Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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151. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number and breakdown of schools that had access to the summer education programme by county in 2020 and 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57009/21]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Earlier this year, my Department announced the provision of a significantly expanded summer education programme for pupils with complex special educational needs and those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage, as a COVID-19 pandemic response. For the first time all primary and post primary schools had access in providing the summer programmes for students with complex needs and/or those at risk of educational disadvantage.

I am pleased to say that this has resulted in the biggest ever uptake of the programme during the summer period with the overall number of schools participating rising by 72% and the number of students by 60% over 2020. This is in addition to the supplementary programme run earlier in the year which had over 14,000 applicants.

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

Details of available statistics that show the number of summer programmes that were run in schools in each county for the years 2020 and 2021 are attached.

/ie/oireachtas/debates/questions/supportingDocumentation/2021-11-23_pq151-23-11_en.xlsx" >Paid Late