Summer is a time where the kids look forward to as it 3 whole months away from school. Long days that turn into nights where outside time will go on for hours. Endless beach days and summer holidays. But it’s not always the case. There are kids who sometimes miss out on this and will have lonely summers. This exactly what happened to this young lad from Cork.
The mother of this 11 year old had commented that’s this summer school system for children with disabilities is “unfair”. It’s a four-week programme, known as July or Summer Provision, offers an extended school year to children with autism and intellectual disabilities.
However, Inclusion Ireland has found just over a third of special schools can offer this, mainly due to staffing challenges. In Ballincollig, Amy O’Gorman said her son David, 11, is facing another summer alone as his school is not running the programme.
David is a wheelchair user, cannot speak, and relies on adult assistance to get out of his chair. Ms. O’Gorman quoted that “The July Provision has a real positive impact for children, it’s about education and stimulation. If it was a nine-week break for all children, then that would be the way it is, and we would work around that, But when there is something being put in place for children with special needs but my son can’t access it, then it is not fair on him.”
She is anxious his skills could deteriorate over the summer break, saying at St Paul’s School he does art and other “amazing activities” which keep him motivated. She knows many other parents in a similar quandary, including classmates of David’s.
Principal at St Paul’s School Anne Hartnett said the decision to stop offering July classes was extremely difficult. “It was too dangerous; we did not have the staff who were familiar with the children,” she said.
