Glossary

Ireland's school system comes with its own vocabulary. These short definitions cover the terms you'll see across Scoil Scout — tap any of them to jump back to the page that mentions it.

DEIS
Short for “Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools” — the Department of Education’s programme that gives extra funding, smaller classes, and home‑school liaison support to schools serving areas with concentrated socioeconomic disadvantage. A school is designated Urban Band 1, Urban Band 2, or Rural depending on its catchment profile.
Gaelscoil
An all-Irish-medium school. Every subject except English is taught through Irish. Post-primary equivalents are called Gaelcholáistí. These are distinct from Gaeltacht schools, which are in Irish-speaking regions.
National School (NS)
Ireland’s state-funded primary schools. Most names end in NS, BNS (Boys’), GNS (Girls’), or CBS (Christian Brothers School). Fees are not charged; operating costs are covered by the Department of Education and the patron body.
Patronage
The organisation that owns and runs the school and sets its ethos. Common patrons include the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland, Educate Together, An Foras Pátrunáchta (for Gaelscoileanna), and Education and Training Boards (ETBs) at post-primary level.
Roll number
The unique identifier the Department of Education assigns to every school — a mix of digits and a letter, e.g. 17953F. It stays with the school even if the name, patron, or address changes.
SNA (Special Needs Assistant)
A staff role allocated by the NCSE to support the care needs of students with diagnosed special educational needs. The figures on Scoil Scout are the number of SNA posts allocated to the school for the most recent published year.
SET hours
Special Education Teaching hours — weekly teaching time allocated by the NCSE so a school can support students with additional learning needs. Replaced the older “resource / learning-support teacher” model in 2017.
Special class
A small class inside a mainstream school dedicated to students with a specific additional need (for example ASD or EBD classes). Class sizes are capped and staffing is more intensive than mainstream.
NCSE
The National Council for Special Education — the statutory body that allocates SNA posts, SET hours, and special classes across Irish schools, and publishes that data openly.
PTR (Pupil-Teacher Ratio)
Total enrolment divided by the number of teachers at the school. A rough proxy for class size — actual class size varies by year, subject, and special-class allocation.