Government efforts to combat educational disadvantage is poorly co-ordinated and lacks "joined up thinking", according to a report to be published shortly.
The report of the Educational Disadvantage Committee (EDC) also says the system for identifying disadvantaged schools needs to be updated as a matter of urgency.
Almost 100 second-level schools, which should be designated as disadvantaged, are not receiving the backup to which they are entitled, it says.
The report, which is expected to shape policy on disadvantage, will be presented to Minister for Education Mary Hanafin shortly.
Its key proposal is for a concerted approach to achieve educational equality. This would:
Link services provided by government departments, local authorities, various voluntary and statutory agencies and private bodies;
Ensure that the various sections within the Department of Education, dealing with the problem, work in closer collaboration with each other.
It signals that one-off projects and programmes on disadvantage achieve little. Policy development should move out of the margins and into the mainstream.
Policy development must move " beyond projects and programmes to effect long-term . . . change for the benefit of all citizens and the national economy".
The report states: "If there is to be real change, it must happen in mainstream systems and services that are provided to communities, families and individuals. It is not sufficient that good practice is happening in initiatives, projects and programmes targeted at marginalised groups. Change must permeate the system itself."
It adds that strategic targets for improving levels of educational attainment among all ages should be set. It is also critical of the enrolment policy of some schools and demands a new approach which recognises social diversity.
The report states, bluntly, that schools alone cannot be expected to address the issue of educational disadvantage. It also places a considerable emphasis on the need for a wider community response to the issue. The committee also proposes that the body responsible for school attendance should develop a new register of all 16 and 17-year-olds who drop out of school to take jobs.
The National Education Welfare Board, should it says, "make appropriate arrangements for their continuing education and training in consultation with providers and employers".
The report is the final one from the EDC. Established four years ago, the committee has been hugely influential in directing policy. It is chaired by Prof Áine Hyland, a vice-president at UCC
The report also hints that resources are not being targeted at those most in need. The current list of "designated disadvantaged schools" is out of date and needs to be updated, it adds.
This problem is particularly acute at second-level where "the current information dates back 15 years and and is acknowledged to be out of date".
It estimated that almost 100 second-level schools would be given disadvantaged status if the lists were properly updated. The committee says the designation of post-primary schools by the department should be addressed as a matter of urgency. It backs a new system based on indicators like the dropout rate from the school, medical card eligibility and Junior Cert results.
It also says pupils with special learning needs should only be integrated into properly resourced mainstream schools.