Schools’ chief fears vital social funds may be lost

SCHOOLS in poorer areas which previously got extra help to keep students in education are in danger of becoming victims of their own success, a management leader has warned.

Sean McCann, general secretary of the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools (ACCS), believes up to 20 schools in the sector which were designated as disadvantaged have been excluded from the Department of Education’s school support programme.

The programme is part of Education Minister Mary Hanafin’s DEIS social inclusion plan aimed at tackling educational disadvantage, with 840 primary and second-level schools chosen last month to benefit from extra staff and resources.

“We have 15 to 20 schools which have not been asked to take part, but which were designated up to now. The fear is that, because the initiatives they had were working well, they will go back to scratch,” said Mr McCann.

The DEIS initiative aims to provide more cohesion to schemes aimed at increasing school completion, providing home-school community liaison staff and other resources aimed at helping those at risk of leaving school early to reach their potential.

Mr McCann said a “catch-22” situation has now arisen. “It appears these schools are the victims of their own success,” he said.

The Department of Education has said resources that were available under previous schemes for disadvantaged will continue next year for schools not invited to take part in the support programme. But the situation is unclear beyond that for dozens of schools.

Representatives of the 90 community and comprehensive schools are meeting at the ACCS annual convention in Killarney this weekend. Issues such as student behaviour and principal workload are among the main concerns.

It has been a significant year for the sector, as teachers and parents are now entitled to representation on comprehensive school boards although this has yet to be finalised for Church of Ireland comprehensives.

Most new or amalgamating schools are choosing the community or comprehensive model of management, making it the only growing second-level school type as religious orders continue to withdraw from education.