Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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This is a very important topic, as I know the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, appreciates. It relates to what was known as the July provision and now has a new name, that is, the summer school programme for all primary schools. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important matter. Since I tabled it, the Department has published the guidelines, which is one of the issues I was going to raise. I welcome that the guidelines have been issued. I also welcome the sending of a letter to all principals. I will come to the good points contained in the guidance but I have no idea why it has been issued so late in the year. It creates huge problems for schools in terms of preparation, clarity and certainty. Will the Minister of State give an explanation as to why it is so late in coming and an assurance this will not happen again?

There are a number of positive elements outlined clearly in the guidelines and the letter to principals. There are 11 bullet points setting out proposed improvements, including that an overseer may be appointed, a preparation time will be given and there will be an additional ten hours of paid time. I want to highlight the positives. There is a difficulty, however, regarding the undertaking in respect of additional pay for teachers and special needs assistants, SNAs. I am not sure whether I am just being pedantic but there seems to be a difference in this regard between what is stated in the guidance and in the letter that went to principals. The letter indicates that teachers and SNAs working on the programme will receive an additional week's pay for each week of the programme based on their personal rate of pay. On page 15 of the guidelines, the position on payment rates is not so clear. It states that overseers, teachers and SNAs who work on the programme will be paid for this work based on what they are normally paid during the year, that is, their personal rate. The letter suggests there will be a doubling of that rate. Will the Minister of State clarify this? I welcome the other points set out, including that the application form will be simplified, there will be flexibility and so on.

My difficulty relates to the core number of pupils in special schools and special classes who are being left out of the summer schools programme. The Minister of State might disagree with me on this, so I will go into a little detail to explain my point. The reason the July programme came about in the first place was not as a result of a proactive move by any Department or Government. It came from a High Court action back in the late 1990s. Arising from that ruling, the Department had to provide for a system that ensured children with complex special needs would not be deprived of an education for a long period during the summer, which was leading to such pupils regressing. It was necessary to go to the High Court to get that basic recognition and out of that ruling came the July provision. I understand a review of the provision has been under way since 2019. Where is the outcome of that review? It is very important that we see it.

Some of the figures that have been pointed out to me in respect of the number of children in special schools and special classes who are not in a position to avail of the July provision because their schools are not providing it are truly shocking. It is done on a voluntary basis and if schools do not opt in, there is no service. Various people concerned with this issue have got the figures through freedom of information requests. There should be no need to have to find out the information in this way. A review of the July provision should be carried out each year and an analysis provided of the uptake, the feedback on how well it operated and, most importantly, why some pupils were not in a position to avail of it. This would ensure the Department can learn from what is happening each year and that more certainty can be brought to bear on the issue. I keep calling it the July provision even though the name has changed.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State to reply.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Did I get four minutes?

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy did, and a little extra.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I beg your pardon, Acting Chairman.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy spoke for four minutes and 23 seconds. She is correct that this is a very important topic and I am delighted the Ceann Comhairle selected it for discussion. I want to reiterate the importance and aims of the summer provision. It builds confidence in children, supports pupils to re-engage with education, increases their motivation and promotes well-being. For children at key transition stages, it helps to ensure they can move on to planned educational placements along with their peers in the coming September.

Before I speak more generally about the summer provision, I will try to answer some of the Deputy's questions. Regarding the timing, the announcement was made on 4 May, as she knows. This is perhaps the earliest date in any year on which the details of the provision have been given. The Deputy may be aware that I have set up a special education consultative forum, which met today with a variety of stakeholders to discuss issues pertaining to special education.

The Deputy asked a related question about the review of the provision.

An inspectorate review of the summer provision was done last year. That report was shared with stakeholders and was used to inform the summer programme. We wanted to wait until that was completed. Another one of the Deputy's questions was about the take-up of and participation in the summer provision. Because all 4,000 schools are eligible for this summer provision, we want to encourage as many as possible to engage in it. The Deputy outlined some of the incentives the Department has used to get schools to participate. Some of that was based on the feedback we received from that review, including the funding, the preparation time, faster payments for the staff, etc.

