grant from JCSP. The grant funds literacy and numeracy initiatives, book buying and resources for the library.
As part of the implementation of the Framework for Junior Cycle (2015), it was agreed to carry out a review of the JCSP and consider the extent to which the needs of students undertaking the JCSP are met through the Junior Cycle. This review is currently ongoing, with the programme closed to new applicants but current provision continuing for the present.
It should be noted that the public libraries provide access to a wide range of resources, facilities and activities that aim to support schools in developing children's literacy, numeracy, creativity, and communication skills. The development of existing partnerships between schools and libraries provides many benefits for both the schools and for public libraries.
A partner library branch has been identified for every school based on catchment area. In the case of certain schools, some of the services will be provided by the mobile library, school library van or through the library headquarters, to be determined at local discretion. Under the collaborative approach, each library service will make contact with the school principal over the year to provide information in relation to the library services and resources available to each school.
In this regard, the Department continues to work in partnership with the national library service. We are exploring ways to strengthening this partnership through the library service five-year strategy published in July 2023, and the Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy 2024 to 2033. This strategy was launched in May 2024 and developed between the Department of Education and Youth and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. The strategy is set across all stages of the learner's journey from early learning and care to post-primary school. It aims to promote the development of essential literacy, numeracy and digital literacy skills, knowledge, and dispositions with a particular focus on learners from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The DEIS programme is a key policy initiative of Government to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. Currently, the DEIS programme supports almost 1,200 primary and post-primary schools, reaching approximately 260,000 students, with an annual investment of over €180 million. Budget 2026 allocates an additional €16.5 million in 2026, rising to €48 million in 2027, to support the implementation of the new DEIS Strategy and introduce the DEIS Plus scheme, which will commence in 2026.
A new DEIS Strategy, which will include a DEIS Plus scheme, will be published in Q1 2026. The DEIS Plus scheme will provide additional support to schools with the highest levels of need, in line with the Government’s commitment. It will target a cohort of schools with the very highest concentrations of children and young people experiencing intergenerational disadvantage where there is a significant gap in outcomes and where there are barriers to those children and young people achieving their potential.
The details of the DEIS Plus scheme are currently being finalised within an overall programme of work to tackle educational disadvantage and will be outlined in the new DEIS Strategy. Future allocation of overall resources will be considered within the context of the new DEIS Strategy and the availability of resources.
