By Julie McLaughlin
Politicians have welcomed the news that the special educational needs summer schemes will be running this summer, including the local one that runs at Knockevin School’s three locations in Dundrum, Castlewellan and Downpatrick.
The Minister for Education, Paul Givan, said he was “pleased” that the schemes will be able to go ahead. “Special school summer schemes play a vital role in supporting children and young people with complex needs, offering continuity of care and essential support for families,” he said last Friday.
“After intense and constructive engagement today, a solution has now been agreed. The Education Authority will now work closely with special school principals to urgently progress detailed planning and preparation for the delivery of the schemes. This was the outcome that we wanted for families, however the safety and wellbeing of children and young people was our concern.”
The Minister for Health, Mike Nesbitt, was also happy that the schemes could go ahead as originally planned. “I am pleased to confirm that nursing support can now be made available at each special school summer scheme site,” he said.
“We will continue to work with all partners to develop a robust, sustainable, year-round model of health care support for special schools. This long-term work aims to provide greater stability, strengthen provision and ensure that the needs of children with complex medical requirements are consistently and appropriately met,” the Health Minister said.
Local Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason has also welcomed the news. “This U-turn will come as a huge relief to parents and vulnerable children who rely heavily on this vital service and can now rightly look forward to it this summer,” she said.
“It should never have come to this point. We now need to hear directly from the Education and Health ministers to explain who made this decision, why, and a guarantee that the same mistake will never again be repeated. The ‘justification’ to date doesn’t cut it and Sinn Féin will be seeking substantive answers from Paul Givan and Mike Nesbitt,” the MLA for South Down added. “We must never allow the rights of children with additional needs to be diminished.”
SDLP MLA Colin McGrath said he was glad the children would now be able to attend the summer schemes but was unhappy about the original cancellation. “While it is welcome that special school summer schemes will now proceed, the way this was handled has caused unnecessary distress to families who deserve better,” he said.
“It underlines a deeper problem at the heart of this Executive, where dysfunction and division are too often allowed to take precedence over delivering for those who need help most. Last week, many families with SEN children faced a sleepless night as they worried how they would manage the long summer months without the support provided by special school summer schemes.
“They were put through real anguish and anxiety only for the Executive to U-turn less than 24 hours later amid significant public pressure,” he said. “It was a political choice to make this a public issue when it should have been dealt with behind closed doors by the EA and ministers.
“Instead families were dragged in as SEN children were used as pawns by warring departments more interested in scoring points than solving problems.”
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