Over 121 of the nation’s most disadvantaged schools are set to receive a variety of extra supports, including more than 400 additional staff under a new DEIS plus scheme scheduled to be introduced from this coming September, reports RTE.
The initiative is aimed at schools experiencing the most severe and long-term disadvantage, with a strong emphasis on improving mental health and wellbeing among attending children, reports RTE.
The Department of Education and Youth stated that this move responds to the significant number of students in these schools who have faced trauma and hardship.
The additional 400 staff will include one extra teaching position in each of the 121 schools, specifically focused on coordinating mental health and wellbeing promotion within the school environment, reports RTE.
Outlined in the Programme for Government, the DEIS plus scheme will apply to 96 urban primary schools and 25 urban post-primary schools.
A total of 350 extra teachers will be assigned to these schools, all in roles designed to enhance their ability to support students considered at risk, reports RTE.
Among these positions are 30 new guidance counsellor roles for post-primary schools.
In addition, 25 welfare practitioner roles will be introduced across primary schools in the scheme, with plans to extend this provision to post-primary schools over time, according to the department, reports RTE.
The schools selected for inclusion were identified using a newly developed data-driven model. This follows a recent OECD report on Ireland’s DEIS system, which recommended adopting a more evidence-based approach.
To support this process, additional personnel from the Central Statistics Office have been seconded to the Department of Education, reports RTE.
In a detailed and complex process, data from the Pobal HP Deprivation Index—which maps deprivation levels across geographic areas including electoral divisions—was combined with other modelling tools to pinpoint schools with the most disadvantaged student populations.
Extra weighting was also given to schools serving particularly vulnerable groups, such as homeless children, Traveller and Roma children, and those living in direct provision, reports RTE.
Officials indicated that the findings reveal severe deprivation concentrated within specific geographic clusters, with these students largely attending a limited number of schools.
Also released today is a ten-year strategy for all DEIS schools, which will be implemented in three phases, reports RTE.
This broader plan includes expanding Home School Community Liaison roles to 130 additional schools, as well as increasing provision for 121 schools. HSCL coordinators are teachers who work beyond the classroom to build connections with families and parents.
As part of this effort, some schools outside the DEIS programme will gain access to HSCL services for the first time, reports RTE.
The DEIS plus scheme also features a joint working group between the Department of Education and Youth and the Department of Health, aimed at improving access to services such as dental care for students through their schools.
Officials highlighted that many vulnerable families have a strong level of trust in their child’s school, reports RTE.
The plan further includes 33 new school leadership roles, increased grant funding for the 121 schools, and additional investment in youth services near post-primary schools.
A spokesperson described the €48 million allocated to both the DEIS plus scheme and the wider DEIS strategy as “a significant step up in addressing educational inequality across Ireland”, reports RTE.
The principal of Tallaght Community National School said the DEIS plus scheme is “really going to be transformational” for schools.
It is anticipated that the scheme will be operational by the start of the next academic year in September, reports RTE.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with David McCullagh, Conor McCarthy said the initiative acknowledges that there are schools in areas of Dublin, Limerick and Cork where there is a “disproportionate level of children with additional needs or children who have experienced a direct trauma in their lives”.
“For those children there is huge difficulty in accessing the curriculum it is impacting on their learning”, reports RTE.
Mr McCarthy, who played a role in developing the scheme, added that it will provide 121 primary and post-primary schools with additional supports to help these children engage with learning on a daily basis.
It will also ensure each school has its own ‘home school community liaison teacher’, a role focused on working directly with parents to support their child’s education, reports RTE.
“It is a teacher who will visit parents’ homes, it is a teacher who will run in school parent workshops and that will really help us because education starts at home,” Mr McCarthy said, reports RTE.
He further noted that the scheme will introduce a dedicated mental health and wellbeing coordinator role within schools.
Mr McCarthy referred to research conducted which shows “up to 50% of children in our schools would have experienced a direct trauma in their early life”, reports RTE.
He explained that having someone in place to oversee trauma-informed approaches and provide support will offer long-term benefits for both students and their educational outcomes.
“It’s really going to be transformational I think in schools,” reports RTE.
“I would say 75% of what we identified is in this first tranche of support coming in September,” Mr McCarthy said, reports RTE.
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