27 March 2026
SDLP Opposition Education Spokesperson Cara Hunter MLA has said the situation around special school summer schemes underlines the dysfunction at the heart of the Executive.
The Education Authority (EA) has confirmed that the Department of Health will now provide the necessary nursing and clinical support.
East Derry MLA Cara Hunter said:
“I welcome that we now have certainty for young people with special educational needs and their families that these important summer schemes will go ahead. However, they should never have been placed in this position, facing unnecessary worry and distress following the announcement that all schemes were cancelled.
“It is not right that some of our most vulnerable young people were caught up in a game of political brinkmanship. People will rightly ask how we could be in a situation where what was described as impossible one day has been delivered the next, following public pressure.
“This situation underlines the dysfunction at the heart of our Executive, where Ministers appear more focused on tearing lumps out of each other than working together to deliver for the public. It is clear this could have been resolved behind closed doors without creating significant anxiety for young people with SEN and their families, and I want to pay tribute to them for their role in ensuring this decision was quickly reversed.”