Parliamentary Question for the Minister for Education and Skills (Ruairi Quinn TD)
For WRITTEN ANSWER on 27/05/2013
To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will request his Department to reassess the primary schools in Togher, County Cork with a view to granting DEIS status; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Reply
I have no immediate plans to carry out a reassessment of the levels of disadvantage in primary schools with a view to allowing additional schools join the DEIS programme.
There is a commitment under DEIS for ongoing evaluation to ensure successful implementation with the best possible approaches to measuring progress and outcomes at both local and national level. These evaluations also assist us in making evidence based judgements on future policy.
At a recent DEIS research dissemination seminar I announced the commissioning of a report which will collate all the evaluation work to date on the DEIS programme. This report will inform future policy development in relation to educational disadvantage, including the DEIS programme.