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Home Tuition Scheme

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 April 2017

Wednesday, 12 April 2017

Questions (153)

Carol Nolan

Question:

153. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there is a cap in place for the number of hours that can be accessed by a child under the home tuition scheme; the savings from such a cap; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18528/17]

View answer

Written answers

The purpose of the Home Tuition Grant Scheme is to provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for

1. Early educational intervention for children with autism who meet the schemes eligibility criteria

2. Students with special educational needs seeking an educational placement in a recognised school 

3. Students, enrolled in schools, with significant medical conditions which has caused, and is likely to continue to cause, major disruption to their attendance at school

The preferred approach is that children are educated in school settings where children may have access to fully qualified teachers, individualised education programmes, special needs assistants, school curriculum with the option, where possible and appropriate, of full or partial integration and interaction with other pupils.

Accordingly, Home Tuition is provided as an interim measure only for children for whom a placement in a recognised school is not available and should not be regarded as an optional alternative to a school placement. 

Each of the strands of the scheme prescribes the hours available for allocation. For children with Autism aged from 2.5 years to 3 years the number of hours allocated is 5. From 3 years, for children with Autism for whom school placements are not available, the number of available hours is 20 per week. For children with medical conditions the hours granted are reflective of the time the child has been absent from school and these are listed in the Department's Home Tuition circular. 

Section 4 of the Department's circular sets out the number of hours applicable under each of the schemes strands. No cap has been applied to the hours set out in the scheme and accordingly no savings can be calculated as there has been no cap applied. 

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