Minister must end annual chaos over July Provision Summer Programme – Kenny
Minister must end annual chaos over July Provision Summer Programme – Kenny - The Labour Party
- School Summer Programme is a vital support for children with additional educational needs
Labour Party Education spokesperson Eoghan Kenny TD has called on the Minister for Education to urgently address failures in the School Summer Programme after reports that many schools reached the end of the academic year without confirmation that their July Provision programmes had been approved.
Deputy Kenny said:
“Once again, schools and families have been left in limbo because of delays and poor communication from the Department. The School Summer Programme is a vital support for children with additional educational needs and their families. Schools should not be left trying to organise staff and make plans without knowing whether their programmes have been approved.
“Principals, teachers, SNAs and school staff go above and beyond every year to deliver this programme. Instead of supporting them, the Department has burdened them with uncertainty and last-minute decisions. And it’s families who pay the price. Parents have been left wondering whether their children will receive the support they rely on over the summer. That anxiety is entirely avoidable.
“The Minister must immediately engage with schools still waiting for answers and resolve any outstanding issues without delay. We need an explanation for how the Department allowed this situation to arise yet again.
“What is most frustrating is that we hear the same promise every year: lessons will be learned. Yet nothing changes. Schools and families are left facing the same uncertainty summer after summer. At what point does accountability come into this? Who in the Department is responsible for these repeated failures, and what, if any, are the consequences?
“Children with additional educational needs deserve better. The Minister must explain what went wrong this year, ensure every outstanding application is dealt with immediately, and guarantee that schools will never again be left waiting until the end of term for decisions that should have been made months earlier.”