17th December 2018
The Department of Education and Skills’ announcement today of the Summer Works Scheme for 2019 will provide welcome funding for the schools involved, but no new applications have been taken for the scheme since December 2015.
Sheila Nunan, INTO General Secretary said "We have, in previous years, called on the Minister for Education and Skills to provide details of the Summer Works Scheme early in the school year to provide ample time for necessary planning and preparation. While this year’s announcement will provide welcome funding for the schools listed, the Department is still dealing with retrospective claims. What was originally announced as a two-year scheme has continued into yet another year. Schools with building needs that have arisen since the last round of applications will now have to wait until at least summer 2020 to receive funding. It’s unacceptable.”
The Summer Works Scheme provides funding to individual schools to undertake small-scale building works, typically during the summer months.
The list of Summer Works projects approved this year is available here.