Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 June 2022
137. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Education if she will review the reduction of July provision hours allocated to children (details supplied) who have complex needs; and the reason hours are reduced due to the children attending the same school. [31150/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraEarlier this month, the Government announced the Summer Programme to allow all primary and post-primary schools to offer a summer programme for students with complex special educational needs and those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage.
The total funding available to provide summer programmes this year is up to €40 million.
The programme was developed following extensive engagement with education stakeholders, parent and disability advocacy groups.
A key objective of this year’s scheme is to increase the number of schools offering the summer programme to their students. Steps have been taken to afford schools as much flexibility as possible, and to ease administrative requirements to support schools run a summer programme. It is accepted that a school-based programme provides a more holistic experience for the students and helps retain the important connection with school and peers.
It is acknowledged that not all schools will be in a position to provide a school-based programme, so a home-based programme continues to be available for students with complex needs where the school-based programme is unavailable.
Under the home-based summer programme the allocation is 10 hours per week for 4 weeks where a student’s school is not participating in a school-based programme. The allocation is done on a per household basis with adjusted allocations for siblings.
Allocations of time for siblings broadly reflect how children may be grouped if they were in the same class at school. This is where one teacher is allocated to a class of six students with complex needs in schools.
However to meet the specific needs of different siblings with special needs in the home, an increased shared allocation is provided for siblings as set out in the table below:
|
Number of siblings participating in home-based programme |
Number of hours allocated per week to be shared between participating siblings |
|
Two |
15 hours per week shared for four weeks (60 hours shared total) |
|
Three |
20 hours per week shared for four weeks (80 hours shared total) |
|
Four |
25 hours per week shared for four weeks (100 hours shared total) |
|
Five |
30 hours per week shared for four weeks (120 hours shared total) |
|
Six |
35 hours per week shared for four weeks (140 hours shared total) |
The scheme is responsive as it allows for circumstances where additional hours can be provided, as outlined below, when children have differing levels of need, school setting or residence .
Separate allocations of 10 hours per week will be provided to a child where that child is:
- Attending school at a different educational level to their sibling – (i.e. one child is primary and the other is post-primary)
- One child is in a specialised setting (i.e. one child in a special class or a special school and the other child in mainstream)
- Where two eligible children are each in a specialised setting (i.e. a special class or a special school)
- Or where one sibling is living in a separate home.
The siblings referred to by the Deputy do not meet the criteria as set out above for a separate allocation. However, if there is further supporting information in relation to any of the above criteria please provide this information to the Department for consideration at: homebasedsummerprogram@education.gov.ie.
