Latest news with #non-Deis
Irish Examiner
20-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Deis plan to emphasise retention of students up to Leaving Cert and beyond
A new government plan will focus on tackling rising absenteeism levels in schools and keeping more students from disadvantaged areas in education to Leaving Cert level and beyond. On Tuesday, education minister Helen McEntee will publish a new Deis plan to focus on "improving the opportunities for children at risk of educational disadvantage". It is understood that the plan will place a major emphasis on retention of students up to Leaving Certificate and improving progression rates to higher education and the world of work, as well as a major focus on school attendance and tackling the rate of absenteeism in both Deis and non-Deis schools. Data from Tusla has shown a dramatic increase in absenteeism in recent years. The latest figures, based on the 2022/23 school year, reveal that over 110,000 primary and 65,000 post-primary students missed 20 or more days during that academic year. This compares to 54,890 primary school pupils and 44,874 post primary students missing 20 or more days before the covid pandemic in 2018/19. There were higher rates of absence and also of student suspensions in Deis schools located in areas of economic disadvantage. In second-level Deis schools, 30.7% of students missed 20 days or more. This compares to 19.5% for non-Deis schools. Ms McEntee will update Cabinet on her work to establish a new Deis+ scheme which will support schools with the highest level of educational disadvantage, particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy. This includes the establishment of an advisory group with representatives who work with children from areas of high inter-generational disadvantage. 'Dedicated focus' to small businesses Cabinet will also be updated by arts and media minister Patrick O'Donovan on the digitisation of the 1926 census, the first census carried out by the State, while enterprise minister Peter Burke will bring a memo establishing a new small business unit within his department. Government sources said that the unit will mean that small businesses have "a dedicated focus and are recognised and acknowledged across Government, and emphasis is placed on them within the Department of Enterprise". Also at Cabinet, social protection minister Dara Calleary will provide an update on the procurement competition to source investment management providers for the automatic enrolment retirement savings system. Mr Calleary will also update ministers on the recruitment for the positions of board members for National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), which will oversee the "My Future Fund" that will launch on January 1, 2026, following a recent government decision to delay the scheme. 'Shared history' Meanwhile, Cabinet is set to approve cross-government engagement with the trans-European cultural initiative, 2027 The Year of the Normans - People of Europe. The year-long commemoration in 2027 aims to celebrate "a shared history that has shaped the island of Ireland and Europe". A government statement says that "throughout modern Ireland, the legacy of our Norman heritage can be found in our lands, laws, monuments, and built environment". Participation in the initiative "aims to commemorate and recognise our Norman history, whilst also benefiting tourism and its associated economy". Ireland's participation is being co-ordinated by the National Monuments Service.
Irish Examiner
23-04-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Teachers at schools in disadvantaged areas rate educational facilities as 'very poor'
Nearly four times as many teachers at schools in disadvantaged areas say their educational facilities are 'very poor' compared with educators in non-disadvantaged institutions. A survey of teachers on the benefits and drawbacks of Deis schools — those in receipt of additional funding as a means of counteracting their material disadvantages — found they believe those institutions are seen as 'non-academic' or inferior, a situation which leads to difficulties recruiting teachers due to the perceived associated stigma. The survey, commissioned by the Teaching Union of Ireland and presented at its annual conference, showed just under a third of teachers in Deis facilities would rate their general school facilities as either poor or very poor, as compared with 24.5% of teachers in non-Deis schools. Some 10% of respondents in Deis institutions said the standard of facilities in their schools were very poor, compared with just 2.8% of non-Deis educators. Despite this, workers in Deis schools showed similar levels of job satisfaction to their non-Deis counterparts, and gave more varied responses to such queries, describing their work as both rewarding and challenging. The survey of 276 teachers and school leaders in secondary schools described the perceived advantages of Deis status, such as increased funding, special food programmes, and student retention supports. More than 70% of the teachers said Deis as a programme improved opportunities for further education, with 62% of the opinion it increased the chances of students going on to higher education. In particular the home school community liaison (HSCL) resource was noted as being a "highly valued" resource, which 'fosters relationships between families, schools and communities to support student engagement'. Some 55% of respondents rated HSCL resources as being either good or excellent, with the noted caveat HSCL teachers risk burnout due to the highly-pressurised nature of their jobs, particularly in large schools. The survey said on the perceived stigma attached to Deis schools that teachers believe 'these stereotypes harmed students' confidence and work ethic' and 'misunderstandings' of the Deis system deterred some parents from engaging with it. The survey suggested there was strong support for a tiered, needs-based system seeing greater financial supports afforded to schools experiencing higher levels of disadvantage. It further suggested student-teacher ratios should be either enforced or re-examined, and the 'burden' of paperwork on teachers in Deis schools should be reduced. Slightly more Deis teachers, 57%, believed their student-teacher ratios were too high, with the majority of respondents indicating they taught classes with an average of between 20 and 25 students. The issue of ratios was broached by TUI president David Waters in his speech to the conference. He said 'our class sizes are too large, and teachers' workload is too demanding'. Education minister Helen McEntee also addressed Deis in her speech to the conference, stating her intention to 'implement a new plan to tackled educational disadvantage' in 2025, with a new Deis plus scheme to be introduced to 'target the most disadvantaged areas and students'. Read More Second teachers' union votes unanimously for potential industrial action over Leaving Cert reforms
