This chapter is about the governance of the DEIS programme and additional supports provided to students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland. It analyses Ireland’s educational goals for equity and inclusion, the curriculum, the regulatory framework, the responsibilities for the DEIS programme and additional supports, and stakeholder consultation. The country has developed a widely accepted and highly regarded DEIS programme. It also grants considerable importance to stakeholder engagement and the Inspectorate. However, challenges remain in regard to the integration of services across departments and the sharing of good practices in the system and among schools. The chapter provides recommendations to overcome these challenges and strengthen the governance of the DEIS programme and additional supports.
OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland
2. Governance of policies to address educational disadvantage
Abstract
Context and features
Equity and inclusion in educational goals
Equity and inclusion feature prominently in Ireland’s educational goals, in terms of international, European and national commitments.
International goals
The Department of Education (DoE) in Ireland is committed to delivering to the United Nations’ (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and in particular on SDG 4 – Quality Education (United Nations, n.d.[1]). The target under SDG 4.5 is to eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations by 2030 (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Under the SDG National Implementation Plan, a range of Government and DoE strategies deliver on SDG 4.5 including the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021, Delivering Equality of Opportunity In Schools (DEIS) Plan and the National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development.
The SDG National Implementation Plan specifies which departments in Ireland and which strategies are responsible for the implementation of the SDGs. In education, the focus lies on improving the learning experience and success of learners (including those at risk of educational disadvantage). It is the responsibility of the DoE to deliver the Forbairt 2024 Annual Statement of Priorities, the DEIS Plan and the National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development in Ireland (Government of Ireland, n.d.[3]).
The Annual Statement of Priorities provides a roadmap to the delivery of the strategic and operational priorities set out in our Statement of Strategy 2023-2025 (discussed further below) (Government of Ireland, 2024[4]). This serves the DoE in managing the pace and sequence of change towards longer term strategic goals and to enable the Department to demonstrate ongoing change and reform in the sector and report progress.
Furthermore, Ireland reports on progress to the UN Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
European Union goals
At the European Union (EU) level, there are several strategies and rights that Ireland adheres to. The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee are major policy initiatives put forward by the European Commission to better protect all children, to help them fulfil their rights and to place them right at the centre of EU policy making.
The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child focuses on ensuring that every child in Europe and across the world should enjoy the same rights and live free from discrimination and intimidation of any kind (European Commission, 2021[5]). The strategy incorporates six thematic areas:
Child participation in political and democratic life;
Socio-economic inclusion, health and education;
Combating violence against children and ensuring child protection;
Child-friendly justice;
Digital and information society; and
The global dimension.
The European Child Guarantee aims to break the cycle of disadvantage and poverty across generations. It provides guidance and means for member states to support children in need, i.e. persons under the age of 18 at risk of poverty or social exclusion (European Commission, 2021[5]). Member states need to guarantee free and effective access for children in need of early childhood education and care (ECEC), education and school-based activities, at least one healthy meal each school day, and effective access for children in need to healthy nutrition and adequate housing (European Commission, 2021[6]).
This provides Ireland with an opportunity to re-focus and, where necessary, re-evaluate its approach in tackling child poverty and promoting children’s well-being as outlined in The EU Child Guarantee - Ireland’s National Action Plan (Government of Ireland, n.d.[7]). The objective of the Guarantee is to prevent and combat social exclusion by guaranteeing access for children who are in need of a range of key services and as such forms a subset to the wider issues revolving around child poverty (Department of Education, 2024[2]). Ireland already provides free school books, free hot meals and a free early childhood care and education scheme (Government of Ireland, 2023[8]).
National goals
In January 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva expressed admiration for how Ireland had received children fleeing Ukraine. In the Concluding Observations, the Committee recognised the positive steps taken by the state since Ireland’s last review in 2016. In particular, they welcomed the progress made with the commencement of the Children First Act (Office of the Attorney General, 2015[9]), Children and Family Relationships Act (Office of the Attorney General, 2015[10]), the Sign Language Act (Office of the Attorney General, 2017[11]) and the adoption of a number of other strategies.
Section H of the Concluding observations on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Ireland refers to the Irish education system (United Nations, 2023[12]). The Committee welcomed the measures to guarantee the right to education for children, including the free education scheme and increased funding under the 2023 budget. The 2024 budget announced further increases back to pre-2011 rates of capitation grants (Government of Ireland, 2023[8]).
However, the Committee recommended that Ireland strengthens measures for ensuring the equal access of children in disadvantaged groups, including Traveller and Roma children, asylum-seeking, refugee and immigrant children, children with disabilities and socio‑economically disadvantaged children, to quality education. The main concerns raised by the Committee were in relation to (United Nations, 2023[12]):
The persistent barriers faced by children in disadvantaged situations to accessing quality education;
The discriminatory effect of the school-leaving certificate and alternative methods of certification on children in disadvantaged situations;
The lack of education-related data, disaggregated by ethnic origin, socio‑economic background and residence status, to assess the impact of educational policies on such children;
The establishment of special classes for children with disabilities; and
Racist and negative stereotyping of migrant and ethnic minority communities in curricula that perpetuate discrimination against such groups of children.
The Committee went on to make a number of recommendations to address these issues, including (United Nations, 2023, pp. 12-13[12]):
Strengthen measures for ensuring the equal access of children in disadvantaged groups, including Traveller and Roma children, asylum-seeking, refugee and immigrant children, children with disabilities and socio-economically disadvantaged children to quality education;
Collect and analyse data disaggregated by ethnic origin, socio-economic background and residence status on attendance and completion rates, educational outcomes, use of reduced timetables and participation in afterschool activities;
Ensure inclusive education in early childhood education and mainstream schools for all children with disabilities by adapting curricular and training and assigning specialised teachers and professionals in integrated classes;
Implement targeted measures to improve the educational outcomes of Traveller and Roma children at all levels of education, in particular at secondary level, develop the national Traveller education strategy and ensure that such measures are adequately resources and independently evaluated;
Ensure that parents of refugee children have information on how to register their children in school and that such children have access to quality multilingual and intercultural education;
Ensure the effective implementation of the guidelines on the use of reduced timetables and develop measures to address their overuse, with a view to preventing their disproportionate use on Traveller and Roma children and children with disabilities;
Reform the leaving certificate and alternative methods of certification, based on an analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s access to education, including remote learning, with a view to addressing inequalities and improving educational outcomes for children in disadvantaged situations; and
Explicitly prohibit the use of restraint and seclusion in educational settings;
Adopt the Traveller culture and history in education bill and establish an expert advisory group within the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment to eliminate racist and negative stereotyping of ethnic minority groups in textbooks and curricula and develop educative materials that promote intercultural dialogue and foster respect for and appreciation of racial, cultural, gender and other diversities.
Ireland has a number of strategies targeting specific groups of students or specific themes. For example, the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 is a whole of government strategy aimed at improving the lives of the Traveller and Roma communities in Ireland. As part of the strategy, all relevant departments and agencies are to promote access to the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme (see Chapter 1) for every child within the Traveller and Roma communities, including children with a disability. In addition, good practice initiatives to support parental engagement and children’s participation in education are to be implemented (Department of Education, 2022[13]). It is composed of several thematic areas, including cultural identity, education, employment, children, health, gender equality, anti-discrimination, accommodation etc. In education, it focuses on improving access, participation and outcomes for Traveller and Roma students to achieve outcomes equal to those of the majority population, creating a positive culture of respect and protection for the cultural identity of Traveller and Roma students across the education system, and improving opportunities for Traveller and Roma men to engage in culturally appropriate apprenticeships, training and lifelong learning (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, 2021[14]). The DoE is currently developing a new Traveller and Roma Education Strategy (Department of Education, 2024[15]). Another important strategy is the DEIS Plan 2017 which sets out the DoE vision for education in regard to communities at risk of disadvantage and social exclusion (Department of Education, 2023[16]) (see Chapter 1 for more details).
The second National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development to 2030 promotes and supports the development of the requisite skills, knowledge and attitudes that help everyone to take action for a sustainable future and planet. The Strategy spans the continuum of education in Ireland, from ECCE to third level education and research, and extends beyond to engage with local communities and youth groups through lifelong learning. It sets out five key priority areas for action over the coming years (Department of Education, 2022[17]):
Advancing policy;
Transforming learning environments;
Building capacities of educators;
Empowering and mobilising young people; and
Accelerating local level actions.
The Strategy is a cross-government effort between the Department of Education; the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; and the Department for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Department of Education, 2022[17]).
Other strategies include the Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice, Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying and the Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027. More specifically, the DoE Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice 2019 (Government of Ireland, 2019[18]) provides a blueprint for its vision that the experience of children and young people, through their lifetime in the education system, will be one that enhances, promotes, values and nurtures their wellbeing.
The vision and ambition of the DoE in relation to Wellbeing Promotion sets out to ensure that by 2023:
The promotion of wellbeing will be at the core of the ethos of every school and centre for education;
All schools and centres for education will provide evidence-informed approaches and support, appropriate to need, to promote the wellbeing of all their children and young people; and
Ireland will be recognised as a leader in this area.
To implement this policy every school and centre for education is required to use the School Self‑Evaluation (SSE) process to initiate a well-being promotion review and development cycle (Government of Ireland, 2019[18]).
The Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying has drawn on the Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice 2019, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisations (UNESCO) Whole Education Approach, as well as national and international research and best practice to develop a robust strategy that places the student at the centre of the school community and at the centre of national education strategy and policy development (Department of Education, 2022[19]). The DoE vision is to provide an education system where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential. The vision is centred on an Action Plan on Bullying that is aimed to be practical, inclusive and contains a broad range of actions which help everyone to work together towards a diverse, inclusive Irish society free from bullying in all its forms and where individual difference is valued and celebrated (Department of Education, 2022[19]).
