Minister Foley announces €32 million major expansion of the DEIS programme incorporating 310 new schools

Minister for Education Norma Foley today announced a major expansion of the DEIS – Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools programme that will see the programme extended to an additional 310 schools. For the first time since 2017 the DEIS programme is being significantly expanded and eligible schools will now gain access to targeted supports to address educational disadvantage. In addition 37 existing DEIS schools are being reclassified and eligible for increased supports.

Currently 884 schools and over 180,000 students benefit from the DEIS programme. As a result of this announcement from September 2022, this will increase to 1,194 schools and over 240,000 students.

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.

Schools have been identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model which is an objective, statistics-based model which uses information from the Department of Education enrolment databases and the Pobal HP Deprivation index. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model has been applied fairly and equally to all schools.

Minister Foley said:

Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan welcomed the updated model, saying:

The Department of Education will work with the schools that will benefit from the programme to support them to make the transition. Information sessions will be held for schools in the coming weeks on the DEIS programme, what supports will be available to schools and to support them in planning for improvement. Materials are in development to inform parents and students of the benefits of inclusion in the DEIS programme.

From September 2022, these schools will access all supports under the programme to match their respective band. Schools are assigned to the DEIS bands based on the location of the school and their level of concentrated educational disadvantage.

Full list of schools that will be joining the DEIS programme from September 2022.

Information for schools on the refined DEIS identification model.

The Refined DEIS Identification model

Following the review of the DEIS programme, based on the feedback from stakeholders, a new approach to identifying schools for inclusion in the DEIS programme was launched in 2017.

The DEIS identification model uses information from the Department of Education enrolment databases and the Pobal HP Deprivation index.

The HP index uses data from the national census to measure the level of disadvantage or affluence in an area. Information taken into account includes demographic growth, education levels, single parent rate, overcrowding, social class and unemployment. It is often used, for example, by state agencies to identify areas most in need of resources.

In the DEIS identification model, student addresses are assigned to the relevant geographical “small areas” from the index. Schools’ level of disadvantage was measured based on the proportion of students from disadvantaged “small areas”.

The DEIS Plan in 2017 noted that refinements were needed to the DEIS identification model to improve how resources were allocated.

A comprehensive analysis of various options and approaches, which has been informed by consultation with stakeholders, has led to the following refinements which have now been added to the existing model.

The refined DEIS identification model will extend its reach to consider students from areas designated as borderline disadvantaged, that is, those with a HP index score of between -7.5 and -10. Until now the model only considered those who were designated as disadvantaged under the HP index.

Students from areas with an index score of -7.5 and below in each individual school are separated into 3 groups based on their level of disadvantage and assigned a weighting so that severity of disadvantage can be addressed in the model. These groupings are:

• very disadvantaged (-20 or below)
• disadvantaged (between -10 and -20)
• borderline disadvantaged (between -7.5 and -10)

The model now includes components to reflect the levels of educational disadvantage experienced by students who have self-identified as Traveller or Roma, students in direct provision centres and students who are experiencing homelessness.

Schools are identified for inclusion in the DEIS programme based on a standardised disadvantage score and/or the proportion of students with a HP score at or below -10. Schools with the highest levels of disadvantage under either of these measurements are included in the DEIS programme.

Overall, the refined DEIS identification model builds on the previous version and will ensure that that those schools most in need are provided with additional, targeted resources to complement the universal resources allocated by the department to schools to address educational disadvantage.

Pobal HP Deprivation Index

The Pobal HP Deprivation index provides a method of measuring the relative affluence or disadvantage of a small geographical area, using data compiled from the National Census. It is used by several State agencies for the identification of disadvantage, for example, in order to target resources to communities most in need. Ireland is divided into approximately 18,500 small areas, each covering on average just under 100 households. Each area is assigned a HP deprivation index which serves as an indicator of relative affluence or deprivation. The HP index is based on the combination of three components of demographic profile, social class composition and labour market situation. More specifically, measures that are combined in the HP Index are related to demographic growth, dependency ratios, education levels, single parent rate, overcrowding, social class, occupation and unemployment rates.

