Leadership+ article, Issue 119: Key Issues for DEIS Schools
- Published: 07 October 2021
DR. PAUL DOWNES DIRECTOR OF THE EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE CENTRE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION, INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION, DCU
Our Educational Disadvantage Centre submission and presentation to the Joint Oireachtas Education Committee (December 2020) in response to the Covid pandemic raised key issues regarding the provision of emotional counsellors/therapists and hot meals onsite in schools. It did so against the backdrop of comparison with many European countries that routinely provide both. Several European countries have bridged the education/ health divide by providing key health services onsite in schools, with the aid of multidisciplinary teams. Ireland is playing catch-up in this area.
