DEIS Plus 2026/27: City Connects, Wellbeing and Guidance
A practical guide to City Connects, Education Wellbeing Practitioners and the developing Whole School Guidance pilot in DEIS Plus schools.
Three related developments are taking shape in and around DEIS Plus schools for 2026/27: the expansion of City Connects, access to Education Wellbeing Practitioners, and the first phase of a Whole School Guidance pilot for primary schools.
They share a practical theme: coordinating support around children's strengths, needs and wellbeing, with clearer links between school, family and community services.
They are not one combined programme, and they do not create one new national record or Student Support File template.
Note
Confirmed and still developing
City Connects is due to expand to 25 schools in Limerick city and Tallaght from September 2026. Education Wellbeing Practitioners have expanded into DEIS Plus schools. Whole School Guidance is a phased pilot intended to begin with DEIS Plus schools in 2026/27, but the Department says more information will follow.
City Connects Expands from September 2026
The Department announced on 19 August that City Connects will expand to 25 schools in Limerick city and Tallaght under the DEIS Plus Scheme Implementation Plan.
The Limerick cluster contains 13 schools: 12 primary schools and one post-primary school. The Tallaght cluster contains 12 primary schools. Implementation is expected from the beginning of the 2026/27 school year.
City Connects uses a dedicated coordinator to help a school systematically identify each child's strengths, interests and needs, then connect the child with appropriate in-school and community-based supports and enrichment opportunities. The coordinator and programme-manager roles are teachers seconded to Tusla Education Support Services.
This is a defined programme in selected schools. It should not be presented as a new process that every Irish school must adopt.
Education Wellbeing Practitioners in DEIS Plus Schools
The Education Wellbeing Practitioners in Schools programme has also expanded into the DEIS Plus Scheme. Practitioners work under the direction and supervision of NEPS psychologists.
Their stated work includes:
- strengthening whole-school preventative approaches to wellbeing and mental health
- offering psycho-educational support to children, parents and school staff
- providing prevention and early intervention for mild or emerging wellbeing needs
The Department's August evaluation reported that 22,375 primary-school children had benefited across the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot and Education Wellbeing Practitioner strands. It also reported improvements in areas including emotional regulation, resilience, communication and coping strategies.
Our guide to recording wellbeing support in Student Support Files explains how to record educationally relevant actions without copying confidential counselling detail into a working school plan.
Whole School Guidance Is at an Earlier Stage
The Department's Primary School Guidance page describes a phased action-research project intended to run from September 2026 to 2030, beginning through engagement with DEIS Plus schools.
Phase one is described as an introduction to guidance in primary schools during 2026/27. The stated aim is to support scoping, system learning and an eventual national rollout of Whole School Guidance in the primary sector.
The same page says more information will follow. Schools should therefore avoid inventing a local compliance deadline, mandatory template or record structure that the Department has not published.
Warning
Do not turn an announcement into a requirement
The current Whole School Guidance page signals the direction and duration of the pilot. It does not yet prescribe a new national Student Support File, Student Support Plan or school-level deadline.
Which Record Should Hold What?
More coordinated support does not mean copying the same sensitive information into every record.
| Record | Useful content | Keep elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Student Support File or Plan | Educationally relevant strengths, priority needs, classroom impact, agreed strategies, responsible staff, targets where appropriate, and review evidence | Detailed counselling-session content, unnecessary clinical history, or a full programme case record |
| Log of Actions | Dates of relevant consultations or referrals, people involved, agreed school actions and follow-up dates | Narrative case notes or confidential material that is not needed to guide educational support |
| Programme or service record | Information required by the applicable City Connects, counselling, wellbeing or guidance process | Unrelated Student Support File content copied for convenience |
| Whole-school planning record | Service mapping, roles, general procedures and non-identifying improvement actions | Identifiable details about individual pupils unless the record has a defined need and access basis |
Use the official form or record required by each programme. Then place only the information needed to guide teaching and educational support in the individual Student Support File.
A Practical Checklist for School Leaders
- Confirm which developments apply to your school. City Connects and the current DEIS Plus supports apply to selected settings, not every school.
- Map existing records before creating another form. Identify where referrals, consent, programme actions, Student Support Plans and reviews already belong.
- Name responsibility and follow-up. Record who owns each agreed school action and when it will be reviewed.
- Keep the Student Support File educationally focused. Record the functional impact in school, relevant strategies, agreed actions and review evidence.
- Limit access according to purpose. Follow the programme rules and the school's data-protection, safeguarding and records policies.
- Wait for the Whole School Guidance materials. Use the current Department page as a policy signal, not as a substitute for guidance that has not yet been published.
For individual plans, the Student Support Plan collaboration and review checklist gives practical prompts for gathering input, assigning actions and recording progress.
Where SENScribe Fits
SENScribe helps teachers organise their own observations and agreed educational information into a structured draft Student Support File or Student Support Plan. Teachers review and edit that draft before it becomes part of any official school record.
SENScribe does not make referral or eligibility decisions, replace an official programme form, or turn counselling notes into educational targets. Its role is narrower: helping school staff draft and review the educational plan around the support a child needs in school.
See the SENScribe workflow
Review how teachers draft, edit, export and share Student Support Plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is City Connects available in every Irish school?
No. The September 2026 expansion covers 25 schools in Limerick city and Tallaght. The Department also describes existing implementation in Dublin's North East Inner City.
Do DEIS Plus schools need a new Student Support File template?
The announcements reviewed for this article do not prescribe a new national Student Support File template. Schools should continue using the current framework and any official programme records that apply to their setting.
Has Whole School Guidance become a national requirement for primary schools?
No. The Department describes a phased pilot intended to run from September 2026 to 2030, beginning with DEIS Plus schools. Its current page says more information will follow.
Should counselling-session notes go into the Student Support File?
Usually, the Student Support File should contain the educationally relevant need, school strategy, assigned action and review evidence rather than detailed counselling-session content. Schools should follow the applicable service rules and their data-protection, safeguarding and records policies.
Official sources: City Connects expansion to Limerick city and Tallaght · Education Wellbeing Practitioners in Schools · Evaluation of the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot · Primary School Guidance