Eight Laois schools have been added to the DEIS programme which delivers a range of targeted supports at tackling educational disadvantage.
The news was announced this week by Minister for Education Norma Foley and sees primary schools in Wolfhill, Spink, The Swan, Clonaslee, Rathdowney, The Rock, Arles and Barnashrone set to be added in what is a major expansion of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme.
Schools in the DEIS programme avail of a range of targeted supports aimed at tackling educational disadvantage, including additional classroom teaching posts, home school community liaison coordinator posts, DEIS grant funding and access to the School Completion Programme.
This programme was introduced to provide targeted resources to these schools and to support these students to have an equal opportunity to achieve their potential in education.
Access to School Meals Programme, access to planning supports, access to a range of professional development supports and additional funding under School Books Grant Scheme are available under the DEIS Scheme.
Currently there are 884 primary and secondary schools in the scheme with over 180,000 benefitting. Under this announcement this will increase to almost 1,200 schools and 240,000 students from September.
“I would like to acknowledge the Principals, Staff, Boards of Management and our school communities on their work and efforts supporting and encouraging young people through education,” said Laois-Offaly TD and Minister for State Sean Fleming in welcoming the news.
Schools were identified for inclusion in the programme through a refined Deis identification model.
The Department of Education says it is a statistics-based model which uses information from enrolment databases and a deprivation index developed by two researchers, the late Trutz Haase and his colleague Jonathan Pratschke.
Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the Deis programme and the department says the model has been applied fairly and equally to all schools.
A new version of the Deis identification model captures a greater breadth of disadvantage and accounts for severity of disadvantage.
The most disadvantaged primary schools – in Deis band one – also benefit from smaller class sizes with 21 students for every teacher, in most cases.
The additional investment will provide for in the region of 160 additional primary teachers, 100 additional home school community liaison officers, additional guidance and leadership posts as well as Deis grants and enhanced book grant funding.
The 8 additional Laois primary schools joining the DEIS Programme are as follows:
- Scoil Mhuire, Wolfhill
- SN Molaise, Spink
- Scoil an Chroi Ro Naofa,The Swan
- Na Carraige NS, The Rock
- Barr na Sruthan NS, Barnashrone
- Ardlios NS, Arles
- Scoil Bhride, Rathdowney
- Scoil Bhride, Clonaslee
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