314. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Education and Youth To provide an update on the ongoing review and data re-evaluation of the DEIS Plus identification model; how she will address the concerns of school principals regarding the fairness and transparency of the data inputs used, specifically the reliance on the HP Deprivation Index. [67106/26]

Addressing educational disadvantage and ensuring that every child and young person can reach their full potential is a key priority for the Minister for Education and Youth and for the Government. The DEIS Plus scheme, launched as part of the DEIS Strategy to 2035, represents the most significant expansion of targeted supports since the establishment of the DEIS programme.

DEIS Plus provides enhanced, evidence-based supports to schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage. Schools were identified through a nationally consistent, data-based model that draws on a range of indicators associated with persistent and intergenerational disadvantage.

The DEIS Plus identification model was developed and refined as part of the introduction of the scheme, drawing on the most up-to-date data available and an assessment of indicators of concentrated and persistent disadvantage over a three-year period. The model was designed to provide a nationally consistent and evidence-based approach to identifying schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage.

Schools have been identified for inclusion in the DEIS Plus scheme using the DEIS Plus identification model, an objective and data-based approach that uses nationally available indicators applied consistently across all schools. The identification model is underpinned by a range of administrative data on every child and young person enrolled in primary and post-primary school. This data includes:

• The Pobal HP Deprivation Index for the small area in which the child or young person lives, obtained through the child’s or young person’s address data provided by their school on the DEY Primary Online Database (POD) or the Post-Primary Online Database (PPOD).

• The child’s or young person’s ethnicity, if provided by their school on POD or PPOD.

• If the child’s or young person’s address on POD or PPOD matches an address of State-funded homeless accommodation.

• If the child’s or young person’s address on POD or PPOD matches an address of an International Protection Accommodation Centre (IPAS) or Emergency Reception and Orientation Centre (EROC).

While the Pobal HP Deprivation Index is an important component of the DEIS Plus identification model, it is not used in isolation. The model draws on a broader range of indicators to provide a more comprehensive assessment of the concentration of educational disadvantage within individual school communities.

The DEIS Plus identification model includes the addition of a DEIS Plus index. The DEIS Plus index was developed by the department’s statistics unit to support the identification of schools for DEIS Plus. The DEIS Plus index uses the same factors as the Pobal HP Deprivation Index but places greater weight on lone parenthood and unemployment, which have been widely identified as key factors in persistent and intergenerational disadvantage.

Children and young people from ‘very disadvantaged’ or ‘extremely disadvantaged’ areas (HP score -20 under either the Pobal HP Deprivation Index or the DEIS Plus index), residing in State-funded emergency accommodation, residing in IPAS or EROC accommodation, or identifying as Traveller or Roma are designated priority cohorts within the model.

The department recognises the concerns raised by school principals regarding the identification of schools for inclusion in DEIS Plus, including the extent to which the data inputs reflect the levels of disadvantage experienced within their school communities. The identification model was developed to ensure that schools are assessed on a fair and consistent basis, using a range of nationally available data to identify those with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage.

Following an assessment of the past three years’ data, only those schools identified as having the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage have been included in the scheme. If a school has not been identified for inclusion, this does not imply there is no disadvantage in the school community. While many schools experience significant need, not all will meet the statistical threshold for inclusion at this stage. Schools will continue to be supported through the range of additional resources provided through the DEIS programme.

Following the conclusion of the identification and appeals processes, 129 schools were identified for inclusion in the DEIS Plus scheme.

The department is currently working with colleagues in the Central Statistics Office and across other government departments, to examine whether other administrative data sources can be factored into future iterations of the model to improve how we can resource schools in a targeted way to support children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage.

Further information on the DEIS Plus scheme, including the DEIS Plus Identification Model Technical Paper, is available at www.gov.ie/DEIS. A supplementary methodology paper setting out further detail on the DEIS Plus identification model is scheduled for publication in October. The supplementary methodology paper will provide further information on the approach underpinning the identification model, including the data inputs and methodology used to identify schools for inclusion in the scheme.