Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Funchion for raising this matter. The July provision grant scheme provides funding for an extended school year for children with severe-profound general learning disabilities or children with autism spectrum disorders, ASD. Under this scheme, the school year of participating schools is extended by four weeks in July. Only special schools or mainstream schools that have special classes for autism and-or severe and profound learning disability are eligible to participate in the programme.

Each year eligible schools are invited to participate in the programme. Participation in the programme is voluntary and subject to the availability of suitably qualified personnel in July. Approximately 507 schools are eligible for this programme and approximately 219 take part, which is just over 40%.

Where school-based provision is not feasible, eligible students may be granted 40 hours of home-based tuition, which provides ten hours for each of the four weeks. Where an eligible school is not participating in the school based programme, it is open to parents to apply for the home-based July provision grant scheme. Approximately 3,400 children are in schools and 6,100 are availing of home based provision. The majority of children under the July provision are catered for at home.

The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, undertook a review of this, along with other aspects of autism spectrum supports, last year. The review recommends that, as an alternative to the existing scheme, stakeholders should discuss the development of a national day activity scheme that provides a structured, safe, social environment for all students with complex special educational needs for one month of the summer holidays. My Department has convened an implementation group to ensure that the report’s recommendations are considered. While that work is underway, there are no plans to change the existing July provision scheme.

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