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DEIS 3 YEAR PLAN 2017-2020

DEIS: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools

Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS), the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion, is the Department of Education and Skills action plan to address educational disadvantage. The Plan presents a set of objectives and actions to support children who are at greatest risk of Educational disadvantage and introduces the actions required to support them.  The Department prioritises a number of areas:

  • Improve DEIS Pupil Retention rates
  • Improve DEIS Attendance rates
  • Increase DEIS Literacy Rates
  • Increase DEIS Numeracy Rates
  • Improve DEIS Attainment rates
  • Increase the Progression to Further and Higher Education
  • Increase Parental Engagement
  • Improve Community Links

These priorities are directly linked to the Beneavin De La Salle School DEIS Plan 2017-2020

Retention

Targets:

  1. To decrease our dropout rate at Junior Cycle
  2. To decrease our dropout rate at Senior Cycle

 

Measures:

  • HSCL home visits – at risk students visited to encourage retention
  • Care Team – follow up on at risk students
  • Positive Behaviour initiatives
  • Meetings with parents and the promotion of parental involvement in their children’s learning
  • Counselling to students deemed at risk
  • Behaviour support Room
  • Encourage involvement in extracurricular activities
  • Variety in the programmes on offer (JCSP/LCA/TY etc)
  • Develop a mentoring programme to encourage students to aspire to do better in exams and stay in school – AMP Programme (Academic Mentoring Programme)
  • Supports – Provide extra supports for identified students where necessary, such as literacy and numeracy initiatives, reasonable accomodation in house exams
  • Curricular review – addition of subjects to JC and LC (including LCA and TY)

 

Attendance

Targets:

  1. Decrease the total number of days lost through student absences
  2. Decrease the total number of students who are absent for 20 days or more (chronic absenteeism)

 

Measures:

  • Attendance awareness month
  • Reward for attendance (trip/prize)
  • HSCL home visits – at risk students visited if attendance is becoming problematic (tutors pass information on to yearhead/HSCL
  • Care Team – follow up on at risk students
  • Curricular review / subject choice
  • Junior students staying in for lunch
  • Contact with parents – text when student absent / letter when attendance reaches specific  level and meeting parents when appropriate
  • Homework club / Breakfast club
  • Positive Behaviour initiatives
  • Behaviour support Room
  • Encourage involvement in extracurricular activities
  • Effective Policies and measures developed and implemented and accurate data kept
  • Review the tutor system and role of the tutor – giving the opportunity to take a more active role in their students attendance, including regular meetings with yearheads
  • Programmes – Jcsp / TY / LCA/ LCE

 

Literacy:

Targets:

  1.       To improve students’ comprehension
  2.       Increase student skills around oral presentation. – based on informal assessment

in classes and questionnaires

  1.       Improve students’ specific areas of writing – (i) sentence structure  (2)

         developing written answers

 

Measures:

  • To produce real data to show levels of literacy in individual pupils and classes; to use this data as a base for improvement in literacy in our school. Broaden range of teaching methodologies used/ professional development.  CAT4, GRTII, 6th Class Teacher Report, Passports
  • To raise awareness of teachers about the impact and implications of educational disadvantage on literacy levels.
  • Broaden range of teaching methodologies used/ professional development.
  • Reading initiatives including Book in the Bag, DEAR, Accelerated Reader, reading challenge
  • Comprehension Initiatives including Comprehension box, SRA lab and Toe By Toe
  • Guest Authors
  • Senior Cycle:  : Core Team developing comprehension in 4th year, LCA, %th Year and 6th year
  • Commonly misspelled words across the curriculum
  • Whole school structured approach to keywords and writing skills
  • Margins ruled correctly
  • Workshops targeting specific class groups
  • Workshop on paragraphing as used before.  Homework assignments that reinforce what has been taught in writing workshop
  • Questionnaires pre writing workshop and after workshop.
  • Promote self editing and proofing
  • All department plans to include a section on promoting writing in each subject
  • Workshops including JCSP Wrapparound, Filmmaking/media, public speaking etc
  • Explain importance of Oracy in New Junior Cert.  Students to present in all subjects that are now part of the new Junior Cert at least one time per year / mock CBAs

 

Numeracy

Targets:

