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

I echo what the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte has said and I appreciate her support. I commend Senator Carrigy on his work and Deputy Buckley on sponsoring the motion. I thank both of them for their contributions and I thank Deputies Canney, Connolly, Michael Moynihan, Tully, Joan Collins, Ó Murchú, Funchion, Ó Cathasaigh and Conway-Walsh. I have taken a note of everything they have said, as has an official from the Department, along with taking note of the report. We will be looking at all of it in detail.

I will respond briefly to some of the issues that have been brought up. We want the recommendations put in place for this summer. That is what we are endeavouring to do. I have addressed all of the recommendations in some form or manner. We are introducing a specific special school programme this year as a pilot initiative so that we can have a real focus on supporting these schools in a new way. We are also introducing the new summer programme co-ordinator role, which will operate at a national level to support special schools in finding solutions. That national co-ordinator will work with schools to facilitate arrangements that are needed.

On the school day itself, for special schools in particular we got feedback from both parents and schools that the school day would be reduced from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The staff, however, will be paid for the full day. This recognises the challenges that are associated with running the programme in a special school, including break times and transport concerns. That feedback will encourage schools to do more weeks and to participate. The available workforce will also be critical to the success of the programme and a portal will be available for teachers and SNAs to register their interest in working on a school-based programme in a special school. That workforce portal will be advertised in our universities and it will be promoted through education partners. In another first, where a child's special school is not running a school-based programme, another portal will be available that will allow parents to register their children’s details so that, if a place becomes available in another location, their participation in a programme may be organised.

Across the summer programme more broadly, many developments have been undertaken, including extensive consultations. We have introduced a theme for the first time this year, which will have an emphasis on creativity, fun and learning activities, and that will be inviting for students and staff alike.

On preparation hours, a dedicated school organiser role will be in each school that is offering the summer programme. That should also assist. There will be enhanced levels of information sharing and training, which should help with the transitioning arrangements. There will also be one programme this year for mainstream primary schools to replace the previous special classes and inclusion programmes in order that there will be one cohesive programme instead of separate ones.

Garda vetting was mentioned a couple of times. As Deputies know, the summer programme was announced much earlier this year and the new organiser role in schools can address the vetting issue. The school will be able to apply for Garda vetting earlier to ensure that it is completed before the programmes run in schools. It is to be hoped that will also help. I will also have ongoing engagement with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, regarding the CDNTs, which were also brought up.

On EPVs, it is important to say that schools have flexibility, when designing the summer programme, to hold it at a time that best suits parents and staff. That is one of the main reasons it is not called the July programme. A few people mentioned the July provision as opposed to the summer programme. It is called the summer programme in order that there is flexibility for schools to hold it in July, August or, in some cases, June. It need not necessarily be just July. The Department is providing funding to schools to allow them to appoint a staff member to co-ordinate and design the summer programme from an earlier stage to maximise participation. It is intended that such co-ordination will mean schools can avoid times when staff may wish to access CPD courses.

In addition to existing staff in schools who can work on the summer programme, the Department is also facilitating arrangements for other staff to be available this year. These staff include early childcare workers and students in a variety of related disciplines, including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and social care. The CPD courses are of two weeks duration. The new requirement will be for eight hours of synchronous provision per online course. Some 40% of the total hours can be spread across a number of different modules. The remaining 60% of the hours can be done when the teacher wishes. The Department is aware that the revisions mean changes in how the online CPD courses are run, both for course providers and the teachers attending them. The Department is engaging with providers to listen to the concerns they have raised.

A Deputy asked me about how many special schools may be participating. The scheme is not launching until next week so no school has registered yet. The registration portal will open very soon and the national co-ordinator will be reaching out to all special schools. If there are issues, we will look at local arrangements between schools.

I again thank the committee for the comprehensive body of work that has been put into this report by all committee members and Deputies. I appreciate the fact it was stated that this is a cross-party issue and, to a certain extent, a non-political issue. Even though we are all politicians, we all have the best interests of children and people with autism at heart. The summer programme is not just about children with autism; it is also for disadvantaged children and migrant communities, including Ukrainians, who were mentioned and were largely able to be assisted last year, which was of great benefit to them in their integration into Irish communities. I again thank all Members. I will take the interim report's recommendations very seriously. We will revert to Deputies in due course.

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