Principals of disadvantaged schools in Ireland are raising alarm over chronic underfunding, highlighting the devastating impact on students facing unimaginable hardship. From witnessing violence to experiencing neglect, these children require specialized support, which is often unavailable due to a lack of resources. The Deis+ Advocacy Group, representing 30 schools, demands increased funding, additional staff, and improved criteria for allocating resources to ensure these students receive the essential help they desperately need.
Thirty principals recently published a list of circumstances faced by their students. It includes a parent in prison, suicide in families, neglect of every conceivable kind
When asked what the worst aspect was, she said: “I know I could change lives, if I only had the money for counselling and all the other supports they need. I could change the trajectory of children’s lives and potentially, of generations.” Although education is allegedly free, in the absence of proper State funding, most schools are forced to appeal to parents and the community. There is no money in this principal’s community that can be tapped. What the school receives in Deis funding leaves it running an unsustainable deficit that haunts the principal.
In an average class of 28, some 14 per cent of students have additional educational needs. In these schools, it is more than 50 per cent. Of course, funding needs to be increased across the board and especially for Deis schools. Current funding for mainstream schools amounts to €1.09 per pupil per school day before Deis allocations. Even with the Fianna Fáil election manifesto promise of a 40 per cent rise it would still be only €1.53 per child per day. Using capitation grants as a funding model ignores that it costs much the same to heat and maintain a school with fewer pupils as it does for larger enrolments.
EDUCATION FUNDING DISADVANTAGED SCHOOLS DEIS SCHOOLS CHILD PROTECTION IRELAND
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