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Joint Committee on Autism publishes report on Summer Programme 2023 following resolution calling for specific actions from Minister for Education

1 Dec 2022, 11:15

The Joint Committee on Autism has today published its Report on the Summer Programme 2023 following its recent adoption of a resolution requesting the Minister for Education to take specific actions ahead of next year’s scheme.

Launching the report, Senator Micheál Carrigy, Cathaoirleach of the Committee, said: “The Summer Programme has arisen consistently during our meetings with stakeholders as a major issue and a source of frustration for autistic people and their families. Members of the Committee have received correspondence from families across the country who have been impacted severely by the failure of the State to provide the Summer Programme to all those who needed it in 2022.”

The Summer Programme – formerly known as ‘July Provision’ and ‘Summer Provision’ – was established as a four-week programme of education for children with autism and those with profound special educational needs (SEN) throughout the month of July. The Committee was told that in 2020 and 2021 the programme was significantly expanded, with an increase in eligibility from 15,000 children in 2019 to 80,000 children in 2021.

However, the Committee also heard that in expanding the cohort of pupils eligible for the Summer Programme, parents and Members have related that those for whom the programme was envisaged were no longer able to avail of it.

The resolution adopted by the Committee at its meeting on 25 October 2022 noted the evidence of parents of autistic children and other stakeholders about difficulties with the Summer Programme and called on the Minister for Education to:

  • Ensure that all autistic children will have access to the Summer Programme in 2023;
  • Ensure that all Special Schools will provide the Summer Programme in 2023;
  • Provide sufficient resources to schools in order that they may offer a comprehensive provision of the Summer Programme in 2023;
  • Liaise with the various stakeholders to ensure that increased numbers of schools participate in the Summer Programme, bringing the resources of Schools together where needed, thereby ensuring that a programme is available in every large town in the country;
  • Mitigate any constraints to the provision of the Summer Programme, including staffing and pay issues, and to broaden the potential workforce; and
  • Mitigate any difficulties with Garda vetting to allow staff to move from one school to another school easily.

Senator Carrigy said: “We heard powerful contributions from parents’ advocacy groups at our meeting with on 20 September 2022. The representatives of these organisations – themselves the parents of, and the carers to, autistic children – conveyed the unacceptable conditions that they and many other families face when trying to access this service.

“They highlighted the urgent need for action to ensure that no autistic child is left without a place in their local area in the Summer Programme 2023. It is in this time-critical context that the Joint Committee on Autism has passed the resolution published this report.”

Key issues identified throughout the course of Committee meetings were:

  • Regression over the summer holiday period;
  • Strain on carers and families;
  • Delays in schools confirming participation in the Summer Programme;
  • The expansion of the cohort to whom the Summer Programme is available and targeting pupils most in need of the service;
  • Staffing for the Summer Programme;
  • Incentives for teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) to participate;
  • Time allocation for schools to arrange provision of Summer Programme;
  • Refusal of schools to provide the Summer Programme;
  • Funding available for the Summer Programme project; and
  • Allocation of funding to schools for the Summer Programme.

The Committee also noted that the Government has announced a review of the Summer Programme, along with an allocation of €40 million to its budget in 2023, which matches the allocation provided in 2022. It is hoped this review will have a positive impact on the provision of the Summer Programme in 2023.

The Report on the Summer Programme 2023 is available on the Oireachtas website.

The Joint Committee on Autism has 13 Members, eight from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

 

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