  1. LCA – to decrease the number students with low Mathematical Applications
  2. Junior Cert maths uptake at higher level to increase
  3. JC foundation maths to decrease  
  4. Decrease number of 2nd yr students with severe difficulty with numeracy in the access test2
  5. Reduce the number of students taking foundation level at LC
  6. To increase the number of students taking LC HL maths

 

Measures:

  • Withdrawal of Gifted and able students at senior cycle (those identified by MA2 Test)
  • Maths initiative including Maths Eyes Poster Competition for 1st and 2nd Years, Maths Week, Numeracy Challenge/facts/board/competition, Maths for Fun, Thats Maths (cross curricular maths)
  • Attendance at Maths HW Club
  • Providing materials e.g. calculators, rulers
  • Active learning – Estimate/Measure
  • Clocks in every classroom
  • Numeracy Workout and Manga High
  • Percentage and Decimal Intervention

 

Attainment:

Targets:

  1. To increase the number of pupils attempting at least one higher level subject at Junior Cycle
  2. To increase the number of pupils attempting at least one higher level subject at Leaving Certificate
  3. To increase the number of students achieving a pass in the LCA

 

Measures:

  • A constant whole staff approach to recording results on vsware for teaching purposes
  • Reading ages tested / accelerated reader
  • Ensure senior cycle students have timetabled career guidance class
  • Further development of College Awareness week / talks from colleges and industry / visits to colleges / visuals of new grading around school / further develop links with college access programmes
  • Develop a mentoring programme to encourage students to aspire to do better in exams and go on to third level
  • LCA students to engage with Skills @ work programme through BITC and BORD GAIS
  • Monitoring of vsware for attendance /punctuality / academic tracking
  • Extend the group of students who engage with Skills @ work programme through BITC and BORD GAIS (TY)
  • Consultation / information meetings with parents
  • Develop after school study program as well as extra classes and revision classes / block classes
  • Encourage students to attend homework club
  • Curricular review – addition of subjects to JC and LC (including LCA and TY)

 

Progression

Targets:

  1. To increase the number of students going to third level
  2. To increase the number of students going to University

 

Measures:

  • Ensure senior cycle students have timetabled career guidance class
  • Further development of College Awareness week / talks from colleges and industry / visits to colleges /further develop links with college access programmes
  • Promote the taking of higher level subjects and outline their importance to students and parents
  • To engage Junior students in a career activity
  • Develop a mentoring programme to encourage students to aspire to do better in exams and go on to third level
  • Create a Transition Programme from third to sixth year including making proactive and appropriate choices
  • Information meetings with 6th year parents regarding CAO and HEAR/DARE and PLC applications

 

Partnership with parents:

Targets:

  1. Increase Attendance at Parent Teacher Meetings at senior cycle
  2. Increase attendance at Parent teacher Meetings at Junior cycle
  3. Increase engagement with courses offered
  4. Increase parents attendance at school events
  5. To increase engagement with the parents’ association
  6. To increase attendance at information meetings

 

Measures:

  • Raise profile of parent teacher meetings
  • Complete First Year Home Visits by Christmas (target families prior to midterm)
  • Increase contact with families (including written correspondence and one-to-one}
  • Develop a range of new Courses for parents
  • Coffee Morning – invite parents in on a monthly basis to engage with staff and other parent in a positive and relaxed atmosphere
  • Invite parents to sporting events and other school events
  • Extend the use of vsware to keep parents up to date
  • Increase the use of email / social media for keeping parents informed
  • Develop a committee to work on engaging parents along with HSCL
  • Engage with parents councils in local primary schools
  • Develop a paired reading initiative with parents
  • Invite parents to celebrations JCSP, awards, prefect ceremony etc- positive school contact

 

Partnership with Others

Targets:

  1. Increase Number of Agencies
  2. Increase relations with other schools
  3. increase number of schools  doing the primary school project
  4. Increase the number of students in TY and LCA doing career focussed work experience

 

Measures:

  • Continue to Liaise with Local Cluster
  • Build relationships with local employers and outside agencies via TY & LCA work experience and other initiatives
  • Build on links with local primary schools
  • Build on links with other LaSallian schools
  • Continue the formal transfer policy for incoming first years
  • Increase link with Business in the community, extend to other programmes beyond LCA
  • Develop paired reading with primary schools
  • Invite speakers based on careers
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