Effective use of school funds vital

SCHOOLS should be funded based on the number of children from disadvantaged homes on their roll books, an expert group has told the Government.

The Educational Disadvantage Committee said this would be the most effective way to target resources for educational inclusion at schools.

Education Minister Noel Dempsey says many of the programmes to tackle disadvantage at pre-school, primary and second level are doing the same work as each other. The Government spent €133 million on these initiatives last year, including €23m on a primary and second level School Completion Programme.