David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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484. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the primary and secondary special schools recognised by her Department in counties Cork and Waterford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17980/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Special schools funded by my Department are classified as primary national schools and are intended to cater for children and young persons with special educational needs from the age of 4 years until the end of the school year in which they reach their 18th year.

A list of all special schools in the country, including those in the counties referenced by the Deputy, are available on the NCSE website at the following link: ncse.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCSE-Teaching-SNA-Allocation-Special-Schools-20.21-12.06.2020.1.pdf

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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485. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools that provided July provision for the past five years, by county; and the number of schools that propose to facilitate July provision in 2022, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17981/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of the July Provision Scheme was to provide an extended school year for children with a severe or profound general learning disability or children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The scheme was developed to reduce potential regression in learning associated with these specific categories of special education needs over the summer holidays. With regard to the range of years referred to by the Deputy, Special schools and schools with special classes were permitted to run the school-based programme over the years 2017-2020 inclusive.

In 2020 a significantly expanded summer programme was established as a response to COVID-19 with the eligibility criteria widened to include approximately 9,000 additional children with complex needs.

The programme aims were to ensure, in so far as possible, that these children could reintegrate/transition into their planned education setting for the next school year with their peers. As part of this expansion, the Department’s existing Literacy and Numeracy camps for DEIS Primary Band 1 schools was included in the Summer Programme and extended to all DEIS Primary schools. Furthermore, DEIS post-primary schools were given the option of running an inclusion programme for the first time.

In 2021, due to the ongoing pandemic, the government announced a further expanded to the Summer Programme. Under this expansion, students with complex special educational needs and those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage had access to an enhanced summer programme of education. The total funding available to provide the programme was €40 million, which was a 100% increase on the allocation for summer provision in 2020. The range of programmes on offer built on the success of the expanded programmes that ran in 2020 and incorporated feedback from education stakeholders. For the first time, all primary schools were given the opportunity to run a 2-3 week inclusion programme, an expansion to all post-primary schools that had been previously only been available in DEIS post-primary schools in 2020. In addition, enhanced supports provided included measures to reduce the administrative burden, provision of funding to schools towards preparation and overseeing of the programmes, earlier payment to school staff and provision to recruit newly qualified teachers to work on the programme.

My Department is currently at an advanced stage of planning for the 2022 summer programme. Details of the programme will published as soon as possible.

Due to the different structures of July Provision and the Summer Programme, the information as requested by the Deputy is broken down to cover the years 2017-2020 and 2021 for the primary and post primary programmes, as well as a separate breakdown of the DEIS Literacy and Numeracy/Campai Samhraidh over the period 2017-2021.

1. 2017-2020

1a Schools offering the Special Class and Special School Programme

1b 2020 – DEIS Post Primary Schools offering the Inclusion Programme

2. 2021

2a. Expanded Primary Programme 2021

Note:Some schools ran the Special School and Special Class Programme, as well as the Inclusion Programme

2b. Post-Primary Schools offering Inclusion Programme in 2021

3. Number of Literacy and Numeracy Camps (English and Gaeilge) run in DEIS Primary Schools 2017-2021

Note:Commencing in 2021, schools were permitted to run 2 camps

English

Gaeilge