Coronavirus: Schools asked to run free summer schemes for pupils

Schools in Northern Ireland have been asked to run free summer schemes for pupils lasting up to three weeks in July and August.

The Department of Education (DE) will pay schools up to £5,000 a week for the running costs of the schemes.

Due to social distancing rules, the number of pupils who can attend will be capped.

However, it is not compulsory for schools to run the schemes.

The majority of pupils spent the first three months of 2021 learning remotely, with all only returning to school after Easter.

There have been concerns from experts about the impact of lockdowns on some children.

The interim mental health champion for Northern Ireland, Professor Siobhan O'Neill, had also previously called for additional summer activities for children and young people in 2021.

On Monday, Education Minister Peter Weir announced £5m in funding to allow youth centres and youth organisations to run activity camps, and to open for longer over the summer.

Now DE has published guidance on separate summer schemes schools are being asked to run.

Schools have been told that any scheme should "ideally be three weeks in duration" but they can run for one or two weeks.

The exact dates on when the schemes take place in July and August is also up to schools.

The department's guidance said the school schemes could include some classes but should mainly be about play and emotional health and wellbeing.

DE said that the main purpose of the schemes was "to help pupils make a successful return to learning in September 2021".

"There should be a focus on emotional health and wellbeing, as well as activities which are interactive and fun, with plenty of scope for outside play, and for learning activities as and where appropriate," the guidance said.

"It is not about catch-up."

Schools which run schemes can get up to £5,000 a week to cover staffing, food and buying some equipment.

As a result, parents should not be asked to pay any money if their children go to the summer scheme.

But the department's guidance said that as social distancing rules were still in place the number of pupils attending should be limited.

Primary schools have been advised to allow a quarter of their pupils to attend each day at most.

For post-primary schools, 10% of pupils can attend each day - most likely to be from years 8, 9 or 10.

Special schools are to seek advice on how many pupils they can accommodate.

"If social distancing rules improve, schools are expected to be able to accommodate more pupils per day," DE said.

Schools are expected to confirm to DE by the end of May if they are willing to hold a summer scheme or not.

In 2020, around 70 special and primary schools ran summer schemes for pupils.