Failure to provide special school summer programmes
16 releases from 7 parties, 26 March 2026 to 31 March 2026.
Each party’s website press releases, in order of publication
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Mathison urges Education and Health Ministers to act urgently to save Summer schemes at special schools
Alliance Education spokesperson Nick Mathison calls on the Education and Health Ministers to urgently secure a joint funding package so summer schemes can run in special schools this year, after the Education Authority cancelled schemes over healthcare concerns.
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Education Minister’s failure to deliver schemes for children in special schools is ‘unacceptable’ – Mason
Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason says the DUP Education Minister’s failure to provide summer programmes for pupils in special schools is unacceptable, and she will write to the Health and Education Ministers urging them to devise a solution for these children and their families.
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Vulnerable Children Left in the Lurch as Stormont Pulls Summer Schemes
TUV Ballymena Councillor Matthew Armstrong condemns the withdrawal of Education Authority support for all special schools' summer schemes, calling the timing unacceptable and blaming Stormont for leaving vulnerable children without provision.
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Ministers' U-turn following Alliance’s Assembly recall to save SEN summer schemes
Alliance Deputy Leader Eóin Tennyson MLA welcomes the Education Authority's confirmation that special educational needs summer schemes will go ahead this year, but says Education and Health Ministers handled the situation inadequately. He says it should have been resolved earlier and vows to keep…
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Alliance in bid to recall Assembly over cancellation of special school summer schemes
Alliance's Eóin Tennyson, Deputy Leader, says his party has submitted a petition to recall the Assembly over the Education Authority's decision to cancel summer schemes at special schools. He calls on the Education and Health Ministers to return and set out how they will fix the problem.
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Burrows welcomes confirmation that Special School summer schemes will go ahead
UUP leader and Education spokesperson Jon Burrows MLA welcomes confirmation from the Health and Education Ministers that summer schemes at special schools will proceed. He calls for a full review of the Education Authority's workforce and training, and says he has written to the Education Minister…
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Hunter: Special school summer schemes underlines Executive dysfunction
SDLP Opposition Education Spokesperson Cara Hunter MLA welcomes certainty that special school summer schemes will go ahead after the Education Authority confirmed Department of Health nursing and clinical support. She says the episode underlines Executive dysfunction and needless distress for…
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McGrath: Ministers must work together to deliver special school summer schemes
SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath MLA calls on the Health and Education Ministers to cooperate and restore the cancelled special school summer schemes, urging the Executive to provide nursing support and reverse the decision.
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Sinn Féin supports Assembly recall to address removal of SEN summer schemes – Mason
South Down MLA Cathy Mason says Sinn Féin will back Alliance's petition to recall the Assembly over the cancelled SEN summer schemes. She urges Education and Health Ministers to resolve the issue quickly, calling the decision deplorable and criticising the DUP and UUP ministers' blame exchange.
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5,500 Children with Special Needs Abandoned by a Dysfunctional Executive
People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll condemns the cancellation of summer schemes for more than 5,500 children with special educational needs, blaming the Executive's failure and urging families and education workers to mobilise against the decision.
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U-turn on SEN summer schemes welcome but cancellation should have never happened – Baker
Sinn Féin MLA Danny Baker welcomes the reversal of a decision to cancel special educational needs summer schemes, which will now go ahead. He says the cancellation should never have happened and will seek answers from the Education and Health Ministers on who made the decision, why, and a…
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Immediate Investigation into the Cancellation of SEN Summer Schemes
Aontú calls for an urgent, transparent and independent investigation into the Education Authority's decision to cancel SEN Summer Schemes, announced on 26 March and reversed the next day. It welcomes the reinstatement but demands accountability and safeguards against a repeat.
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Carroll Slams Special School Summer Scheme Fiasco
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll welcomes the reversal of a decision on special school summer schemes but says the fiasco should never have happened. He calls for those who made the original cancellation decision to be identified and says families of children with additional needs were…
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Ministers must provide transparency over ‘shambolic handling’ of SEN summer schemes – Mason
Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason calls on the Education Minister to give guarantees at Tuesday's Assembly recall that the cancellation of special school summer schemes will not recur, and demands full transparency over who made the decision and why.
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McGrath: Executive used SEN children as political pawns
SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath MLA says the Executive used SEN children as political pawns in a row over special school summer schemes, which were reinstated after a U-turn. He questions why the issue was not escalated to the Executive and calls the handling unnecessary distress…
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SEN summer scheme debacle must never be repeated – Mason
Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason says special school summer schemes must go ahead this year and that the chaos over SEN summer schemes must not recur. She calls for families and providers to receive information promptly and accuses Education Minister Paul Givan of deflecting blame.
Parties with no matching press release found on their website
- DUP: no matching statement found on the party’s monitored website.
- Green Party: no matching statement found on the party’s monitored website.
This does not show that a party said nothing: it may have commented elsewhere, in a release this system did not link to the issue, or in a release that has not been recovered.