Cineáltas is dedicated to the prevention and addressing of bullying, cyber bullying, racist bullying, gender identity bullying and sexual harassment, among other areas, in schools. It is centred on a child right’s‑based approach and provides a collective vision and clear roadmap for how the whole education community and society can work together to prevent and address bullying in our schools. The implementation plan for Cineáltas was published in April 2023 and commits to implementing each of the 61 actions contained in Cineáltas within a five-year period (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Cineáltas is rooted in the following four key principles (Department of Education, 2022[19]):
Prevention: Through the generation of empathy and the provision of training which provides a foundation for knowledge, respect, equality and inclusion;
Support: Tangible and targeted supports based on a continuum of needs which provide a framework for school communities to work together;
Oversight: Visible leadership creates positive environments for children and young people and all members of our school community; and
Community: Building inclusive school communities that are connected to society, and that support and nurture positive relationships and partnerships.
Several actions in Cineáltas seek to strengthen the participation of children and young people at school level and at a national level. For example, the Student Participation Unit was established in the DoE in April 2023. The unit promotes the participation of children and young people into the development and implementation of department policy. An expert group, which includes student representation, has been established to advise the department on how best the department can progress its work on student participation. Professor Laura Lundy, Professor of Education Law and Children’s Rights at Queen’s University who developed the Lundy Model of children’s participation is chair of this expert group. Cineáltas also contains a commitment to support the establishment of student councils in primary and post-primary schools that are representative of the pupils and students in the school.
Another important strategy is the Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 which aims to support the school system to ensure that all learners have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills they need to successfully navigate an ever-evolving digital world. The strategy has been developed following a wide ranging and extensive consultation process and sets out high level objectives under three key pillars (Department of Education, 2022[20]):
Pillar 1: Supporting the embedding of digital technologies in teaching, learning and assessment;
Pillar 2: Digital Technology Infrastructure; and
Pillar 3: Looking to the future: policy, research and digital leadership.
The DoE supports those schools with the highest concentrations of learners at risk of educational disadvantage through the DEIS programme and these schools receive an enhanced allocation under the information and communications technology (ICT) grant (Department of Education, 2022[20]).
Curriculum
The curriculum is determined by the Minister for Education who is advised by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2023[21]). The curriculum sets out not only what is to be taught, but how learning in the particular subject areas is to be assessed. It is the board of management (see Responsibilities at level of primary and post-primary schools), in consultation with the principal and staff of each individual post-primary school that decides the range of subjects to be offered in the school each year. In primary schools, the full primary curriculum should be available and there is no choice of subjects. Provision of subjects and programmes in a given year may be limited by factors such as available teaching personnel, range of subjects to be offered, and overall demand for the subject or programme (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
The curriculum at primary and post-primary levels is aimed at learners from all backgrounds regardless of gender, socio-economic background, ethnicity or creed. It aims to foster inclusivity where equality and diversity are promoted (Department of Education, 2024[2]). The primary curriculum aims to provide a broad learning experience and encourages a rich variety of approaches to teaching and learning that cater for the different needs of children (Curriculum online, n.d.[22]). It is designed to nurture children in all dimensions of their lives – spiritual, moral, cognitive, emotional, imaginative, aesthetic, social and physical (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Community colleges, community schools, voluntary secondary schools, comprehensive schools and vocational schools are funded by the DoE and deliver the post-primary curriculum determined by the minister for education, supported by syllabuses, specifications, guidelines for teachers, circulars to schools and prescribed material for the examinations. Post-primary education consists of a three-year Junior Cycle, followed by a two- or three-year Senior Cycle, depending on whether the optional Transition Year is taken (Department of Education, 2024[2]). More information on the different cycles is provided in Chapter 1.
The Social Personal Health Education curriculum includes a mandatory element on well-being in all primary and post-primary schools. At post-primary schools, for instance, students commencing Junior Cycle undertake the area of learning Wellbeing. The well-being element includes areas such as Physical Education;, Civic, Social and Political Education; Social, Personal and Health Education (including Relationships and Sexuality Education); and Guidance Counselling (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Regulatory framework for equity and inclusion
The Education Act of 1998 establishes the responsibility of the Minister for Education to ensure ”that there is made available to each person resident in the State, including a person with a disability or who has other special educational needs, support services and a level and quality of education appropriate to meeting the needs and abilities of that person” (Government of Ireland, 1998[23]). Section 32 of the Act defines educational disadvantage as “the impediments to education arising from social or economic disadvantage which prevent students from deriving appropriate benefit from education in schools” (ibid.). There are a number of recent statements of strategy and acts on education.
The Department of Education Statement of Strategy 2023-2025
The DoE Statement of Strategy 2023-2025 identifies the following strategic goals (Department of Education, 2023[24]):
Goal 1: Enable the provision of high-quality education and improve the learning experience to meet the needs of all children and young people, in schools and early learning and care settings.
Goal 2: Ensure equity of opportunity in education and that all children and young people are supported to fulfil their potential.
Goal 3: Together with our partners, provide strategic leadership and support for the delivery of the right systems and infrastructure for the sector.
Goal 4: Organisational excellence and innovation.
The Statement of Strategy lists a number of Strategic Actions directed at the achievement of Goal 2 above including (Department of Education, 2023[25]):
Support the mental health and well-being of children and young people through implementation of the Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice and Cineáltas: Action Plan for Bullying ensuring, among other needs, that well-being supports recognise the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people.
Support the participation and progression of children and young people with special educational needs, in particular the Department of Education working together with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and the Health Service Executive (HSE), collaborating in the planning, design and delivery of an integrated suite of education supports for schools and their children and young people.
Continue to provide for a continuum of education covering the full range of need spanning mainstream classes, through to more specialist placements in a special class or a special school.
Help children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage to access appropriate education resources which reflect their diverse needs, including supports provided by the Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) and a responsive inspection programme.
Ensure policy in the area of special education is fully up to date following the review of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act.
Through the DEIS programme and supporting students at risk of educational disadvantage across primary and post-primary schools, reduce the retention and achievement gap between schools in the DEIS programme and non-DEIS schools.
Review of Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004
In December 2021, a review of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 was announced (Office of Attorney General, 2004[26]), which provides for the education of children aged under 18 years with Special Educational Needs.
The purpose of the review is to ensure that legislation on education for students with special educational needs is up-to-date, fully operational, and reflective of the lived experiences of students and families. This includes those sections of the Act relating to individual education plans. Open collaboration and consultation are at the heart of the review and all stakeholders are being invited to engage with the process.
The review process includes extensive stakeholder engagement, including parents, educators, advocacy groups and experts in special education. Online surveys, launched in November 2022, garnered over 28 000 responses, with a further 4 000 open submissions and qualitative analysis of open submissions is underway. A variety of focus group methods are being employed, including mixed focus groups, mosaic‑style engagement with children with special educational needs, and discussions with young adults who have experienced the special educational need model of education. Focus groups commenced in February 2024. Various methods of focus groups have been used in this review including a beacons style approach for adult stakeholders where all are present and discuss a given topic with equal say in the discussion and a mosaic style approach for children with special educational needs where children of all abilities were invited to engage and supported to give their views. An easy access survey will be made available shortly. This accessible online consultation platform is designed to accommodate individuals who may face challenges with traditional survey methods. The review involves an academic assessment and considers legal cases and international comparators. The review is due to be finalised in Q3 2024 (Government of Ireland, Forthcoming 2024[27]).
New Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Act 2022
The new Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Act was signed into law in 2022 (Office of the Attorney General, 2022[28]). The amendment to Section 67 of the Education Act 1998 provides for the NCSE to designate a school place for a student with special educational needs. This measure should be of particular benefit by increasing the level of support to parents seeking a school place for a child with special educational needs. The provisions allowing for a school to appeal a decision to designate to an appeals committee and the provision allowing a parent to appeal a decision not to designate to an appeals committee have been removed.
Responsibilities for DEIS programme and students at risk of educational disadvantage at national level
Ireland has a largely centralised system of education supported by significant local control in terms of school ownership, trusteeship and management. The DoE is responsible for the formulation and review of educational policies, the allocation of resources in terms of funding and provision for human resources to schools, as well as the administration and the assurance of quality in education. The DoE works in partnership with trustees, school boards of management and other bodies that support effective governance of schools. It is responsible for the DEIS programme and for additional supports for students at risk of educational disadvantage.
Department of Education
The DoE was established under the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924 (Office of the Attorney General, n.d.[29]). The aim of the Department is to ensure the provision of a comprehensive, cost‑effective and accessible education system of the highest quality as measured by international standards. The Minister for Education, who is a member of the Government and responsible to Dáil Éireann (Irish Parliament), has specific responsibility for education policy issues. At the DoE, the Minister is assisted by the a Minister of State at the Department of Education with special responsibility for Special Education and Inclusion, and by a Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and the Department of Education with special responsibility for Sport and Physical Education (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
At the head of the DoE is the Secretary General, who acts as Chief Executive Officer. The Secretary General has overall responsibility for implementing and monitoring policy and delivering outputs, and for providing policy advice to the Minister and Government. In managing the Department, the Secretary General is assisted by the Management Board representing the most senior officials in the Department.
The Education Act 1998 ensures formal provision for the education “of every person in the State, including any person with a disability or who has other special educational needs” (Government of Ireland, 1998[23]). Under the Education Act 1998 all schools are managed by the school board of management except in the case of schools which are managed by the local Education and Training Board (ETB) (see section below on Responsibilities at level of primary and post-primary schools). The Minister sets the terms and conditions of employment of teachers, controls allocation numbers and regulates a whole range of areas that impact on day-to-day school management. The Education Act 1998 provides a statutory framework for the Irish education system at primary and post-primary levels. The Act sets out the broad objectives and principles underpinning the education system and provides for the rights of children and others to education. It sets out the functions and responsibilities of all key partners in the education system, seeks the establishment of boards of management for all recognised schools, and lays down accountability procedures. The Act also clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the Minister, school patrons, boards of management, principals and teachers.
All recognised schools operate under provisions of the Education Act 1998, other relevant legislation, circulars of the DoE, the Governance Manual for Primary Schools (Department of Education, 2019[30]) and the Rules and Programme for Secondary schools (Government of Ireland, 2004[31]).
