Order Paper
Date: 31 March 2026
The Assembly to sit at noon.
Indicative Timings for Order of Business.
1. Prayers
2. Private Members’ Business
Motion: Cancellation of Summer Schemes in Special Schools
Proposed:
That this Assembly expresses grave concern that the Education Authority has announced the cancellation of summer schemes in special schools in 2026 due to concerns about healthcare provision for participating children; recognises that these schemes provide a lifeline for many families and that their cancellation will have devastating consequences for children with special educational needs and disabilities and their parents; condemns the failure of the Minister of Health and the Minister of Education to secure adequate nursing provision for the summer schemes when the gaps in nursing services in special schools have been apparent for a number of years; notes that a vital service is being threatened for children with special needs despite the Department of Health and the Department of Education accounting for a significant majority of the Executive’s budget; and calls on the Minister of Health and the Minister of Education to urgently work together to secure the funding and nursing provision needed to save summer scheme provision in special schools in 2026.
Mr Eóin Tennyson
Mr Nick Mathison
Mrs Michelle Guy
Miss Nuala McAllister
