Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair for his comments. Around the summer provision, there has been a 64% increase in special schools and classes availing of it between 2019 and 2021. It has increased over the last three years. However, I accept what the Chair is saying. We want to increase that into the future. I would like every school to provide summer provision where they can. There were 377 special schools with special classes providing it over the last two years, which is around 5,587 children. To put that in context, there were only about 149 schools in 2011 with about 2,500 children. It helps children build their confidence, increases their well-being and provides motivation to them. We want to see more schools providing it into the future. I will be working very closely with the Department to make sure we get the feedback from this year. We can come back to the committee if it wishes and speak about that.

The special schools get an extra €2,000 in grant funding to try to incentivise them. There is an extra week's pay there as well. I have heard what the Chair and Deputy Harkin said about using other staff outside the education staff. That is worth considering. The National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education, NABMSE, and the Department inspectorate provided a presentation on the supports and the benefits to children on the summer provision to try to encourage other schools to avail of it. We will be doing as much as we possibly can, on top of what we are already doing. Some of the steps we took included the provision of paid overseeing and preparation time for schools. We have reduced the administrative burden for schools, as I said earlier. We have tried to provide greater flexibility in the timing of the programme and guidance to schools to design and deliver the programme so we can have as much uptake as possible. It is a long summer and it can be very difficult for families. The children get so much out of it. They also get a report for September on what they have done. They can learn a lot through fun-based activities, whether that is in music, drama or art. It is something we are trying to promote as much as we possibly can.