Addressing educational disadvantage and ensuring that every child and young person can reach their full potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth and for the Government. The new DEIS Plus scheme, which will commence this year and was launched as part of the DEIS Strategy to 2035, represents the most significant expansion of targeted supports since the establishment of DEIS. DEIS Plus is designed to provide enhanced, evidence-based supports to a cohort of 121 schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage, identified through a refined data-based model that draws on a range of indicators associated with persistent and intergenerational disadvantage.
The Department of Education and Youth is committed to ensuring that all schools are treated equally and fairly in the manner in which they have been identified for inclusion in the DEIS Plus scheme. Schools that were not satisfied with the outcome following the application of the DEIS Plus identification model to their enrolment data were invited by the department to have that outcome reviewed through a formal appeal process. The appeal process, as set out in Circular 0045/2026, opened on 27 April and closed on 25 May.
The appeal process was designed to ensure that the DEIS Plus identification model was applied consistently, transparently and fairly across all eligible schools. Schools were afforded the opportunity either to correct inaccuracies identified in enrolment data submitted through POD or PPOD, or to request verification that the model had been correctly applied to their existing data.
The grounds for appeal were limited to matters directly related to the enrolment data underpinning the model. The technical review process for those appeals is underway and will subsequently be considered by an independent appeal panel comprising expertise in data analysis, education policy and educational disadvantage. Following completion of this process, schools will be notified in writing of the outcome of their appeal.
Access to and editing of POD records is restricted to the school in which the pupil is currently enrolled or, where the pupil has left primary education, the school of the most recent valid primary enrolment. This ensures that pupil information can be verified and updated by the school best placed to confirm its accuracy, while limiting access to personal data to what is necessary and appropriate.
For the purposes of the DEIS Plus appeal process, any updated information provided through POD by the current or most recent school will be taken into account in relation to the pupil's relevant enrolment history. Accordingly, where a pupil previously attended another school, it is not necessary for that school to amend the historic record directly in order for updated information to be considered.
This approach reflects the fact that the school currently responsible for the pupil, or the school with the most recent valid primary enrolment, is best placed to confirm and update the pupil’s details. It also ensures that access to personal data is limited to what is necessary and appropriate.
Schools are reminded of their statutory obligations under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, including Sections 20 and 21, to establish and maintain an accurate register of students and records of attendance. Boards of Management and principals are also required, in accordance with Department of Education Circular 0028/2013 (Maintenance of School Registers, Roll Books and Attendance Books) and subsequent circulars relating to the operation of the Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online Database (PPOD), to ensure that pupil enrolment and related data recorded in school systems and submitted to the Department are complete, accurate and kept up to date. As school-level data drawn from POD and PPOD is used in determining eligibility for targeted supports under the DEIS programme and other department initiatives, schools should ensure that pupil records, including enrolment details and relevant demographic characteristics recorded in these systems, are maintained with due care and reviewed periodically to confirm their accuracy. Boards of Management and principals should take appropriate steps to satisfy themselves that the information recorded reflects, as far as practicable, the information provided by parents or guardians at the time of enrolment and thereafter.
