Written answer
Educational Disadvantage
The Minister said young carers would be supported through existing DEIS structures, including inclusive school planning, self-evaluation, HSCL and the School Completion Programme. She highlighted the DEIS Strategy’s commitment to flexible, needs-based resources for all pupils experiencing educational disadvantage, but did not identify a specific young-carer action.
487. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the action in the DEIS Implementation Plan 2026–2028 or the DEIS Plus plan which gives practical effect to the DEIS strategy to 2035 objective that it will align with Government approaches supporting children and young people who are 'caring for others'; and the way in which she will ensure that young carers are identified and supported through DEIS school improvement planning, school self-evaluation, student support teams and HSCL or school completion programme referrals. [64227/26]
Comment on this
Addressing educational disadvantage in all schools remains a key priority for me as Minister of Education and Youth.
The DEIS programme provides a range of targeted supports to schools including the Home School Community Liaison scheme (HSCL) and the School Completion Programme (SCP).
The HSCL scheme is a core element of the DEIS programme and forms part of the wider Tusla Education Support Service (TESS). HSCL coordinators are teachers assigned to work directly with parents, guardians, school staff and community services to strengthen engagement between home, school and community. The overarching aim of HSCL is to improve attendance, participation and retention, particularly for children and young people experiencing educational disadvantage. The SCP plays a critical role in supporting all children and young people of school going age to stay in school for longer and to address absenteeism.
Together, the HSCL scheme and the SCP support all children and young people to participate and stay in school.
As part of the DEIS programme, schools are required to engage in ongoing planning processes based on identified targets across DEIS themes and integrate with the SSE process. These plans are informed by all children and young people in the school and are developed through an inclusive, reflective and collaborative whole school approach.
The DEIS Strategy to 2035, its first Implementation plan 2026-2028 and the DEIS Plus scheme were launched earlier this year. The strategy sets out the departments long term vision to address educational disadvantage in all schools to ensure that every child and young person experiencing disadvantage is supported to succeed in their education journey, regardless of their background.
The strategy acknowledges that students at risk of educational disadvantage are present in all schools. It therefore focuses on improving outcomes, encouraging innovation, and ensuring schools can access the right supports when needed. The DEIS Strategy to 2035 sets out actions under the strategic objective 2.2, to develop an agile resource allocation model to support all 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.