The DoE is responsible for the formulation and review of educational policies, the allocation of resources in terms of funding and teachers to schools, as well as the administration and the assurance of quality in education. The DoE mission is to facilitate children and young people, through learning, to achieve their full potential and contribute to Ireland’s social, economic and cultural development (Department of Education, 2024[2])
Units and sections within the Department of Education
Within the DoE, several units and sections play an important role in the DEIS programme and additional supports provided to students at risk of educational disadvantage, as listed below (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
The Social Inclusion Unit is responsible for developing and promoting a coordinated department response to tackling educational disadvantage (Department of Education, 2023[32]). It takes care of:
The DEIS programme that sets out the department’s vision for education to become a proven pathway to better opportunities for those in communities at risk of disadvantage and social exclusion;
Traveller and Roma education policy;
High Support Special Schools, Youth Encounter Projects and Children Detention Schools;
Integration – migrant policy;
Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL);
Out-of-school education provision;
School Completion Programme (SCP);
Free School Books Schemes; and
DoE oversight of Tusla Education Support Service.
Social Inclusion Unit also has responsibility for Early Start Programme. This is a preschool project to meet the needs of children, aged between three and five, who are at risk of not reaching their potential in school. The project involves enhancing the child's overall development, helping to prevent school failure and reducing the effects of social disadvantage. The Early Start Programme encourages parents or guardians to get involved as much as possible (Department of Education, 2022[33])
Another relevant project is the Rutland Street Pre-School Project (Holy Child Pre-school) which is a two‑year pre-primary programme catering for 3-5 year-olds. Although not part of Early Start, it was used to pilot many of the approaches later incorporated in the Early Start project (Department of Education, 2021[34]).
Early Years Unit in the DoE aims to ensure that education policy developments in the early childhood sector are developed within an overall strategic policy framework for children.
Special Education Section of the DoE is responsible for the development of educational policy for children with special educational needs and the development of comprehensive, efficient and effective education services for these children.
Curriculum and Assessment Policy Unit is responsible for the support of the development of overall policy relating to assessment, curricula and guidance particularly for the primary and the post‑primary sectors.
School Transport Section of the Department determines policy relating to school transport and administers the School Transport Schemes.
Central Policy Unit is responsible for leading on policy development across a range of areas including higher education policy, further education and training policy, skills development policy, research policy, international education policy and legislation.
International Co-operation Unit manages the Department’s engagement with international partners, including the EU, Council of Europe, OECD and UNESCO, to enhance international policy co-operation in education and training. It also has responsibility for policy development and coordination in the promotion of Ireland as a centre for international education.
Parents and Learners Unit has responsibility for oversight of child protection, for supporting the implementation of Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying and for the Student Participation Unit whose remit is to promote the participation of children and young people into the development of department policy.
Finance Unit provides a financial framework and control system for the Department in accordance with government financial and statutory requirements.
Planning and Building Unit is responsible for identifying the need for school accommodation, setting out the technical specifications for educational buildings, ensuring that standards are maintained and prioritising the allocation of resources.
Teacher Allocation Unit allocates staffing resources to primary, post-primary, community and comprehensive schools and ETBs in accordance with departmental and government policy.
North/South Co-operation Section co-ordinates and develops co-operation and common action in education between both parts of the island of Ireland and with relevant institutions in the United States and EU, in the context of the Good Friday Agreement.
School Governance Section supports the effective governance, management and operation of schools by providing guidance, information and direction to schools and ETBs on governance and policy issues that impact on the day-to-day management of schools.
Teacher Education Section reflects the Department's view of teacher education as a continuum from initial teacher education to induction and continuing professional learning. It promotes the quality of teaching and learning through the provision of quality teacher training programmes, continuing professional learning and support for principals and teachers.
Gaeltacht Education Unit is responsible for implementing the Policy on Gaeltacht Education 2017-2022, which aims to improve the quality of Irish-medium education in Gaeltacht schools and early-years settings.
The Inspectorate
The Inspectorate is the division of the DoE responsible for the evaluation of primary and post-primary schools and centres for education. The Inspectorate also supports the monitoring of quality in Early Learning and Care settings in collaboration with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY). Inspectors provide advice on a range of educational issues to school communities, policy makers in the department and to the wider educational system (Department of Education, 2023[35]).
The Inspectorate:
Provides an assurance of quality and public accountability in the education system;
Carries out inspections in schools, centres for education, early learning and care settings providing state-funded ECCE programme;
Conducts thematic evaluations focused on specific aspects of provision;
Promotes best practice and school improvement by advising teachers, principals and boards of management in schools;
Publishes inspection reports on individual schools and centres for education as well as composite reports arising from a series of inspections focused on particular themes (such as DEIS, provision of English as an additional language);
Reports on curriculum provision, teaching, learning and assessment generally in the educational system;
Promotes the Irish language; and
Provides advice to policy makers in the DoE and to the wider educational system.
National Educational Psychological Service
The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) is a division of the DoE that provides an 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 NEPS Model of Service is a consultative, capacity-building model, in which there is a balance between casework and work of a more preventative or developmental nature, which is referred to as Support and Development work, and includes general consultation for teachers. The service provides access for all schools to:
Psychological support in the event of a Critical Incident;
A Casework Service for individual children where there is a need for intensive consultation and assessment via a NEPS psychologist or through the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments;
A school staff Support and Development Service, to build school capability to provide a comprehensive continuum of support in schools; and
Ongoing access to advice and support for schools.
NEPS psychologists are assigned schools based on a weighting process which takes into account school size, DEIS status, gender mix and geographical spread and equating roughly to a 4 500:1 student to psychologist ratio. Depending on demographics, the number of schools an individual psychologist may be allocated can be within a range of 10 to 35. DEIS schools receive priority access to the support of the NEPS (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Department of Education bodies
Several agencies, councils and commissions are also involved in supporting students at risk of educational disadvantage.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) was set up as an agency of the DoE to improve the delivery of education services to persons with special educational needs arising from disabilities with particular emphasis on children. The Council was first established as an independent statutory body in 2003. The NCSE has responsibility for the delivery of education services to children and young people with special educational needs. In fulfilling this responsibility, the NCSE supports primary and post-primary schools in establishing special classes for children and young people with special educational needs, typically autism (Department of Education, 2024[2]; National Council for Special Education, n.d.[36]).
Tusla Education Support Service (TESS), an agency of the DoE, is comprised of three service strands which provide support to students and families at risk of experiencing educational disadvantage. These strands are:
Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Scheme, which engages with parents and caregivers of students in DEIS schools, with a particular focus on engaging with the parents of children and young persons identified as at risk of early leaving from education and training, Traveller, Roma and immigrant families. TESS has responsibility for setting the work plan of the HSCL Coordinator and provision of an extensive suite of continuous professional development to support the HSCL Coordinators in their work. The principal of the HSCL base school is the manager.
School Completion Programme (SCP) is a programme of support to children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage. TESS has responsibility for the allocation of annualised funding to the SCP and for the provision of an extensive suite of continuous professional development to support the SCP staff with practice and operations at frontline level.
Educational Welfare Service (EWS) is the statutory service, operating under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, which works with children, young people and families experiencing difficulties with school attendance (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Tusla Alternative Education Assessment and Registration Services (AEARS), an agency of the DoE, is responsible for regulating the provision of education to children who are educated in places outside of a recognised school. Parents have a statutory obligation to apply to Tusla to register their child as being educated outside of a recognised school. Tusla AEARS function is to carry out an assessment of the educational provision for children, in order to determine if a child can be placed on the statutory register of children educated outside of a recognised school (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
The Educational Research Centre (ERC) is an agency of the DoE and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in research, assessment and evaluation in education. The ERC carries out research at all levels of the education system. Research is undertaken on behalf of the DoE, at the request of other agencies and on the initiative of the ERC itself and its staff (Department of Education, 2024[2]; ERC, 2023[37]).
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) is a statutory agency of the DoE. The NCCA advises the Minister for Education on curriculum and assessment for early childhood education, primary and post-primary schools and assessment procedures used in schools and examinations on subjects which are part of the curriculum (Department of Education, 2024[2]). The members of the Council represent the partners in education, industry and trade union interests, parents’ organisations and other educational interests. The Council also includes one nominee each of the Minister for Education and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2023[21]).
The Teaching Council is a body of the DoE established as a Statutory body under the Teaching Council Act. It operates as an independent regulatory body for the teaching profession, and promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. The Teaching Council acts in the interests of the public good while upholding and enhancing standards in the teaching profession. It promotes and supports the highest standards in teachers’ professionalism and teacher education through effective policies, regulation and research (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Additional education bodies
Education and Training Boards are statutory education authorities with responsibility for education and training, youth work and a range of other statutory functions. There are 16 regional Education and Training Boards who manage and operate a number of community national schools, post-primary schools, further education schools, further education (FE) colleges, and a range of adult and further education centres delivering education and training programmes (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
The State Examinations Commission was established as a statutory agency of the DoE and assumed responsibility for the operation of the State Certificate Examinations from 2003 onwards. The State Examinations Commission is responsible for the development, assessment, accreditation and certification of the second-level examinations of the Irish state: Junior Cycle and the Leaving Certificate (Department of Education, 2024[2]; State Examinations Commission, 2023[38]).
Other relevant departments
Besides the DoE, other departments are also directly or indirectly involved with DEIS schools and supports provided to children at risk of educational disadvantage.
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) has overall policy responsibility for Early Learning and Care. The DCEDIY is responsible, in the main, for pre-primary education and care while the DoE provides limited specialist pre-school provision related to socio‑economic disadvantage including the Early Start Programme (Department of Education, 2022[33]) and the Rutland Street Pre-School Project (Department of Education, 2021[34]). In May 2024, the DCEDIY announced the introduction of an Equal Start Programme, which is a major new model of government‑funded supports to ensure children experiencing disadvantage can access and meaningfully participate in early learning and childcare (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, 2024[39]).
Department of Social Protection
The Department of Social Protection’s (DSP) mission is to promote active participation and inclusion in society through the provision of income supports, employment services and other services. One of its main functions is to advise government and formulate appropriate social protection and social inclusion policies (Department of Social Protection, n.d.[40]).
The DSP provides funding for the school meals programme to all DEIS schools. The School Meals Scheme is under the remit of the Department of Social Protection and provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1 600 schools and organisations benefitting 260 000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them (Department of Social Protection, 2023[41]). The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. This scheme will be extended to a further 900 primary schools from 2024 (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) was created in August 2020 as part of the reorganisation of governmental departments under the 32nd Government of Ireland under Taoiseach Micheál Martin. The new department was created to ensure that people are equipped with the skills needed to adapt to living and working sustainably in an increasingly global, digital and automated world.
