Disadvantaged schools get €40m funding boost

AN extra 90 schools are to benefit from a Government plan to boost spending on tackling disadvantage schools by €40 million a year, Education Minister Mary Hanafin announced yesterday.

The funding was outlined at the publication of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) last May but a survey was required to determine the schools needing most help.

The findings have allowed Ms Hanafin increase the number of primary schools to benefit from 600 to 640, while 200 second level schools are to be included in the School Support Programme (SSP) 50 more than originally announced.

The need for early intervention to help develop young people's literacy and numeracy is a major focus of the plan, which provides free pre-school education at the 180 most disadvantaged urban primary schools.

The same schools will benefit from extra teachers to reduce class sizes to a maximum of 20 for children up to second class and to 24 after this. And more non-teaching principals and greater funding for libraries and reading initiatives are planned for primary level.

A number of schemes already running at second level are to be extended, such as home-school community liaison, school completion and guidance initiatives giving greater support for choosing Leaving Certificate subjects.

The full list of schools will be available on the Department of Education's website once all schools invited to take part have responded. The aim of the School

Support Programme is to provide 300 extra staff and other resources within its five-year timeframe, helping schools and their communities to achieve equality of educational participation.

A Department of Education spokesman said the SSP allows for changing circumstances of schools to be considered for possible future inclusion, with reviews every three years.

The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) said the roll-out of the DEIS plan will bring badly needed coordination to measures to combat educational disadvantage, but has called for the department to accelerate the proposed five-year implementation period. Only the 360 most disadvantaged primary schools will benefit from the programme's first phase, being implemented during the current school year, with the remainder receiving extra resources from next year.

The Department of Education will spend €640m on disadvantage this year, including €230m for college grants.