The Department of Education is to adopt a new approach to educational disadvantage after admitting current policies are having little impact on low literacy and numeracy levels in poorer areas.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin unveiled a new €40 million action plan yesterday which promises a more integrated approach to the problem, and fuller evaluation of various programmes.
An additional 300 staff including teachers, librarians and home/school liaison officers will be recruited as part of the initiative. But the Minister has ruled out British-style "hello money" of up to €5,000 to help schools in poorer areas attract and retain staff.
The INTO says one-in-three teachers in poorer areas have left their jobs within the past three years.
The Minister said a paid allowance of the kind favoured by the INTO could have a knock-on effect across the public service. Instead, 50 paid sabbaticals will be made available every year to teachers working in poorer areas from 2006.
Under the new approach 10 existing schemes will be integrated into a new school support programme for each school.
Last night INTO general secretary John Carr said the report provides "a new focus on disadvantage . . . it is an attempt to concentrate resources on schools most in need and to remove anomalies that currently exist in the system."
Recent research shows how over a quarter of children in poorer areas - and often much more - are performing at the lowest literacy and numeracy level, despite a series of initiatives over the past decade.
Ms Hanafin said her plan was designed to boost expectations of what can be achieved in schools in disadvantaged areas.
The Minister said: "A key principle underlying the plan - and particularly the focus on early childhood education and literacy and numeracy measures - is the principle of early intervention.
"We must address educational difficulties before they become entrenched . . . "
The new action plan represents a shift away from individual initiatives, each addressing a particular aspect of the problem, with the new plan adopting a more integrated approach.
This is the first time that an integrated educational inclusion strategy has been developed for three- to 18-year-olds.
About 600 primary and 150 second-level schools will be included in the new school support programme.
The action plan will be implemented on a phased basis over the next five years.
On literacy and numeracy, the plan is promising wider access to programmes like reading recovery and maths recovery, which enable intensive, individualised teaching to be provided to the lowest-attaining pupils at an early stage, when intervention can be most effective.
Hanafin's plan - key features
An additional €40 million to recruit 300 extras staff including teachers, librarians and home/school liaison officers.
An improved system for identifying levels of disadvantage in our schools.
A single integrated programme of supports for young people in schools with concentrated levels of disadvantage.
Smaller classes for more children in disadvantaged areas. A pupil/teacher ratio of 20:1 in junior classes and 24:1 in senior classes in 150 urban primary schools serving the most disadvantaged communities.
An increased emphasis on developing literary and numeracy skills. n Increasing Early Childhood Education provision in the 150 most disadvantaged school communities.
