Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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120. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of her Department’s review of the summer programme, formerly known as the July provision; if she will provide details of the international best practice models being considered as part of the review; the terms of reference for the review; when the review will be completed and published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58254/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Summer Programme is an important scheme for pupils with complex special educational needs and those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage. It provides these students with an opportunity to maintain their connection with education and helps to ensure they continue their journey in September either in school or in further/higher education or training.

The Summer Programme has made significant progress over the last few years. Until 2020, the programme was previously known as July Provision and for many years catered for children in special schools and classes with autism. When the provision was significant expanded it then became known as the Summer Programme.

To support and facilitate schools and principals with organising and running the programme, the 2022 Summer Programme allowed principals to delegate these functions to other members of staff. Capitation funding and preparation hours were provided to schools who participated in the programme, with additional funding and hours provided to schools that run the Special Class and Special School Programme. Further funding was also made available to special schools, in recognition of the extra complexities in running programmes in their schools.

Participation with the programme has grown over the last number of years with 2022 seeing more schools and more students participate than ever before. This year’s figures show that more than 41,000 students will have benefitted from the programme with over 1,000 schools running a programme. This is an increase in of over 7% on the 2021 numbers of participating students.

Funding has been approved under Budget ’23 to continue the expanded summer programme for 2023. The delay in announcing the Summer Programme in previous years has meant that some schools had insufficient time to adequately prepare and were not able commit running the programme. This early announcement, for 2023, affords schools every opportunity schools and gives several extra months to plan for a summer programme next year.

The Department is very conscious that parents want this programme to be available in more schools in 2023. The on-going development of the Summer Programme aim remains, is that children with the highest level of need have access a school based programme.

The Department has already started intensively, through the review process, to engage with the management bodies, schools, the sectors as a whole, with a view to encouraging schools and supporting them to participate in next year’s programme. We want to support schools fully in terms of organisation, workforce availability, administration, resources and training to make it as successful as possible.

It must be noted, while it is important to support a summer based programme in our special schools and special classes, it is also essential to ensure that the children with complex special educational needs who are in our mainstream settings also have access to this critical support. As our system has become more inclusive and many of these children with more complex needs now attend mainstream settings, it is recognised that they too will be impacted by school holidays and require that additional support to ensure that they achieve their potential.

Also, as part of this review the Department is engaging with stakeholders including the Special Education Consultative Forum in order to ensure voices on the ground are being heard. The Department has already met with officials from Malta to utilise some of the learnings from their system in terms of the planning and organisation and will be engaging directly with parents through the National Parents Council.

The Inspectorate in the Department has also visited schools, including special schools as part of that process, and are liaising with staff, parents and the children who participated to help ensure that the review takes account of the lived experience. The Department will also look at innovative way to promote and publicise the programme for next summer to further raise awareness of the scheme and publicise the benefits of running a scheme. Alternative solutions to how schools can accommodate the summer programme will also form part of the approach for the programme in 2023.

Following the review of this year's programme and finalisation of planning for next year, the details of the 2023 Summer Programme are intended to be published by the end of January 2023.