Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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731. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to the Government’s approval for the July provision for pupils with complex special educational needs and those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage, if she will consider overturning the decision for children with autism who prior to Covid-19 pandemic would have been in receipt of two weeks July provision at home and two weeks at school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30904/21]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Government has approved the provision of significantly expanded summer education programmes for pupils with complex special educational needs and those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage, as a COVID-19 pandemic response measure, for summer 2021.

This is an incredibly important Government decision, which ensures that for first time all primary and post primary schools have the opportunity to provide summer programmes for students with complex needs and those at risk of educational disadvantage.

The total funding available to provide the programme is up to €40 million, a one hundred per cent increase on the allocation for summer provision in 2020.

The programmes for mainstream students in primary and post-primary schools are new programmes for 2021, building upon previous summer programmes for pupils with complex special educational needs and those in provided in DEIS schools last year.

Where a school offers a school based programme, it is not open to any student of that school to access the home based programme. This is in line with the approach last year.

Children participating in a 2 week school based programme receive in excess of 40 hours tuition which is the maximum that can be availed of in the 4 week home-based programme.