The DFHERIS funds and creates policy for the higher and further education and research sectors. It also oversees the work of the state agencies and public institutions operating in these areas. The department has many policies and strategies to support access to further and higher education for diverse groups of students, including Traveller and Roma students, and immigrant students. One of the main goals of the Statement of Strategy 2023-2025 is to support inclusion. More specifically, it “strives to ensure that learners all across the tertiary system are enabled to access the supports they require, in particular to meet the needs of vulnerable learners, people with disabilities and those from a background of disadvantage so as to promote widespread engagement with the education and skills systems and in turn contribute to individual, community and national growth and prosperity” (Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, 2023[42]).
Department of the Taoiseach
The Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) incorporates the Child Poverty and Well-Being Programme Office which was established by the-then Taoiseach in spring 2023 to co-ordinate government actions that reduce child poverty and foster children’s well-being (Government of Ireland, 2023[43]) (see more on the Programme Office later in the chapter).
Department of Health
The Department of Health and the Health Service Executive provide a range of services to school-age children and their families which have an important impact on school attendance, participation and progression. Services to support oral language and other therapeutic services can significantly improve engagement with education and positive outcomes for children in need of these additional services, particularly where these are made available at pre-school age. Mental health services are also identified as an important support, particularly for post‑primary-aged students. While these are universal services, they are especially important to children at higher risk of educational disadvantage, particularly when they are attending schools with the highest levels of complexity of need (Department of Education, 2021[44]).
There are several other government departments and agencies who, while not allocating resources directly to schools in the DEIS programme, provide supports and policies aimed at supporting children and young people experiencing disadvantage. These departments and agencies include the Department of Rural and Community Development; Pobal; Department of Housing, Local government and Heritage; Department of Justice; and the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. Others include the Central Statistics Office, the Ombudsman for Children and the International Protection Accommodation Service.
Responsibilities at level of primary and post-primary schools
While the DoE sets out the rules of procedures for recognised schools, it is not directly involved in the management of schools. The governance structure of schools is such that, in accordance with the Education Act 1998, all schools have a patron which sets the ethos for the school. Schools have a board of management appointed by the patron to manage the school. The patron of a school does not have a direct role in the day-to-day management of the school which in most schools is a matter for the board of management. The functions of a board of management are set out in the Education Act 1998 (Department of Education, 2024[2]). Most children attend state-funded schools which are owned and managed by private organisations (mainly church authorities and religious organisations at the primary level, with greater diversity at the secondary level (OECD, 2020[45]), see also Chapter 1).
In general, all schools have the same management structure, i.e. they have a patron, board of management and a principal. While the Minister for Education sets the policy direction for schools, responsibility for the school is vested in the school patron or trustee. The patron delegates responsibility for the running of the school to the board of management. The school’s board of management communicate with parents and teachers to ensure the smooth running of the school for the benefit of the children in the school (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Role of patrons/trustees
The patron is the body that establishes and operates the school and is responsible for the school’s characteristic spirit and ethos. Section 14 of the Education Act 1998 places a duty on the patron of a recognised school, for the purposes of ensuring that such a school is managed in a spirit of partnership, to appoint, where practicable, a board of management.
The school patron is the person/body recognised as such by the Minister for Education in accordance with section 8 of the Education Act 1998. A trustee or Trust can also be a patron. This is the preferred legal structure of some of the religious orders that up until recently were school patrons in their own right. For example, the Le Chéile Schools Trust is patron of the schools of 15 religious congregations. The trust conducts the legal and financial role that was previously performed by the individual congregations. Another example is the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, which is the trustee and patron of 96 schools, both primary and post-primary (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Trusteeship can also relate to the ownership of the school property as opposed to the running of the school operating from the property. Most Diocesan school properties are either owned on behalf of the Dioceses in the name of the Dioceses Bishop or Archbishop, or are in the ownership of a Diocesan Trust controlled by trustees appointed by the Catholic patron, including the local Bishop (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
In general, the trustees are the persons who are parties to the lease of the school premises and are normally nominated by the patron as trustees of the school. The trustees undertake that the buildings shall continue to be used as a school for the term of the lease and guarantee that the premises and contents are insured against fire and tempest. In the case of Catholic Schools, in most dioceses, the school property and enterprise are held by the Diocesan Trust. In a congregation owned school the trustees are those legally named as such by the religious congregation. In the case of Convent, Monastery schools and schools owned by a Trust, while the bishop is patron, ownership may rest with the Diocese, Congregation Trust or a Catholic Trust Body. In some schools there may not be any trustees e.g. in cases where the school premises is in the direct ownership of the school patron. Almost 90% of schools are under religious patronage, predominantly Roman Catholic (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Role of Education and Training Boards
Education and Training Boards (ETBs) are statutory education authorities with responsibility for education and training, youth work and a range of other statutory functions. They are regionally defined. ETBs manage and operate community national schools, post-primary schools, FE colleges, and a range of adult and further education centres delivering education and training programmes (Department of Education, 2024[2]). The ETBs are established under, and governed according to, the Education and Training Boards Act 2013.
The ETB is the patron of the schools they manage for the purposes of the Education Act 1998. The ETB is the corporate entity and the employer of school staff. The ETB has ultimate responsibility for employment and financial matters. Each year, the ETB allocates a budget to the school and the board of management has a responsibility for how this budget allocation is spent and accounted for. The board of management is responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of policies and legislation as appropriate. There is on‑going support, advice, oversight and governance from the ETB through the Director of Schools, the Director of Organisation Support and Development, the Board, and The Audit and Risk and Finance Committees in the ETB (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Role of boards of management
Schools are managed locally by independent voluntary boards of management that have been established by the founding patron and are representative of teacher, parent, community and patron interests. Each school has its own board of management. Boards of management are typically comprised of members nominated by the patron of the school, parents of children attending the school, the principal and a member of the teaching staff, and community representatives (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
While the DoE sanctions teaching posts and pays teacher salaries, the board of management is the employer of teachers in a school. The board’s role as an employer includes responsibility for the recruitment and dismissal of teachers and other staff within the school, subject to relevant department circulars, employment legislation and sectoral agreements. The board of management manages the school on behalf of the patron and is accountable to the patron and the Minister. The board must uphold the characteristic spirit (ethos) of the school and is accountable to the patron for so doing. In the case of schools established or maintained by an ETB the relevant ETB is the employer. In the case of ETB schools, the role of employment and paymaster is combined under each ETB (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
The board of management must have regard to the efficient use of resources and accountability to students, their parents, the patron, staff and the community served by the school. Proper accounts and records of all monies received and expended must be kept and the board must ensure each year that the accounts are properly audited or certified. In addition, the board must make arrangements for the preparation of the school plan and ensure that it is regularly reviewed and updated.
Boards of management are supported through guidance documentation, advice, training and funding provided by the relevant management bodies and the DoE and also through the work of the principal who typically acts as secretary to the board at primary level.
The board of management decides the range of subjects to be offered in the school each year in consultation with the principal and staff. Provision of subjects and programmes in a given year may be limited by factors such as available teaching personnel, range of subjects to be offered and overall demand for the subject or programme (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
The agreed composition and procedures for the appointment of boards of primary schools are set out in the DoE publication the Governance Manual for Primary Schools 2023-2027. This publication is reviewed every four years, following consultation with the education partners, representing school management, parents and teachers, in advance of the appointment of new boards (Department of Education, 2024[2]) (Department of Education, 2023[46])
The Governance Manual for Primary Schools 2019-2023 indicates the composition of the board of management for schools having a recognised staff of more than one teacher as:
1. Two direct nominees of the patron.
2. Two parents elected from parents of children who are enrolled and have commenced attendance at the school (one being a mother, the other a father, elected by the general body of parents of children who are enrolled and have commenced attendance at the school).
3. The principal (or acting principal) of the school.
4. One other serving teacher on the staff of the school, elected by vote of the teaching staff which includes the principal.
5. Two extra members proposed by those nominees, described in 1 to 4 above.
There are three sectors at post-primary level and there are some differences in the composition of boards of management between the three sectors:
1. The boards of management of voluntary secondary schools are constituted and operate in accordance with the Articles of Management of such schools.
2. Boards of management of ETB schools are sub-committees of the ETB in accordance with the Education and Training Boards Act 2013.
3. Community and Comprehensive schools are managed and operated by boards of management of differing compositions appointed in accordance with the relevant Deed of Trust for such schools.
The members of the board must be appointed by the patron (except where the articles of management in the school provide otherwise). The board is accountable to the patron and must consult with the patron and keep them informed of board decisions (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Role of principals
The principal is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school, including providing guidance and direction to the teachers and other staff of the school and is accountable for that management. The principal provides leadership to the teachers, other staff and the students. The principal is also responsible for the creation, together with the school community, of a school environment which is supportive of learning among the students and which promotes the professional development of the teachers (Department of Education, 2024[2]). Principals, deputy principals and teachers are recruited through open competition under the procedures set out in “Circular 0044/2019 Recruitment/Promotion and Leadership For Registered Teachers In Recognised Primary Schools”, which are designed to provide fair and impartial procedures for the appointment to posts in recognised primary schools funded by monies provided by the Oireachtas (Parliament). A board of management is bound to apply these procedures to ensure openness and transparency in the process of appointment to posts in schools (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Stakeholder consultation
Ireland has a strong tradition and culture of partnership models and statutory stakeholder engagement in education policy making (OECD, 2023[47]). In line with the Government’s aim to prioritise citizen-centric innovation in the public service (OECD, 2020[48]), the DoE regularly engages, at the national level, with representatives of stakeholder bodies, such as the Teaching Council, teacher unions, parent organisations, student groups and councils on specific policy matters, and for shaping and implementing new policy initiatives and reforms. This well-established centralised approach ensures the representativeness of already identified players in the policy sphere, with structured opportunities to contribute to the dialogue and to the formulation of policy options (OECD, 2023[47]).