The use of the index in the context of educational disadvantage is consistent with its use across a broad range of government departments and agencies including Department of Health (DOH), Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD), Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), Pobal and the Higher Education Authority (HEA). Analysis undertaken by the Technical Group in relation to the initial development of the identification model identified a significant correlation between the HP index and educational outcomes, particularly in urban areas. The OECD has noted in its paper “Towards equity in school funding policies” that internationally, the use of census based approaches provides integrity to the system and reduces the reporting burden on schools.

Technical Group

The DEIS technical group was established as part of the review of the DEIS programme to examine potential options for a model which would measure the level of concentrated disadvantage of schools and identify those with the highest levels to be included in DEIS. Following the publication of the DEIS Plan in 2017, it continued its work seeking to refine and enhance the DEIS identification model. The group comprises of officials from the department’s Statistics Unit, Social Inclusion Unit, Special Education Section, the Inspectorate and the ERC.

DEIS

The Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme is the Department of Education’s main policy initiative to respond to educational disadvantage. The DEIS programme focuses on targeting additional resources at those schools with the highest concentrations of students who are at risk of educational disadvantage. This is based on the existence of a ‘multiplier effect’, meaning that students in these schools have been found to have less positive educational outcomes, even taking account of individual social background.

In the 2021/22 academic year there are 884 schools (687 primary and 197 post-primary) in the DEIS programme serving over 180,000 students. This represents approximately 20% of the overall school population. These schools were identified for inclusion in the programme in 2006 with a subsequent additional extension of the programme in 2017. Schools in the programme avail of access to supports such as home-school community liaison (HSCL) coordinators, reduced class sizes for Urban Band 1 schools, DEIS grants, enhanced school book grants, priority access to continuing professional development for teachers, enhanced access to leadership posts and access to the School Completion Programme. The department’s Inspectorate supports DEIS schools in planning and through advisory visits.

Supports provided to DEIS schools

Supports for DEIS Band 1 schools (primary)

• there are designated staffing schedules for DEIS Band 1 schools giving a class size of 19:1 in junior schools, 21:1 in vertical schools (schools with junior and senior classes) and 23:1 in senior schools
• Administrative Principal are appointed on an enrolment of 115 pupils
• DEIS grant paid based on level of disadvantage and enrolment
• Access to Home School Community Liaison Services (HSCL)
• Access to range of supports under School Completion Programme
• access to literacy/numeracy support such as Reading Recovery, Maths Recovery, First Steps, Ready Set Go Maths
• access to planning supports
• access to a range of professional development supports
• additional funding under School Books Grant Scheme
• DEIS Identification Process

Supports for DEIS Band 2 schools (primary)

• administrative principal is appointed on an enrolment of 142 pupils
• DEIS grant paid based on level of disadvantage and enrolment DEIS Grant Guidelines
• Access to Home School Community Liaison Services (HSCL)
• access to range of supports under School Completion Programme
• access to literacy/numeracy support such as Reading Recovery, Maths Recovery, First Steps, Ready Set Go Maths
• access to planning supports
• access to a range of professional development supports
• additional funding under School Books Grant Scheme

Supports for DEIS Rural schools (primary)

• DEIS grant paid based on level of disadvantage and enrolment
• Access to School Meals Programme
• access to planning supports
• access to a range of professional development supports
• additional funding under School Books Grant Scheme

Supports for DEIS Post-primary Schools

• Enhanced Guidance allocation for DEIS post primary-schools
• additional deputy principal appointed on a reduced enrolment threshold of 600 students
• DEIS grant paid based on level of disadvantage and enrolment
• Access to Home School Community Liaison services
• access to range of supports under School Completion Programme (Additional 14 Post Primary Schools added 2021)
• access to Leaving Certificate Applied Programme
• access to planning supports
• access to a range of professional development supports from Professional Development Service for Teachers and the Centre for School Leadership
• additional funding under School Books Grant Scheme