Moving beyond educational disadvantage: Report of the Educational Disadvantage Committee 2002-2005

This is the final report of the current Educational Disadvantage Committee, which was set up by the Minister for Education, Michael Woods TD, in March 2002, with a three-year term of office. Over the past three years the committee has debated and analysed educational disadvantage and the initiatives that aimed to address it. The work of the committee not only focused on the education of children and young people in schools, but also examined educational disadvantage in the broader social context and with a lifelong learning perspective. The committee is pleased to note that many of its earlier recommendations have been incorporated in the DEIS action plan for educational inclusion, announced by the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin TD, in May 2005 (Department of Education and Science, 2005a). This final report of the current Educational Disadvantage Committee adds to and complements the DEIS action plan by integrating school-based responses within a co-ordinated strategy to achieve educational equality for all. The report will be presented to the Minister for Education and Science and will also be made available to the public. Its purpose is to inform future policy and actions in relation to educational disadvantage by the Department of Education and Science, by other government departments and state agencies, and by the independent sector. In this report the Educational Disadvantage Committee puts forward a strategy for achieving an inclusive lifelong learning society where people are entitled and enabled to achieve their full educational potential and aspirations without barriers.