The Education Partners are the core groups and organisations with whom the DoE consults regarding policy changes or issues of equity and inclusion in primary or post-primary education, including on the DEIS programme. In general, Education Partners have the capacity to show that they have a critical mass to provide a service within the sector. For example, unions, as Education Partners, represent a sufficient number of staff to carry out discussions on behalf of their members (Department of Education, 2024[2]). The representatives from these groups may be consulted or brought together to discuss topics that are relevant to their areas of expertise (Department of Education, 2024[2]). A list of Education Partners is provided in Table 2.1 below.
Table 2.1. List of Education Partners
Source: Department of Education (2024[2]), OECD Review of resourcing schools to address educational disadvantage: Country Background Report Ireland.
The Primary Education Forum, introduced in 2018, supports the planning and sequencing of change in the primary school sector and exchanges information on the intent and impacts of the actions in the Action Plan for Education in order to look for synergies and opportunities for schools to streamline implementation and address workload issues. It facilitates the exchange of information between the DoE, agencies, teachers, principals and managers (Department of Education, 2023[49]; OECD, 2023[47]). The DEIS Advisory Group is made up of representatives from the Education Partners, relevant Government Departments, the ERC, Tusla and DoE officials. The main role of the group is to progress and provide advice on the implementation of the 108 actions in the 2017 DEIS Plan (Department of Education, 2023[50]):
To progress the implementation of DEIS Plan 2017.
To provide advice on the implementation of Actions under the Plan in particular:
Identify enablers and/or barriers to implementation;
Draw attention to difficulties that would be likely to impact implementation or timeline;
Seek explanations where implementation is delayed/likely to fail; and
Advise on potential solutions for failed/delayed implementation.
Other organisations, who are not Education Partners, may be involved in consultative processes. This may be where the DoE seeks an entity or entities to provide observations on a certain project or may have the expertise required for certain projects. The Social Inclusion Unit team is consulting with principals, teachers, parents and students. The team has also held consultations with HSCL and SCP Coordinators.
Furthermore, the Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying was developed following a wide ranging and extensive consultation process with children and young people, parents, school staff, Education Partners and the wider education community (Government of Ireland, 2024[51]).
Another example is the 2022 Review of Out-of-School Education Provision by the Social Inclusion Unit which included public consultations with key stakeholders, such as managers of out-of-school education settings, children and young people with experience of out-of-school education settings (Department of Education, 2022[52]). Public consultations also involved interested parties and stakeholders through a public request for written submissions, and a consultative workshop (ibid.).
Furthermore, in the past, consultation was used on the review of DEIS. More specifically, the DEIS Review Inter-Departmental Group operated in 2015-2016 with the aim to (Department of Education, 2017[53]):
Review reports from relevant departments and agencies on their current inputs to the DEIS School Support Programme in general, and in the context of evaluations and analysis of such programmes to date including proposals for new or amended inputs;
Work in tandem with other working groups involved in the review/assessment of measures to combat educational disadvantage and contribute strategic oversight in terms of the alignment of policy development, to ensure a whole-of government approach to supporting DEIS schools and the communities they serve;
Develop a framework for inter-departmental and inter-agency links with a view to ensuring greater cohesion and cross-sectoral co-operation for future delivery of initiatives catering to those at risk of educational disadvantage; and
Make recommendations to the DEIS Advisory Group on elements for inclusion in the new School Support Programme.
The consultation was made up of the DoE, the Department of Children, the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Health, and the Department of Housing (Department of Education, 2017[53]). Many of these departments are part of the DEIS Advisory Group.
Strengths
The Department of Education is committed to addressing educational disadvantage through the DEIS programme
Since the 1990s, policy to address educational disadvantage in Ireland has centred on the targeting of additional resources and supports towards schools serving disadvantaged populations. As mentioned previously, educational disadvantage is defined in the Education Act of 1998 as “the impediments to education arising from social or economic disadvantage which prevent students from deriving appropriate benefit from education in schools” (Government of Ireland, 1998[23]).
The DEIS programme was introduced in 2005 to bring together several earlier standalone schemes which addressed specific aspects of educational disadvantage. Examples include the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, the HSCL Scheme, the Breaking the Cycle scheme, back to school initiative, early school leavers initiative and Giving Children an even break (Weir and Archer, 2004[54]). The rationale for the DEIS approach is the existence of a “multiplier effect”, whereby students attending a school with a concentration of students from disadvantaged backgrounds have poorer academic outcomes, even taking account of individual social background (Smyth, McCoy and Kingston, 2015[55]).
Analysis of the DEIS programme has shown that since the programme has helped to close the gap in achievement between schools serving the highest levels of educational disadvantage and those serving populations with little or no disadvantage (Department of Education, 2024[2]). It has provided children who come to education at a disadvantage with an equitable opportunity to achieve their potential in education (Department of Education, 2024[2]). Studies have noted further benefits including improvements in attendance levels in DEIS Urban Band 1 schools, retention rates, literacy and numeracy levels, and planning for learning, among others (Smyth, McCoy and Kingston, 2015[55]; Department of Education, 2023[56]; ERC, n.d.[57]). The DEIS programme remains the roadmap for addressing educational disadvantage and currently includes 658 primary and 194 post-primary schools. For a more detailed discussion about the evaluation of the DEIS programme, please see Chapter 6.
The commitment to educational disadvantage and DEIS has continued over several decades. For example, the Programme for Government 2020, “Programme for Government – Our Shared Future”, sets out the main political priorities concerning the education system, including a commitment to supporting students with special educational needs and those at risk of educational disadvantage. It commits to the implementation of the revised DEIS programme (Government of Ireland, 2020[58]).
The OECD review team heard during the interviews and review visits that the DEIS programme is also widely accepted and supported by stakeholders. It is well regarded for providing support to students at risk of educational disadvantage and for having achieved considerable improvement for these students. This commitment and acceptance of the DEIS framework and in general support for educational disadvantage is key for the continuation of the programme and any further reforms.
The system recognises the importance of stakeholder engagement in education, including for the DEIS programme
Consultation with education stakeholders is an important element of the education system (OECD, 2020[45]). Indeed, one of the central objectives of the Education Act of 1998 is to promote and give statutory recognition to partnership as a principle which underpins the operation of the education system (Houses of Oireachtas, 1998[59]).
The 1998 Act also states that the Minister of Education should establish an “educational disadvantage committee” to advise him/her on policies and strategies to be adopted, and to identify and correct educational disadvantage. This committee should be established following consultations with patrons, national associations of parents, recognised school management organisations, recognised trade unions and staff associations representing teachers (Government of Ireland, 1998[23]). Such an Educational Disadvantage Committee was set up in 2002 and finished its work in 2005 with a concluding report titled “The Moving Beyond Disadvantage” (Education Disadvantage Committee, 2005[60]). While the provision relating to the Educational Disadvantage Committee was repealed by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012, partnerships between stakeholders and departments continue to play an important role in policy making.
The Education Partners are the main groups with whom the DoE consults in regard to policy changes or issues of equity and inclusion in primary and post-primary education (Department of Education, 2024[2]). These include national bodies representing school administrators and patrons, teachers’ unions, principals, parents and students, as well as non-governmental advocacy bodies. The DoE involves the Education Partners regularly for gaining from their knowledge and they advise the DoE on any proposed changes (Department of Education, 2024[2]). Education Partners are also represented in the DEIS Advisory Group (described earlier) which meets at least once a year but if other more pressing issues for discussion arise it meets also at other times throughout the year.
In recent years, school-level governance in Ireland has developed a greater diversity of ethos (OECD, 2020[45]). The DoE has consulted children in different strategies, such as the Digital Strategy for Schools and Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying. The DoE has established a Student Participation Unit whose remit is to promote the participation of children and young people into the development of department policy (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
The DoE continues to work with Education Partners ensuring that parents, guardians, principals, teachers and others working in schools have the information and resources they need to promote and support well‑being and learning for children and young people (Department of Education, 2023[25]). For example, the DoE initiated a review of the DEIS programme in 2015 to develop a new methodology for the identification of schools and a renewed framework of support for schools to address educational disadvantage. The review process was informed by extensive engagement with the Education Partners and other key stakeholders, including workshops with academics and practitioners, to explore the potential for innovation in future interventions in schools which cater for students at highest risk of educational disadvantage and of not reaching their full potential by virtue of their socio-economic circumstances (Department of Education, 2024[2]). The outcome from the review, documented in the “Report on the Review of DEIS” (Department of Education and Skills, 2017[61]), was the publication of the DEIS Plan 2017 (Department of Education, 2021[44]).
Many policy experts regarded government collaboration and consultation with the stakeholders involved as crucial to the successful implementation of policy. A study showed that respondents felt that there was a strong shared commitment to persist and that this was reflected in the absorption of prior policies into larger new ones such as DEIS. This did not only have the benefit of creating greater continuity and ownership over the policies, it also ensured that teachers and parents who had already bought into the prior policies could continue to see the benefits as part of wider policies such as DEIS (Hepworth et al., 2021[62]).
The Department of Education Inspectorate assists in policy making, including in the area of educational disadvantage
In Ireland, there is a long history of evaluating schools and teachers by a centralised Inspectorate, which is a division of the DoE but acts independently (McNamara et al., 2009[63]). This structure can enable building synergies by closely interlinking the work of the Inspectorate with other units in DoE. Inspectors are assigned to work with officials in various sections of the DoE (and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth), and to assist in policy making and implementation (Hislop, 2017[64]). The Inspectorate is divided into nine business units, which are geographic or thematic in nature (including one focusing on access, inclusion and engagement) (Government of Ireland, n.d.[65]).
Inspections are carried out to bring about improvement in the quality of education provision for children and young people and to support the development of the education system. The Inspectorate does this through providing high-quality evaluation, analysis, support and advice in relation to education provision mainly at early years, primary and post-primary levels. Inspectors also provide advice on a range of education issues to school communities, policy makers in the DoE and to the wider education system (Department of Education, 2024[2]). In addition to promoting improvement, the Inspectorate also fosters accountability in the education system. It does this through quality reporting and assurance, and monitoring of standards, educational opportunities, experiences and issues of educational equity. More information on the Inspectorate and different types of evaluations conducted is provided in Chapter 6.
