101. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the development and rollout of the new DEIS resource allocation model; the expected implementation date; the consideration that will be given to schools where the junior school is DEIS Band 1 and the senior school is DEIS Band 2, despite serving the same families and experiencing similar levels of disadvantage, as in the case of a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51954/26]

Addressing educational disadvantage in all schools is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth. The DEIS programme is targeted at schools with the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage. Schools that were included in the most recent expansion of the programme in 2022 were those with the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage as identified through the refined DEIS identification model. This model took into consideration the significant educational disadvantage experienced by Traveller and Roma learners and of students residing in direct provision or emergency homeless accommodation. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme, and the model was applied fairly and equally to all schools. A detailed paper on the refined DEIS identification model is available on gov.ie. It is important to stress that schools not identified through the refined DEIS identification model does not in any way imply that the department is saying that disadvantage does not exist within in the school community.

It is also important to emphasise that a school being classified differently to another school, including a neighbouring school, does not mean that educational disadvantage is not present within its community. Rather, the model assesses the relative concentration and weighting of disadvantage indicators across all schools. As a result, neighbouring schools may have different DEIS classifications where the overall profile and concentration of disadvantage differs.

The DEIS Strategy to 2035 sets out a long-term plan to address educational disadvantage in all schools and work to ensure that any child or young person experiencing educational disadvantage is supported through their education journey.

The DEIS Strategy implementation plan 2026-2028, under the strategic objective 2.2, sets out to develop an agile resource allocation model to support children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage in all primary and post-primary schools.

These actions focus on the continued enhancement of the data available to measure school level disadvantage and for the development of a more flexible resource allocation model that can react to change in school needs and provide the right resources at the right time.

• 2.2.1 Align the allocation of DEIS resources to the refined DEIS identification model and most up to date data. Timeline for completion: 2028

• 2.2.2 Develop a new DEIS resource allocation model that: supports schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage; supports children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools; is dynamic and has the potential to adjust to changes in a school’s levels of need including amalgamations; uses objective data to equitably allocate resources to schools. Timeline for completion: 2027

• 2.2.3 Conduct an impact assessment on any potential changes to the allocation of resources to schools, ensuring that no child or young person is negatively impacted. Timeline for completion: 2027

In light of these actions and current budget constraints there is currently no intention to conduct a review of DEIS banding or to expand the DEIS programme to include new schools. Any future additional allocation of resources under the DEIS programme will be considered over the lifetime of the DEIS Strategy to 2035 and in the context of available resources.

There are also a range of universal supports available to all schools to support children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage. These include:

• National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychological service to all primary and post-primary schools and special schools to support the well-being, academic, social and emotional development of all learners.

• The Special Education Teaching (SET) allocation provides a unified allocation for special education support teaching needs to each school based on each school’s educational profile and also encompasses an element of English as an additional language (EAL) support allocation. Under this SET model, schools are frontloaded with resources to provide support immediately to those pupils who need it without delay.

• Free schoolbooks are provided to all children and young people in the free education system.

• Inspectorate support helps improve education provision for all children and young people. They promote best practice and school improvement by advising teachers, principals and boards of management in schools.

• Through the Department of Social Protection, the School Meals Programme provides regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The Hot School Meals Programme is available to all primary schools, meaning that approximately 3,700 schools and organisations and 682,000 children are now eligible for the Schools Meals Programme.