To ask the Minister of Education (i) to outline the mechanisms in place to identify which children should benefit from Targeting Social Need funding and Sure Start funding and; (ii) whether schools are required to spend the funding entirely on pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

It is a core DE policy to tackle underachievement and promote the raising of standards and equality in all our schools and enable every young person to fulfil his or her potential. At the core of the policy is self-evaluation leading to sustained self-improvement, combined with a formal intervention process for those schools where the quality of education provision is less than satisfactory.

Whilst eligibility for TSN is determined by the number of FSME pupils in a school, there is a strong case for interventions at whole school, year group, class and individual level, depending upon the challenges being faced. Schools are best placed to decide how to use their Targeting Social Need budget.

Sure Start services are targeted towards the 25% most disadvantaged geographical areas as per the Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure (NIMDM), which is the official measure of deprivation in Northern Ireland. Sure Start Services are delivered by 38 Sure Start settings in the targeted areas and are available to children aged 0-3 years, prior to attending school.