The Department of Education is planning significant changes to the way funding aimed at combating disadvantage is distributed among schools.

One hundred and ten primary and post-primary schools are expected to get additional resources as a result of what the department says will be a more robust way of identifying schools in need.

The new system will be phased in from September.

The current programme, DEIS, was introduced 12 years ago.

Under the scheme more than 800 schools get additional funding, teachers and other supports to help them address the effects of deprivation.

Studies have shown improved educational outcomes in DEIS schools in recent years.

However, no new schools have been admitted into the scheme since 2009.

The Department of Education review to be published later today outlines a new system for targeting schools in need of support, using information that the department now collects from schools, as well as data from the Central Statistics Office.

From September an additional 80 schools will be brought into the programme.

A further 30 schools already in DEIS will be granted additional supports because their deprivation levels have been found to be greater than previously assessed.

The Department of Education said these schools will be notified in the coming weeks.

An additional €15m annually was allocated in the last budget to facilitate this revision of the DEIS programme.

The department said no schools currently in DEIS will lose supports during this academic year, but a finalised resource allocation model will be completed next year.

It said if this analysis finds that disadvantage levels in some DEIS schools are lower than in other schools outside the programme then the reallocation of supports "would have to be considered".

The department said improved data on the socio-economic make-up of school populations also means that additional resources can be better calibrated to meet schools' specific needs.

It added that the proposed new assessment process will take into account factors such as school size, the presence of groups of Traveller children, or groups of pupils who are not fluent in English.

The review found that there are a number of schools, not currently in DEIS, whose deprivation levels are "significantly higher" than many schools within the programme. It says these schools will be the first to be included in the revised scheme.

It says that all schools - both primary and post-primary - will now be assessed using the new framework, and additional supports will be rolled out to those schools that qualify from next September.

The report says the old system was "quite rigid and inflexible". It says that annual data updates will lead to greater movement in the range and level of supports for schools as these are matched more closely to identified need.

As well as extra funding and more teachers, DEIS schools also have greater access to psychological and behavioural supports for pupils, as well as school meals schemes and initiatives to promote school attendance.

The review recommends a special focus on a number of areas, including a renewed focus on measures to support attendance and participation among Travellers, Roma and other students at risk of early school leaving.