Kathleen Funchion Challenges DESH Decision for Adjacent Schools

Thanks very much, Keane-Carlo. So, Minister, this is in relation to the death status for the school that has been mentioned, Skullverg on Small and Carlow Town. And I just want to, first of all, acknowledge, I do know, because I feel in the response there will be mention of the amount of schools, and also in my own constituency, that did enter into the death system, and that is very welcome, and I want to acknowledge that firstly. However, I suppose the situation, the unique situation about this school is that it is right next to St. Joseph's, like they literally are adjoining, and St. Joseph's was granted death one status in the recent round, and the two schools are identical in terms of criteria set out for the qualifications, and they actually also share a campus. So, pupils in both schools come from the same socio-economic area, and in many cases, the same families. So, the only difference between them is the gender of the schools. One is for boys, and one is for girls, and it is, you know, the school, St. Joseph's, that have received the death, which, you know, is welcome, and they need that, and I'm not trying to take away from that in any way, shape, or form, but it is the boys' school, and I suppose the one that has missed out is the girls' school, which even just the optics of that, I think, does not look good at all. And really, the only difference that we can see in relation to the two schools is gender, so I would just welcome the opportunity to hear what exactly is the situation, and I suppose I would just really appeal to you, Minister, that if we do send on the details, and I know the school has been in contact with you, but if we do send on the information, can this be looked at, or can it be appealed, because it does seem very unusual, particularly that they're even sharing a campus. So, you're literally, it's really, really difficult for, I suppose, pupils, and parents, and teachers, and everyone involved, to see how one school seems to have qualified, and the other has missed out. So, I would welcome whatever the Minister has to say in relation to this. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for being here. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, Deputy. And just to confirm to the House, in March, I announced, as you've outlined, Deputy, a major extension, extension of the, of the DESH programme, which means that, for the first time since 2017, the programme has been significantly expanded, and eligible schools will now gain access to targeted supports to address educational disadvantage. This is the largest ever single investment in the programme, at a cost of 32 million, and will extend DESH status to schools serving the highest proportions of pupils at risk of educational disadvantage. Scolvera Gunsmall in Carlow was granted DESH Band 2 status in the March announcement. From 2023, my department, as I've said, will spend in the region of 180 million euro on the DESH programme, which is, as I've outlined, an increase of 32 million euro. This announcement follows an extensive body of work by the DESH technical group to develop the refined DESH identification model, to identify the concentrated levels of disadvantage in schools, and that is the key point, that it is concentrated levels of disadvantage in a school. All schools in the country, including schools raised by the deputy, the two schools raised by the deputy there, were considered for inclusion in the DESH programme under the DESH ID model. The model uses information from the school's individual enrolment database and 2016 national census data, as represented by the PUBLHB Deprivation Index. The model takes into account the student cohort and the relative disadvantage within a given school. A detailed document outlining the refined DESH identification model is published and available on gov.ie. The DESH identification model takes into consideration the significant educational disadvantage also experienced by traveller and Roma learners, and by students residing in direct provision, or indeed in emergency homeless accommodation. Schools that were not satisfied with the outcome following the application of the DESH identification model to their school enrolment data were provided with the opportunity to have that outcome reviewed. Schools were also provided with the opportunity to update their details on the Department of Education's enrolment database, on the POD system or the POD system, depending on the school. While Scalvoira Ghan Small in Carlow did appeal this decision, there was no change to the outcome of the initial application of the refined DESH identification model. The DESH appeals process was applied fairly across all appellants using an objective database approach, and the results are final. I do understand the concerns expressed by the school, but I can assure the deputy that the model was correctly applied on foot of the school data that was provided by the school. Do you must forget your function? Thanks, Minister. I welcome the fact that you are here yourself. I should have acknowledged that as well at the start. I suppose I do understand that they have DESH band too, but it really is difficult to get your head around how a school on the same campus, serving in the same geographical area, pretty much the same families to a large extent, how one school falls into DESH band one and one DESH band two. So it would seem that throughout the country where schools are side by side, they are given the same DESH status, and that is what you would expect, obviously, when it is based on the socio-economic and the geographical situation. So I suppose I am just wondering what exactly is the difference? I know you said about a concentrated disadvantage, but these literally are on the same campus in the exact same area. So I suppose I still don't really understand how one is DESH band two and one is DESH band one, and is there any way of you getting further information in relation to that? And where does this leave the school now? I understand that they have gone through the appeal system, but in terms of, I suppose, the next steps for them, can they apply? Is it an annual situation? Can they apply next year? Obviously, what we are trying to, you know, what the outcome we are hoping for would be that this can be looked at again. Because to me, it seems like there has to be some sort of an oversight if you have two schools in the same area sharing the same grounds. It is pretty much servicing the same community. And the difference is you are literally having the same families, because one is a boys' school and one is a girls' school. So you obviously will have a lot of the same families, because obviously they send their daughters to one school, their sons to another. And I do just, you know, want to mention the issue of gender. And I think that that does not look good, that we have the boys' school qualifying, and then we, for some reason, the girls' school doesn't seem to have that same qualification status. So I would welcome a bit more detail. And if that's not, if that's not available right now, I understand. But if we could maybe get that sent on, it would be appreciated. Thanks, Keane Córle. Thank you very much, Keane Córle. And thank you, Deputy. Deputy, and I, Deputy, I do want to acknowledge your concerns here, and, but I do absolutely want to say that the, you know, the extension of the DESH programme has been a significant one. It is one that was very much at the heart of the Programme for Government's commitment to complete the new DESH identification model, and to extend the DESH status to schools serving the highest concentration of pupils at risk of education disadvantage. The extension of the DESH programme to new schools is just one phase of work, and it is important to say that. It is only one phase of work in the development of an inclusive education system, which supports all learners to achieve their fullest potential. Whilst the DESH programme supports those schools with the highest levels of concentrated education disadvantage, I do recognise that there are students at risk of education disadvantage in all schools. And so, conscious of this, and recognising the need to target resources to those schools who need them most, the next phase of work begins now, which will explore the allocation of resources to schools to tackle education disadvantage. This will consider all schools within and without, or outside, if you like, the DESH programme. Just specifically in relation to the gender aspect that you raised here, there is no question of gender being part of the DESH identification model. It is the HP index that is used, which is used across a multitude of departments, and there were three additional weights provided, and they included acknowledgement for children of Traveller Aroma background, children who resided in direct provision, or children who presented, or their families presented as homeless. I do absolutely want to say to you, Deputy, that the appeals process was applied absolutely fairly across all appellants, using an objective data-based approach, and the results are final, but the information was based on the information provided by the school. I understand the concerns expressed by the school, but I absolutely do want to ensure or assure the deputy that the model was applied on foot of the data that was provided by the school. Thank you very much.