Additionally, the Inspectorate provides valuable advice to policy makers within the DoE and the broader educational system. Indeed, the Inspectorate operates as a DoE division with the Chief Inspector sitting on the management board. This involvement positions the Inspectorate strategically, allowing for potential synergies by bringing first-hand expertise to inform policy discussions and decisions. To this end, the Inspectorate releases various reports and publications to advise and support schools, policy makers and the wider educational community (Department of Education, 2023[66]). These publications include national reports covering various aspects of the school system, offering insights and recommendations derived from school evaluations and thematic research. The Inspectorate's involvement supports school self‑evaluation and provides resources and guidance for schools to assess and improve their practices (Department of Education, 2022[67]).
The reports also address key areas such as primary education, post-primary education and social inclusion. At the primary level, the Inspectorate focused on, e.g. the implementation and evaluation of the primary school curriculum. At the post-primary level, they addressed modern foreign languages, guidance, ICT, home economics, music, mathematics and others (Department of Education, 2023[66]). Reports relevant to social inclusion include an analysis of stakeholders' perspectives on the summer programme following the COVID-19 pandemic, and evaluations of implementation of DEIS action planning in schools (ibid.). More recent reports focused on the quality of provision for children and young people learning English as an additional language and the quality of provision for children and young people from Ukraine (ibid.). These reports' findings, recommendations and examples of good practice can bring information about the reality of schools and early years’ settings into the DoE, and can contribute to the monitoring of the effect of Departmental and other policies on the ground. Indeed, some inspection models, such as the evaluations of DEIS action planning, are designed to monitor specialised provision in schools and to inform policy making (Hislop, 2017[64]).
Furthermore, reports from most recent inspection models are published, which increases transparency, allows stakeholders to read about the evaluation and learn about different practices in schools. Inspection reports can offer a unique insight into the quality of education provided. They are an important information source for the public as the 1998 Education Act precludes the DoE from releasing information on academic performance (Government of Ireland, 1998[23]). Their headline results are featured in the media, employed by schools in marketing to prospective parents and students, and even included in literature by estate agents for those looking to purchase a property (Bokhove, Jerrim and Sims, 2023[68]).
Challenges
Despite recent efforts, there is limited coordination and integration of services across departments to support students at risk of educational disadvantage
Both formal and informal coordination between departments and integration across departmental services are key for education and tackling educational disadvantage. In horizontal coordination, sharing or coordinating responsibilities among government departments or government and non-government actors can have positive impacts for equity and inclusion in education (OECD, 2023[69]). Although evidence is scarce and often focused on early years, the successful integration of services can, for instance, result in more efficient identification of children’s needs, including health, well-being, participation, social justice and equality. Services that provide holistic care are also more accessible, more likely to be approached and thus improve the outcomes of those with complex needs (CfBT Education Trust, 2010[70]; Corter, 2021[71]; OECD, 2015[72]; UNESCO, 2020[73]).
The integration of services has also been promoted for its potential in terms of quality and efficiency gains (UNESCO, 2020[73]). If multiple services are provided at single sites, this can lead to reduced costs of travel that is particularly important for disadvantaged groups. Integration can only work in systems where stakeholders are willing to co-operate and coordinate. Efficient co-operation across institutions in a whole‑system approach has been recognised as one of the attributes of high performing systems (Burns and Köster, 2016[74]; Schleicher, 2018[75]).
The need to integrate services and coordinate between departments to reflect the multidimensional nature of disadvantage has also been recognised in Ireland and features in the design and objectives of the DEIS Plans. The 2005 DEIS Action Plan noted that “[t]he education system operates in a context of broader social and economic circumstances. A wide range of issues such as poverty, family breakdown and health problems can adversely affect the learning capacity of pupils. The education system cannot resolve these issues single-handedly, nor can it be expected to, but it must adopt a leading role in influencing interventions that directly impact on the ability of pupils to derive maximum benefit from educational provision” (Department of Education, 2005[76]). In the 2017 DEIS Plan, Goal 4 further states “to support and foster best practice in schools through inter-agency collaboration” (Department of Education, 2021[44]).
The DEIS programme builds on the work of the Education Disadvantage Committee that had been announced in the 1998 Education Act (Government of Ireland, 1998[23]) and set up in 2002 as an expert group functioning on an independent statutory basis, under the leadership of Áine Hyland (Hyland, 2005[77]). Its approach was based on the need for a whole of government approach to the problems of social exclusion involving action by a wide range of departments and agencies. However, the DEIS Plan has been more narrowly focused on the role schools and the DEIS programme can fulfil (Fleming and Harford, 2021[78]).
The DoE has both formal and informal engagement with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and the Department of Social Protection in relation to support students at risk of educational disadvantage within supports provided under the DEIS programme. DoE regularly engages with the relevant areas of those departments in relation to the administration of supports to schools. The DoE also works with the Department of Health, the Department of Justice and other departments on initiatives to address disadvantage for children and young people. When a department is developing or implementing a policy that cuts across other institutions, a steering group/committee is established which includes representation from each department. It can also include representatives from governmental agencies, stakeholder groups and academia. An example is the steering committee on developing an action plan for anti-bullying, established by the Minister of Education in 2022 (Department of Education, 2022[79]).
There is also the DEIS Advisory Group on the implementation of the DEIS programme. As mentioned earlier, the DEIS Advisory Group which is composed of representatives from the Education Partners, relevant government departments, the ERC, Tusla and DoE officials. Its main role is to progress and provide advice on the implementation of the 108 actions in the 2017 DEIS Action Plan (Department of Education, 2023[50]).
Furthermore, government initiatives in recent years such as the introduction of Better Outcome Brighter Futures, the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, and the establishment of Tusla mean that there is already a policy impetus for cross-departmental and inter-agency working to support children and families, particularly those at risk of poor outcomes in their lives, including education (Department of Education, 2021[44]). Other recent government initiatives focused on supporting children and young people include the Roadmap for Social Inclusion, Anti-Racism Action Plan, Youth Justice Strategy, and Young Ireland: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2023-2028 (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Education policy and the DEIS programme have also featured in the Cabinet Committee on Children and Education (and the previous Committee on Education). Cabinet committees generally make policy recommendations, which are followed up by a formal memo to the government (Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2022[80]). The Cabinet Committee on Children and Education was established in the first quarter of 2023 and oversees the implementation of commitments in the Programme for Government in the area of children and education including further and higher education, with a specific focus on child poverty and well-being (Department of Taoiseach, 2023[81]).
The Cabinet Committee on Children and Education of the 33rd Government is composed of Taoiseach; Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence; Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport; Minister for Health; Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; Minister for Education; Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform; Minister for Finance; Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural and Community Development; Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage; and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Department of the Taoiseach, 2023[82]). The previous Committee on Education has discussed at various times the DEIS programme and allocation to schools, as well as allocation of funds to support special educational needs.
In addition to the Cabinet Committee on Children and Education, there is also a Committee on Education, Further, Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. This Select Committee comprises only parliamentary members, both from government and opposition. It meets to consider legislation and estimates relating to the DoE and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Houses of the Oireachtas, 2023[83]). The frequency of cabinet committee meetings varies considerably, potentially affecting their effectiveness, although the quality of engagement within committees is likely a more important factor for successful cross-departmental coordination (Connaughton, 2022[84]). Recent research carried out in the Irish context found that opportunities for discussion can be limited in some committees, with meetings instead serving mainly as conduits for information-sharing (ibid.).
According to the Bertelsmann Foundation’s Sustainable Governance Indicators, Ireland ranks below the OECD average on formal inter-ministerial coordination. However, across all policy areas, it ranks above the OECD average on informal inter-ministerial coordination (Figure 2.1) (OECD, 2023[85]).
Figure 2.1. Performance in inter-ministerial coordination in Ireland and selected countries, 2022
Note: Formal coordination refers to scores that countries are assigned on the question, “How effectively do ministry officials/civil servants co-ordinate policy proposals?” Informal coordination refers to scores that countries are assigned on the question, “How effectively do informal coordination mechanisms complement formal mechanisms of inter-ministerial coordination?” Scores range from 1 to 10. The higher the score, the better the country's performance. Scores are assigned by country and sector experts and reviewed and approved by scholars and practitioners.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2023[85]), OECD Skills Strategy Ireland: Assessment and Recommendations, Figure 5.2, https://doi.org/10.1787/d7b8b40b-en.
The limited formal inter-ministerial coordination might also impact policies to tackle educational disadvantage since a whole of government approach to the problems of exclusion involving action by a wide range of departments and agencies is necessary (Fleming and Harford, 2021[78]). A closer collaboration between departments and agencies is required to achieve different targets, providing concrete examples of the specific objectives and actions that might be taken to “move beyond educational advantage” (Fleming, Harford and Hyland, 2022[86]; Education Disadvantage Committee, 2005[60]).
Nonetheless, the main policy to address educational disadvantage in Ireland is the DEIS Plan which has involved an DEIS Advisory Group and includes representatives from relevant government departments, Education Partners, the ERC, Tusla and DoE officials.
According to Fleming, Harford and Hyland (2022[86]), the DEIS Plan did not address the lack of integration across government departments. While it has provided to some extent a more integrated approach to the delivery of educational supports for designated schools in disadvantaged areas, fragmentation continued to exist even within services reporting to the DoE. Nonetheless, there have been some efforts to create more integration between services. For example, the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) oversaw the HSCL Scheme and the SCP as well as the Educational Welfare Service. The NEWB transferred to Tusla in 2014.
In Ireland, service integration is an important and recurring theme across many government strategies. Yet, evidence suggests that weak service integration continues to undermine day-to-day experiences for children and families (Government of Ireland, 2023[87]). Schools, especially DEIS schools, are on the front line in dealing with students’ issues in physical and mental health, housing and poverty, but these issues cannot be solved by teachers and principals alone (Carroll and McCoy, 2021[88]). Despite some recent efforts, the OECD review team heard that principals and other staff members were in many cases required to support parents with the coordination of social and health services and that there is limited coordination of these services with the education sector at the system level. In addition, according to a recent OECD report, children and young people with complex mental and physical health needs continue to face challenges to access appropriate counselling and quality support due to fragmentation in the delivery of services and lack of coordination between relevant departments and agencies (OECD, 2024[89]).
