Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2020
249. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education and Skills if students with Down's syndrome entering mainstream primary school or in mainstream post-primary schools are eligible for the July provision; and if not, the reason the matter was not made clear in the announcement of 5 June 2020. [13661/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra250. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education and Skills the recommendations for families and students that cannot secure a tutor and their school is not participating in the July provision. [13662/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra251. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education and Skills the percentage of children deemed eligible for July provision in past years; and the percentage of these children that were able to avail of the July provision. [13663/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department published details of Summer Provision 2020 – Reconnecting with Education including a programme for children with complex special educational needs.
The programme is a significant expansion on the July Provision programme of previous years with the eligibility criteria widened to include approximately 9,000 additional primary aged children with complex needs.
Approximately 15,000 children were eligible for July Provision in 2019 of which 10,563 or 70% accessed the scheme. There were two strands to the July Provision scheme, a school-based scheme and a home-based scheme. In 2019, 7,158 accessed the home based scheme and 3,405 accessed the school based scheme in 232 participating schools.
With regard to Summer Provision 2020, to date 231 schools have indicated that they intend to run a school based programme involving approximately 3,700 children. 9,781 families have registered for the home based summer programme involving 9,820 children.
In-school or home-based supports by teachers and SNAs will help to prevent regression among children with complex special educational needs.
The eligibility criteria includes the following categories of children:
1. Pupils with a diagnosis of Autism
2. Pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties
3. Any child in special school or a special class in a Primary School
4. Children transitioning into a special class or special school from early year’s settings
5. Pupils in primary school mainstream classes who present with the following disabilities:
Children with Down syndrome
Children who are Deaf or most severe hard of hearing
Children who are blind or have a most severe visual impairment
Children who have a moderate general learning disability
Children with severe emotional behavioural difficulties
Funding for summer provision is not available to in respect of children who are not covered by the programme criteria. A child must meet at least one of the eligibility criteria.
If a Parent is in doubt about their child’s eligibility, they should consult their child’s school or contact my Department. Contact details are available on my Departments website www.education.ie/en/Parents/Services/summerprovision/summer-education-programme-2020.html.
All special schools and primary schools with special classes are invited to provide the school based summer provision for their students. This programme will run for a minimum of two weeks and can extend up to four weeks where the schools, teachers and Special Needs Assistants are willing to participate.
Home-based provision will be available where a child’s local school is not providing a programme or does not have the capacity to accommodate a child in a planned programme this year. In this situation my Department will provide grant funding towards the engagement by Parents of a registered teacher/SNA to provide home based support for 10 hours a week for 4 weeks.
A dedicated online registration system for families of children with complex special needs to access Summer Provision is now available on Gov.ie/summerprovision.
Parents are asked to register their participation online, providing some outline information of the extent of their participation in the programme e.g. number of weeks.
Once registered, the parent is then free to plan and organise the programme for their child by consulting with the guidance on my Departments website.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has published information to assist Parents in sourcing the services or a Tutor or SNA for the 2020 Summer Provision The information is available on the NSCE website at https://ncse.ie/information-for-parents-on-private-home-tutor-services-advertising-platforms-for-the-2020-summer-provision-scheme.
A programme for DEIS schools for this Summer was also announced.
Full information on summer provision and its various strands, including guidance information for parents, is available at Gov.ie/summerprovision.
