DEIS

DEIS stands for Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, which is a government-funded program in Ireland to provide extra resources to schools in disadvantaged areas. These resources aim to reduce educational disadvantage and include additional funding, staffing, and programs to improve literacy, numeracy, school attendance, and retention. The program also supports services like the Home School Community Liaison Scheme and the School Completion Programme. What DEIS provides

Additional funding and staffing: To help schools meet the needs of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Literacy and numeracy support: Targeted programs and resources to improve academic skills.

School Completion Programme: Aims to reduce early school leaving.

Home School Community Liaison services: To build positive relationships between the student's home and school.

Other supports: Include access to the School Meals Programme, professional development for teachers, and support for school planning.

How it works

Targeted approach: The program identifies and targets schools with the highest levels of educational disadvantage using data from the school's enrolment and national census.

Integrated support: DEIS combines multiple interventions under a single, integrated framework, moving away from individual initiatives.

DEIS Action Plan: Participating schools are required to develop a three-year plan with specific, measurable, and time-bound targets to improve student outcomes in areas like attendance, retention, and attainment.

School bands: Schools are assigned to different "DEIS bands" (e.g., Urban Band 1, Urban Band 2, or Rural) based on their level of disadvantage to ensure resources are allocated appropriately. Our school is Urban Band 2