Despite the limited coordination at the national/department level, there are some promising efforts to create greater coordination across departments and services. In particular, the Child Poverty and Well-Being Programme Office was established by the then Taoiseach in spring 2023 to co-ordinate government actions that reduce child poverty and foster children’s well-being. Findings from the OECD consistently point to the crucial role that strong political leadership plays in steering cross-cutting priorities (OECD, 2024[89]; OECD, Forthcoming[90]).
The Programme Office is looking at reducing the cost of education for families (such as through free-books scheme, back to school allowance, hot-meals programme, further cutting the cost of childcare, welfare reforms and public health measures, which include well-being and taking part in sport and cultural activities. Furthermore, the Programme Office will focus on consolidating and integrating public health, family and parental assistance, and well-being services so that the needs of all children are met. The government has published the initial Programme Plan: “From Poverty to Potential: A Programme Plan for Child Well-being 2023-2025” (Government of Ireland, 2023[87]). The initial two-and-half year Programme focuses on six areas with the potential to make the most difference to children living in poverty. These are:
Income support and joblessness;
Early learning and childcare;
The cost of education;
Family homelessness;
Service integration; and
Participation in arts, culture and sport.
The Programme Office will monitor and support the implementation of existing and future government strategies under these six areas. It will also undertake projects which amplify the impact of these strategies. The Child Poverty and Well-being Programme goes in the right direction to coordinate the work of several departments and services.
By listing service integration as priority, the Programme Office recognises that further efforts are needed to enhance a national approach to service integration and the identification of an integrated service model for children and young people (OECD, 2024[89]). However, since it was set up based on the request of former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, it raises questions of sustainability of the Programme Office with the change of Taoiseach and after the next parliamentary election in 2025. According to the OECD (2024[89]), policies driven by the centre of government are particularly susceptible to shifts in the political agenda between government terms. It will also be important to evaluate the effectiveness of the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office in driving government coordination on cross-cutting policy, including across electoral cycles (OECD, 2024[89]).
Sharing of good practices on educational disadvantage exists in the education system and among schools, but could be further promoted
The OECD review team has witnessed and heard about many promising practices for supporting students at risk of educational disadvantage in the education system, both in DEIS and non-DEIS schools. Sharing of good practices takes place in various ways, for example through DoE, the Inspectorate and Oide.
For instance, the DoE has organised some learning days to share good practices. The theme of the initial event was Adapting and Managing Successful Transitions which is an essential element of Goal 2 of the DEIS Plan, to improve the learning experience and outcomes of students in DEIS schools and which had been identified as a critical need at the time. After the webinar, there was further discussion around the feedback received. Literacy and Numeracy were topics that have repeatedly been discussed. These webinars took place approximately one year apart. In the future, learning days might be run by the Oide team (Government of Ireland, 2023[91]).
In addition, the Inspectorate collects and describes promising practices and programmes in its published reports of inspected schools (Government of Ireland, n.d.[92]) as well as more thematic reports, including on main inspection findings from DEIS schools (e.g. Department of Education (2022[93])). These reports constitute a considerable knowledge base. For instance, the Inspectorate has provided online webinars to schools through the Education Support Centre networks, the ETB structures and to a variety of patron bodies; the presentations are then provided to the Education Support Centres/ETB and the patron bodies for dissemination. For example, presentations cover findings from the “Looking at DEIS Action Planning for Improvement in Primary and Post-Primary Schools” publication (Department of Education, 2022[93]). The Inspectorate also shares good practices about DEIS through numerous presentations given to Trustee bodies and ETBs, and works closely with Education Support Centres.
Furthermore, the Inspectorate published a good practice guide titled “Effective literacy and numeracy practices in DEIS schools” that is intended to support the sharing of good practice among schools and teachers (Inspectorate, 2009[94]). It describes a range of approaches that teachers and DEIS school communities have taken to the teaching of literacy and numeracy in eight schools designated as serving areas of considerable socio-economic disadvantage.
The Inspectorate also rolled out a formal programme to all schools new to DEIS 2017 to support them through DEIS planning and share examples of good practice. The DEIS School Support Programme is aimed at supporting schools in delivering literacy and numeracy programmes and providing additional core funding to schools with higher levels of disadvantage (Department of Education, 2021[44]). One of the key features of this programme is the allocation of resources to enable smaller class sizes for junior students in the most disadvantaged schools. Examples of practices include the provision of a career guidance counsellor to all schools in the support programme. Another is a Book Rental Scheme, which became mandatory for schools in the support programme from 2017 (Department of Education, 2021[44]).
Besides the DoE and the Inspectorate, Oide represents an educational support system for schools. Its purpose is to support the professional learning of teachers and principals (Oide, 2024[95]). There are Oide DEIS primary and post-primary teams, which are dedicated to supporting DEIS schools. In spring 2024, the DEIS post-primary team has been facilitating a series of seminars and workshops to support DEIS schools to create SMART targets in DEIS action planning. This included in-person school visits where schools could have checked their data and target progress with the Oide support team (Department of Education, 2024[2]).
Overall, sharing of good practices and greater collaboration among schools are important. Research evidence shows the potential of promoting collaboration with other schools as it benefits peer learning, the sharing of resources and school improvement efforts more generally (OECD, 2016[96]). Some initiatives are already taking place in Ireland (e.g. through the Step-Up Initiative, Creative Clusters and Creative Schools, Schools Excellence Fund, the Small Schools action research project and the NCCA school networks). Digital technologies are also facilitating collaborations (OECD, 2023[47]).
Moreover, the 2017 DEIS Plan specified that for the School Excellence Fund1, schools were encouraged to use existing networks or to create new networks, with a particular focus on linking with schools with a track record of excellence, on establishing links between primary and post-primary schools, and where appropriate, including partnerships with third-level specialists in education, and relevant industry or community groups. Examples of networking initiatives included (Department of Education, 2021[44]):
Clusters of schools working collaboratively as project partners to identify particular problems and challenges; and
Working collaboratively to identify solutions to the problems, taking account of the best assessment practices and the best teaching practices.
Other new initiatives also encourage collaboration. For instance, the guidelines on the appropriate use of the Attendance Campaign Support Grant for Primary and Post-Primary Schools (Department of Education, 2023[97]) encourages collaboration/clustering between schools. Schools are encouraged to cluster locally and work together to gain maximum benefit from the grant. This can involve, for example, ECEC settings, primary and post-primary schools in a locality working together. Collaboration among schools can facilitate the development of impactful initiatives that address issues relating to attendance especially among children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage. It can also help build relationships which may ease the transition from ECEC settings to primary schools and from primary to post-primary schools (Department of Education, 2023[97]).
Another initiative of school-to-school collaboration is Creative Schools.2 This is a flagship of the Creative Youth plan – led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media, DoE, and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Since its inception in 2018, 462 schools including primary, post-primary, DEIS and special schools have joined the initiative (Creative Ireland, n.d.[98]). Furthermore, there are a number of DEIS Communities of Practice through the education centres for teachers and school leaders (see Chapter 4 for more details). This is a network of schools that share a common goal of improving educational outcomes for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through this community, schools can work together to share good practices, collaborate on projects, forge links with primary schools and access professional development opportunities (Clare Education Support Centre, 2024[99]).
Despite some existing initiatives, a recent OECD report states that there is considerable scope for strengthening school-to-school collaborations and networking in the education system (OECD, 2023[47]). Reasons include the school funding model that depends on student enrolments and is believed to encourage competition, rather than collaboration between schools (OECD, 2020[100]; OECD, 2017[101]). In addition, collaborations tend to be more project-focused rather than systemic and do not necessarily provide scope for broader relationship building and collaborative professional development (OECD, 2023[47]).
The OECD review team heard during interviews and school visits that sharing of good practices to support students at risk of educational disadvantage often takes place through informal exchanges between schools. The OECD team also gained the impression that not all schools were aware of all the guidance material and tools for DEIS support available on various sites and links, and thus often relied on exchanging about practices with other schools. While there are several resources and sharing of good practices available to DEIS schools, non-DEIS schools could benefit from a further systematic sharing of practices on how to support students at risk of educational disadvantage.
Policy recommendations
Strengthen the coordination and integration of services across departments to better support students at risk of educational disadvantage
Effective coordination across government departments, agencies, service providers, and the community and voluntary sector is crucial, given that children and young people have specific needs spanning all policy and service areas such as education, employment, health, housing, justice, civic and political participation, gender equality and environment. Moreover, outcomes in different policy areas can impact each other. Breaking down silos to promote whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to improving policy outcomes for children and youth is, therefore, critical (OECD, 2024[89]).
A cross-sectoral strategy is defined as a framework that covers all relevant policy and service areas, based on effective coordination mechanisms among different ministries, across different levels of government, and with the participation of public bodies responsible for, and working on, issues affecting children and young people (OECD, 2020[102]).
In the area of educational disadvantage, it is especially important to promote coordination, co-operation and collaboration across the whole of government (OECD, 2019[103]). A whole-of-government approach aims to improve the horizontal and vertical coordination of government activity in order to improve policy coherence and the use of resources (OECD, 2011[104]). Coordination across different ministries and levels of government does not imply a centralised “one-size-fits-all” steering model, as coordination within a whole-of-government approach should be flexible enough to take into account particular regional or sectoral needs. However, individual ministries or agencies should not pursue their own policies without coordinating with other relevant ministries or agencies as appropriate (OECD, 2019[103]).
Interagency co-operation can occur at the level of planning and/or service delivery. It can be limited to information and knowledge exchange or involve “joined up working”, including sharing of staff and financial resources (OECD, 2024[89]). However, countries often face practical challenges to collaborate across sectors, and to deliver holistic approaches (OECD, 2020[102]).
In Ireland, the government engages in some coordination and collaboration to meet the needs of students and communities at risk of educational disadvantage. For example, the DoE, the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Children exchange on policies and are involved in contributing to the service provision of the DEIS programme. The DoE also co-ordinates with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and Department of Further and Higher Education on early years education as well as further and higher education, respectively. However, it would be important to further strengthen coordination across these departments and units so that policy for education in early years education aligns with that for primary and post-primary and in turn aligns with policy for higher and further education. New policy developments are going in this direction with the announcement of an Equal Start programme (a DEIS-type system for ECCE) (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, 2024[39]), which could create smoother transitions into the DEIS programme at primary and post‑primary levels.
