Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I can advise the Deputy that the review of the accommodation needs of the school in question and of the other schools in the school planning area is on-going.

By way of background, my department received an application under the Additional Schools' Accommodation (ASA) Scheme in 2021 from the school in question. The application was for funding for the provision of three special education needs classrooms on foot of the sanction of three ASD special classes by the NCSE in February 2021. The department’s Technical team carried out an in-depth review of the school site in 2021. The review confirmed that the school and the site are at maximum capacity and that it would not be possible to provide the required accommodation on site unless vast amounts of existing single storey accommodation was to be demolished and replaced with two storey accommodation. At that time, considering all the relevant impediments to deliver the brief of accommodation and the site constraints, the Department was not in a position to provide funding for the significant demolition of the school building. In light of this, officials in my department contacted the NCSE to advise them of same and to establish the special classes in other schools in the area.

In January of this year the NCSE reconfirmed the sanction of 3 special education needs classes at the school in question. The Board of Management subsequently submitted an engineer’s condition report to the department in support of their proposal to knock and rebuild a portion of the school building. In view of the reconfirmed sanction by the NCSE and the engineer's condition report my department agreed to review the contents of the report.

I can confirm to the Deputy that in tandem with this review officials from my department have met with the Patron of the school in question with a view to resolving the accommodation needs of special class pupils at the school and in the general area. Officials in my department have also been engaging with the school directly.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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94. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the summer programme for the DEI, and SEN programmes in both mainstream schools and special schools. [29927/24]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Details of the 2024 Summer Programme were published on the 21st March 2024. Funding of €40m is available and, as in previous years, all of the funding is utilised to meet the needs of our most vulnerable children.

All schools, including post primary schools, have an opportunity to run a programme over the summer months for those children who need it the most. These children can continue to be supported, nurtured and encouraged to engage in a fun and inclusive educational setting.

The main priority again in 2024 is that those children with the most complex special educational needs, especially in special schools, should have access to a school-based summer programme.

All the supports and incentives introduced, both in 2024 and in previous years, have been developed and designed to increase participation by allowing all schools to provide the Summer Programme. These measures are aimed at maximising the number of children who can participate in a school-based programme with a specific focus on ensuring children with the most complex needs receive the targeted support.

More than 1,700 individual expressions of interest have been received from schools seeking to run this year’s Summer Programme – representing the highest-ever uptake of the Summer Programme. Over 1,400 schools participated in the programme in 2023.

Of the schools registered for the 2024 Summer Programme, at primary level, more than 1,100 schools have registered for the Primary School Scheme and more than 300 have registered for the DEIS Literacy & Numeracy Summer Camp. At post-primary level, more than 200 schools have registered for the Post Primary School while more than 70 special schools have registered for the Special Scheme. If all schools do run their summer programmes, we will see an increase of more than 20 per cent compared to last year.

The increase in registrations continues the positive upward trend in participation seen in the summer programmes over the last number of years. Over 50,000 children took part in the summer programme last year, compared to 13,000 in 2019 and it is expected that this will rise again in 2024. However, the number of schools and children participating will not be known until all summer programmes have been concluded and payment claims have been processed.