DEIS Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools

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DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in
Schools) An Action Plan for Educational
Inclusion 9 September 2005
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• Educational Inclusion-the response to date.
• A wide range of targeted supports for schools
• Additional supports for vulnerable groups
• Establishment of National Educational Welfare
  Board
• Provision for young early school leavers
• Targeted youth work measures
• Curricular reform and professional development
• Third-level access

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• Why a New Action Plan?
• Key concerns gaps in provision
• Identification of disadvantage
• Early Childhood Education
• Literacy and Numeracy
• Measuring progress and outcomes
• Integration of Services
• Professional Development

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• Overall Scope of Action Plan
• Meeting the educational needs of children and
  young people from disadvantaged communities
• Covering pre-school through second-level
  education i.e. 3 to 18 years
• A key part of a wider continuum, including
• Second-chance education and training and access
  measures for adults
• Provision for students with special needs

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• Main elements of the Action Plan
• Better identification of disadvantage in schools
• New integrated School Support Programme (SSP)
• A single integrated programme of supports for
  schools with concentrated level of disadvantage
  which will bring together and build upon some ten
  existing schemes and initiatives
• Supports also to continue for more dispersed
  disadvantage
• Phased implementation over five years

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• Main elements of Action Plan (2)
• Indicative number of schools to be included
• Primary 600 (300 urban/town and 300 rural)
• Second-Level 150
• Additional annual investment of around 40m,
  including cost of 300 additional posts, on full
  implementation
• Represents 33 increase on current expenditure in
  this area

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• Key Actions 1
• Targeted Early Childhood Education for 150 school
  communities
• Targeted class size reduction in 150 urban
  primary schools (201 in junior classes and 241
  in senior classes)
• Access to teacher co-ordinator support for all
  300 rural primary schools in SSP
• Additional financial supports for all schools in
  SSP 2.5m in 2005/2006

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• Key Actions 2
• Literacy and Numeracy supports
• Advisory service at primary level
• Increased access to reading and maths initiatives
  
• More funding for measures in the junior cycle
• Targeted extension of library project at
  second-level (40 more schools)
• A new family literacy project
• HSCL and School Completion Programme services for
  300 urban primary and 150 second-level schools in
  the SSP

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• Key Actions 3
• Guidance counselling 40 additional posts for
  targeted second-level schools
• Supporting recruitment/retention of school staff
  by
• Reducing thresholds for appointments of admin
  principals in 300 urban primary schools
• Enhancing professional development
• Implementing a new scheme of sabbatical leave
  targeted at schools serving the most
  disadvantaged communities initially (50
  sabbaticals)

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• Key Actions 4
• Enhancing the role of ICTs
• Promoting increased access to third-level
• Better planning, target-setting, and measurement
  of progress and outcomes partnership agreement
  on tracking progress in a range of areas
• Better integration of services and partnership
  working
• Enhanced research and evaluation

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• Integration of services - examples
• Enhance integration and partnership working both
  within the education sector itself and between
  DES and all other relevant departments and
  agencies
• Further cooperation with other Depts
• D/SFA and D/AF re School Meals Programme and EU
  School Milk Scheme
• D/EHLG and the Library Association of Ireland and
  Library Council
• Regional Offices to continue to work in
  partnership with CDBs and locally based agencies,
  partnerships and individuals
• Increased alignment of Youth sector measures
  with formal sector

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• Integration of services (2)
• Early Childhood Education and Care
• DES to work in partnership with other
  depts/agencies to complement add value to
  existing childcare programmes
• Integration at school level
• New SSP to integrate existing disadvantaged
  schemes
• Resources to be provided to individual schools
  and also school clusters/communities
• School clusters to include primary and second
  level schools
• Rural clusters to be given access to
  teacher/coordinator
• School plans to be developed at school and
  cluster level to include links with community
  partnerships and external agencies

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• Current Position DEIS
• ERC currently analysing primary and second level
  data
• Primary level data 95.5 response
• Schools identified by end 2005
• Phased implementation over 5 years commencing
  2005/06
• Internal DES steering committee on implementation
  of plan