New plan aims to tackle educational disadvantage

The number of schools which benefit from extra staffing and support will grow under a new plan to tackle educational disadvantage, Minister for Education Richard Bruton has said.

Some 800 schools in disadvantaged areas benefit from increased State support under the Deis (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) scheme.

Authorities will use new “small areas” census data to identify schools in poorer areas which do not benefit from the additional supports.

Mr Bruton said the scheme was set up more than a decade ago, and advances in identifying deprivation would enable authorities to identify more schools which needed support.

Cuts criticised

Teachers’ groups have criticised cuts in education spending over recent years, arguing that some of the most disadvantaged schools have been hardest hit.

They argue the most marked drop in the availability of guidance counsellor services since the economic crash was in the country’s poorest schools.

However, Mr Bruton said improving outcomes for those who were less well-off would be a priority of his ministry.

Targetted measures aimed at boosting outcomes for children in disadvantaged schools would feature in a new plan to be drawn up over the coming months.

Recent teachers’ conference heard many examples of schools in disadvantaged areas which were struggling to retain staff and keep basic supports for vulnerable students.