Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 July 2024
239. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education the measures used to assess the impact of DEIS status on the experience and the outcomes for pupils involved relative to schools without that status; and to outline how the gap on these indicators has evolved over time.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28304/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students 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 2022, 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 260,000 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 over €180million.
I am very conscious of the benefits of the DEIS programme and indeed I believe education is the great leveller, and we must do all that we can in order to support all students and young people accessing education in its fullest sense.
The renewed DEIS Plan published in 2017 sets out the vision for future interventions in the critical area of educational disadvantage policy and builds on what has already been achieved by schools who have benefitted from the additional supports available under the initial DEIS programme introduced in 2005.
There has been an extensive programme evaluation of DEIS to date by the Educational Research Centre (ERC), with published reports available on the ERC website. Analysis has shown that since the DEIS programme began, it has had considerable impact in our schools and helped to close the gap in achievement between DEIS and non-DEIS schools.
“The Evaluation of DEIS at post-primary level: Closing the achievement and attainment gaps”, a report published by the ERC in January 2019 shows a narrowing of the gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools both in terms of performance at Junior Cycle level and retention rates.
The National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER) conducted by ERC provide data on literacy and numeracy outcomes. The 2021 assessments noted that while the gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools remained stable from 2014 to 2021, there was no decline in performance despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings are to be welcomed in the context of international evidence of learning loss and the particular impact of COVID-19 on pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Despite the impact of the Covid19 pandemic, the target to increase the percentage of high achievers in second class reading in Urban Band 1 schools to 25% was met. This was a 7% increase on the 2014 NAMER results.
My Department’s Inspectorate also carry out a programme of DEIS inspections and the findings are contained in a series of published reports. A composite Inspectorate report published in April 2022 “Looking at DEIS Action Planning for Improvement in Primary and Post-Primary Schools” concluded that where the most effective practice was observed, DEIS action planning for improvement was the vehicle to drive overall school improvement. It was found that, in general, schools are implementing a significant number of interventions to bolster literacy, numeracy and the wellbeing of their students with resources, specific interventions and supports targeted to meet the needs of pupils and students who are most at risk of educational disadvantage.
Schools participating in the DEIS programme have seen retention rates to the Leaving Certificate improve significantly since the programme's introduction. The gap in retention rates between DEIS and non-DEIS schools has narrowed from 16.8% for the 2001 entry cohort to approx. 8.4% for the 2016 cohort.
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. Since June 2020, and over the last four budgets, I have secured funding to provide measures to support children in this regard. These measures include reducing class sizes and the allocation of free schoolbooks to students up to Junior Cycle.
I have invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies project to review Ireland’s current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage. 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.
The OECD has engaged with a range of relevant stakeholders to inform the review process as well as drawing on international examples. Throughout the review process, the OECD Strength Through Diversity team carried out engagements with a range of stakeholders such as teacher unions, management bodies and academic experts via online interviews. The OECD research team also visited Ireland and carried out a round of in-person engagements. The group met with representatives from the education partners, the community and voluntary sectors and academic experts. The group also visited a selection of DEIS and non-DEIS schools during their visit and consulted with school staff, parents and children during those visits. The review of the resource allocation model for the DEIS programme is currently being finalised and the OECD estimates that it will be completed this summer.
The OECD review is being complimented by a programme of work by my officials which will consider current allocation approaches and the recommendations from the OECD review. Consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders is an important part of this work. This work aims to develop future resource allocation policies that ensure that every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.