I think the Deputy also mentioned pay. To clarify, it is a week's pay plus an extra week's pay for the staff. Again, that is a strong incentive. In fairness to the staff, the SNAs and the teachers have worked hard over recent years, during the pandemic and subsequently. We do not want them to be exhausted but we do want them to avail of the summer provision work because we know how much it means to children and their parents. That is why we are trying to incentivise them.

We have also provided school transport. We have special transport services. If that service is not available, a grant will be given or the school can organise its own transport in order that we can get children to avail of it.

There are five different elements to this. We have the inclusion programme in primary schools, which lasts two to three weeks. We have special classes and special school programmes. We have DEIS as well. Let us not forget that this is about disadvantaged children as well. In addition, Ukrainian children will be able to avail of this programme for the very first time. I think the schools are very excited to be able to offer this to Ukrainian children this year.

Lastly, if you do not mind, Chair, there is enhanced funding-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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You still have time left.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I have another 14 seconds.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Yes. I was just flagging that.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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There is enhanced funding for special schools in recognition of the complexity of their needs. They enrol the children with the most complex needs.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I will speak very fast this time to keep within my two minutes.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is still two minutes.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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The letter I have states that children with complex special needs feel abandoned. They are absolutely at their wits' end. The take-up for the July provision is very low. I do not have the time to go into the figures, but it is a very finite number of students who are in special classes and special schools. It is not beyond our capability to provide the service for them for four weeks during the summer, but that is not happening.

Let us look at the figures alone. There are 8,108 children in special schools and 8,500, approximately, in special classes. The number attending the July provision is minimal. I have the figures in front of me. I ask the Minister of State to recognise that and to let the parents feel they are being heard. I know that the Department has set up a consultative forum, and I welcome that, but I asked the Minister of State about the review that was started in 2019. Has it been completed? Will it be published? Is it available?

The deficits have been pointed out by the people on the ground for whom July provision was set up. They are losing out. The Minister of State knows that, as does the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. They are absolutely at their wits' end from the time the schools close until they open. They had to go to the High Court in the first place, and now the take-up of the service makes it impossible. What the Department has stated in its guidelines and in the letter to the principal is that the children will be able to do this at home. That is not possible. They need to go out. Summer camps and all the other things that are available to most children are not available to these children with complex special needs. I know that personally and professionally from being on the ground, as I am sure everybody here does, so-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am just flagging your time, Deputy.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We lose a few seconds and lose our train of thought when you tap the bell, Chair.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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You should be used to it.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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In any event, this has to be taken on board by the Department. What provision will be made long term for next year? The people on the ground have made very sensible suggestions as to how to deal with this. It is bordering on insulting - this is not directed at the Minister of State - for a letter to go out stating that the children can avail of this at home. It is not possible. They need special provision for four weeks. There was an underspend-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Deputy.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I will finish on the underspend.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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You will.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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There was a huge underspend in respect of the July provision. What has happened to that money?

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Thankfully, we are not back in the 1990s, and significant work has been done since then on this, together with the supplementary Covid learning and support scheme. I totally agree with the Deputy and am ad idemwith her on one thing, which is that the families really need this service and need respite for their children to bring them on. We gave some of this information to the Ombudsman for Children as well. Some children with autism, for example, in special schools and special classes are no longer in those classes but in mainstream settings. There are more children now in mainstream settings than there were in the past. In those circumstances the provision of support is not about the location but about the level of need. That is critical. As I said, there are enhanced supports and enhanced funding for special schools. Guidance has gone to schools. It was based on engagement with management bodies and unions, and states that the schools should prioritise those with the most complex needs. That guidance from the Department to schools has been very clear, and schools can take on as many students as they have the capacity to take on. There is no difficulty with that. That is really important.

The inspectorate did a review which has fed into this year as well. We never want to take away from one category to the other. As I said, this is based on need, not location. We have lots of statistics. There has been a 64% increase in special schools and special classes from 2019 to 2021, so we are making progress. We used the feedback this year in order that we could make it a more streamlined process and make it as attractive as we possibly could. We have doubled the funding from €20 million to €40 million, a 100% increase, to try to get schools to participate voluntarily in this scheme for the benefit of the parents and the children.