The Cabinet Committee on Children and Education oversees the implementation of commitments in the Programme for Government commitments in the area of children and education including further and higher education, with a specific focus on child poverty and well-being. Furthermore, the Child Well-being and Poverty Programme in the Department of Taoiseach seeks to co-ordinate government actions to facilitate service provision in the area of well-being and poverty.
These are all promising developments which need to be sustained and strengthened to support students at risk of educational disadvantage and their families with a holistic service provision. There is still limited integration of services at the national and local levels. In Ireland, some extended schools can fill the role of an integrated service provider by supporting students and their families with learning, but also physical and mental health, housing and employment needs (see Chapter 5). However, it is often due to the initiative of the principal and staff, and co‑operation with community stakeholders and service providers.
Therefore, it is important to strengthen the integration of services across departments so that students at risk of educational disadvantage are supported in their learning, social and emotional needs. This requires the DoE and its related agencies to work closely with other relevant departments and service providers, and establish cross-sectoral co-operation in regard to health and welfare issues in education (Downes, Nairz-Wirth and Rusinaitė, 2017[105]). Furthermore, “a committed participation of, and long-term co‑operation between, stakeholders from all relevant areas (notably education and training, employment, economic affairs, social affairs, health, housing, youth, culture and sport)” would also be beneficial (EU Council, 2015, p. 10[106]; Downes, Nairz-Wirth and Rusinaitė, 2017[105]).
There are several advantages of more integrated models of service delivery including an increased co‑operation and collaboration between providers and agencies, improvements in service quality, and better outcomes and satisfaction with service delivery among service users and providers (OECD, 2015[107]). Nevertheless, an integrated approach across departments requires dedicated staff, a shared outcomes framework, shared data collection and monitoring and shared funding allocations (UK Parliament, 2021[108]; Patana, 2020[109]). Ireland could draw on the experience and examples from other countries regarding whole of government approaches and integrated services (Box 2.1).
Box 2.1. Whole of government approaches and integrated services
Germany has an interesting example of a whole of government approach in skills policy. An Alliance for Initial and Further Training was established in 2014. The Alliance encompasses a wide range of stakeholders, effectively bringing together different government departments (education, business and labour), levels of government and stakeholders. It combines annual plenary meetings involving the top political levels with more regular meetings of working groups at the lower level. Furthermore, the Alliance agreement contains a significantly higher degree of detail regarding specific policy instruments and issues to be further discussed. Even though Germany has a long tradition of collective decision making in skills policy, the Alliance brings added value by effectively pursuing a whole of government approach in promoting collaboration between stakeholders (OECD, 2020[110]).
Many countries have also recognised the potential of providing co-located multidisciplinary early years support by establishing initiatives that specifically target children at risk of exclusion or disadvantage. The Sure Start Programme in the United Kingdom, for example, was developed to provide education, social and health services to young children and their families, with a special (initial) focus in locally and socially deprived areas (Patana, 2020[109]). Aiming to prevent the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage and to improve children’s cognitional and language development, educational outcomes, and other forms of disadvantage, the Sure Start Programme offers a range of (either co- or closely located) services to children below five and their families. Sure Start programmes also provide home‑based services both for outreach purposes and to provide holistic support in children’s and their families’ living environment (Bate and Foster, 2017[111]). While initially targeting disadvantaged populations, the programme has expanded to reach a larger number of families beyond the most disadvantaged areas since its inception in 1998.
A national longitudinal study of the Sure Start shows that the programme has had significant positive effects, both in terms of outcomes (Melhuish, Belsky and Barnes, 2018[112]) as well as cost-effectiveness (Cattan et al., 2019[113]). Similar initiatives targeting disadvantaged children have also been implemented in several other countries, such as Australia (Children’s Contact Services), Hungary (Sure Start), Korea (Dream Start), and the United States (Early Head Start and Head Start) (Patana, 2020[109]). Similar services also exist for youth in Finland (Ohjaamo), France (Missions Locales), New Zealand (Youth Service) and the United Kingdom (Connexions) (OECD, 2019[114]; OECD, 2014[115]).
Promote further the sharing of good practices in the education system and across schools in the area of educational disadvantage
In Ireland, there are many good practices in its education system and across schools on how to support students at risk of educational disadvantage. As described previously, sharing of good practices takes place at the central and local levels through the DoE, the Inspectorate and Oide (see also Chapter 4). At the national level, the DoE organises learning days, as mentioned earlier. In addition, DEIS Communities of Practice in education centres take place. The Inspectorate collaborates with other DoE support services to share evidence-based practices with teachers and schools.
Sharing of good practices takes place particularly through the Inspectorate that inspects many schools across the country and identifies good practices. In general, external school evaluation through the Inspectorate can lead to recommendations or instructions on particular aspects for individual schools to improve and can be used to identify and share best practice and innovative practice throughout the education system (OECD, 2013[116]). One of the Inspectorate’s tasks is to “promote best practice and school improvement by advising teachers, principals and boards of management in schools” (Department of Education, 2023[35]). Similarly, in countries such as Portugal, a central role for the Inspectorate is to identify good practices that need to be generalised to the whole system, while keeping in mind the need for diverse approaches depending on the school context (OECD, 2022[117]).
In Ireland, the Inspectorate plays an important role as an intermediate support structure connecting central authorities to schools. This takes place, for example, through the Inspectorate’s publications on DEIS and also a newsletter for schools on school self-evaluation which has featured DEIS practices (Department of Education, 2024[118]). More specifically, there has been a number of composite reports on DEIS schools (see Chapter 6), sessions for DEIS schools and advisory visits provided by the Inspectorate for school self‑evaluation (SSE) in DEIS schools. SSE is aligned with DEIS action planning process in the Next Steps SSE circular (Department of Education, 2022[67]). Inspectors share good practices when they evaluate and advise a school. The wealth of knowledge that the Inspectorate has built up about good practice is used to inform recommendations, and is central to the feedback discussions inspectors have with individual teachers and schools. This sharing of good practice is central to school and system improvement (Department of Education, 2024[2]). However, different types of school inspections (including the Evaluation of action planning for improvement for DEIS) take place on regular basis (frequency and duration vary according to different factors, see Chapter 6), so there is a need to share good practices between inspections through other tools and communication material.
In addition to the sharing of good practices through the Inspectorate, there are some Communities of Practice in Ireland, established through the Education Support Centre network, and overseen by Oide (described in Chapter 4). A number of DEIS schools also take part in the change-maker schools network (a partnership between Dublin City University and schools) that work together for school improvement. The schools work as a professional learning community, and share good practices in terms of teaching and learning (Dublin City University, n.d.[119]). The OECD review team also heard that many practices are shared through the initiative of principals and teachers.
However, the team gained the impression that some schools were not aware of all the available guidance material and tools for DEIS support and where to find it, and often relied on exchanging about practices with other schools. Ireland could thus further promote available tools and share good practices in the system and across schools on supporting students at risk of educational disadvantage, in both DEIS and non-DEIS schools. In Ireland, there are several resources and tools in reports, websites, presentations and webinars that contain tools and good practices. However, as there are many venues with information, schools might not always be aware where to search for them. It could be useful to collect all information in one place (e.g. a website), where users can search for good practices and find guidance. Both DEIS and non-DEIS schools could benefit from this resource.
More specifically, establishing an online repository of good practices in the education system might be helpful where schools and other stakeholders can search for relevant practice examples in the area of educational disadvantage. These could include different themes/categories that users could search for. For example, there are European online repositories of good practices in the area of early school leaving titled ESL Plus and in the area of adult learning called REGALE (Regional capacity for adult learning and education) (Box 2.2).
Box 2.2. European online repositories of good practice
European ESL-platform and support services (ESLplus)
The ESLplus project aims to reduce disparities in learning outcomes affecting learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. To this end, it has systematically collected, analysed and shared knowledge, practices and applications related to the topic of early school leaving at a European level. The online portal (ESLplus Portal) was set up for knowledge sharing to enable policy makers, educational institutions, principals, teachers and parents to identify and reduce early school leaving. The ESLplus website includes, among five good practices listed for Ireland, two relevant ones: about the DEIS initiative and the Limerick DEIS primary school literacy programme.
REGALE online repository
The repository of relevant practices is a collection of successful adult education practices and policies at the local, regional and national levels. The deliverable includes more than 50 successful projects, initiatives and policies from all over Europe.
The repository is an online tool allowing readers to find projects, initiatives and policies according to keywords representing the main challenge, target group(s) and themes. For instance, keywords include disadvantaged groups of learners, migration and integration, and inclusion. A detailed description approved by the project/initiative designers and implementers is available for each practice.
Source: ESLplus (n.d.[120]), Good practice repository, https://eslplus.eu/good-practice-repository (accessed on 4 January 2024); and REGALE (n.d.[121]), Repository of good practice, https://regalenetwork.eu/repository/#https://regalenetwork.eu/repository/# (accessed on 4 January 2024).
The OECD review team has heard that Ireland is already taking steps in this direction by developing a depository of tools on DEIS and social inclusion on the website of Oide (Oide, n.d.[122]). These can become important resources for teachers and school staff.
In addition, there is already an Oide English as an Additional Language padlet (a type web page which is easy to update) which is open to public and provides support for schools (Oide, n.d.[123]). It includes links to documents and reports by a range of sources such as Professional Development Service for Teachers and National Council for Curriculum Assessment on topics such as Supporting Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners, a Toolkit for Diversity in Primary School, and DEIS Planning Intercultural Events in Schools and Colleges (ibid.). These can provide guidance for developing an inclusive school environment. It will be helpful to promote such developed tools to ensure that all schools are aware of them and know how to use them.
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Notes
← 1. The School Excellence Fund (SEF) was launched in November 2017 and the funding provided for innovative programmes in DEIS schools under SEF-DEIS more than doubled between 2018 and 2019 (Department of Education, 2022[13]). The SEF finished in 2021.
← 2. Creative Schools aim to give children and young people the opportunity to experience creativity as an integral part of their education placing the arts and creativity at the centre of school life. The initiative recognises that schools play an important role in providing opportunities for children to participate in arts and culture, and doing so also develop socio-emotional well-being, cognitive development and positive attitudes towards school.