Teaching Matters:There may be trouble ahead for Fianna Fáil in the next election regarding educational disadvantage.
There is a new programme, Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS), which has replaced the old "designated disadvantaged" programme, known as DAS. The DAS scheme was both cumbersome and politicised, and it badly needed reform. There was a patchwork of various schemes that schools were entitled to participate in, but no clear guiding vision, and no emphasis on outcomes.
Obviously, the additional expenditure of €40 million and the allocation of 300 new teachers at primary and secondary level as part of DEIS is welcome. Sadly, it will scarcely scratch the surface of educational disadvantage. Many communities are shattered that their school has not been included in DEIS, especially those schools that used to have "designated disadvantaged" status.
Also, the four criteria for inclusion at second level are far too narrow.
The first criterion is the number of Junior Cert students who hold medical cards, extrapolated from the number of students who claim exemption from examination fees. The second is the retention rate of students to Junior Cert. The third is the level of Junior Cert results, and the final one is the level of student retention to Leaving Cert.
Some schools are very bitter about the fact that due to effective use of the funding that they received under the old DAS scheme, they have radically improved both the retention rates and the results of their students, but are effectively being penalised for their success.
One principal told me of measures ranging from providing breakfast and lunch, to running special entry programmes for first year, to reducing class sizes, all of which resulted in high retention rates and results that were, in many cases, about the national average, despite the fact that the chronological reading age of over two-thirds of his first-year intake was seriously below where it should be.
He feels very strongly that the sacrifices made by his staff, particularly in terms of voluntary activities, have been ignored. He is very worried that his school will not now get the Junior Cert Schools programme (JCSP), which is a support programme geared towards the needs of students who are at risk of leaving school early. The JCSP is a way for students to experience success, by profiling how they have reached specific targets. It carries with it an improved teacher allocation and a co-ordinator, which although small measures in themselves, as part of a package can make a significant difference to students.
The new criteria do not take into account the number of pupils with learning difficulties, or those who are severely disruptive, or frequently absent. It does not take account of poor infrastructure (for example, in rural areas, a two-hour commute) or the number of children from the Travelling community or newcomer children without English or levels of family breakdown. These indicators of student disadvantage would need greater research than head-counting students holding medical cards at Junior Cert level. Also, rural students traditionally stay longer at school because the employment opportunities available in urban areas are not there to tempt them to leave. Yet higher retention rates disqualify their schools from the scheme.
There are confusing messages coming from the Department of Education, with various lobby groups reporting that they have been told different things about which schools will lose or retain if they do not have DEIS status. One group was told that the former DAS schools would retain everything they currently have, but would receive no new funding. Another group was told that posts that are currently funded under the DAS scheme would become "over quota" posts, that is, if a person holding such a post retires or resigns, the post will no longer be filled.
Some schools have received letters informing them of a reduction in service because the National Educational Psychology Service (NEPS) will prioritise the DEIS schools. Although they can still commission a limited number of private assessments, this is not at all the same as having the services of a dedicated NEPS psychologist who is familiar with and a regular visitor to the school.
In the Dáil on October 11th, 2005, Minister Hanafin stated that "schools currently receiving funds under different headings and that do not make it into the top group will hold on to the funding they have, but any additional funding will be targeted at the schools that most need it."
She reiterated this message on Questions and Answers on RTÉ1 last week, but declined to say for how long this would apply.
It appears, to say the least, as if some of her subordinates are giving different messages. There are also striking anomalies. For example, I know of one secondary school where every single feeder primary school has DEIS status, but the secondary school itself does not. I have heard of many cures for educational disadvantage, but puberty is not one.
I know of other cases, where two schools in the same town serve the same families, but in single-sex schools. In one case, the boys' school has DEIS and their sisters' school does not. In another, it is the other way around.
What is going on here? These anomalies must be ironed out, or the scheme will fall into disrepute. If equality and fairness in education do not motivate them, politicians would do well to remember that it will be a key issue in many constituencies at the next election.
Breda O'Brien is a teacher at Dominican College, Muckross Park, Dublin
