The Deputy will be aware that the Home Tuition Scheme is designed to support children who are not in a position to attend school and, because of this, it is generally the case that the tuition is provided at the child's place of residence. In the majority of cases therefore, there will be 1 child in receipt of an individualised educational programme on a 1:1 basis. Funding is provided by my Department on this basis.
The current position is that where parents of children who are eligible for home tuition have sought alternative arrangements to be put in place for the tuition, my Department has responded and facilitated by putting arrangements in place with 6 private pre-school providers which provide group tuition to children in a class type setting. Payment in these cases is made directly to the service provider and is calculated on a group rate basis. The arrangements were put in place to facilitate the parents of the children in question.
I have arranged for officials from my Department to respond directly to the Deputy on the details requested relating specifically to these group arrangements.
