Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1034. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education the plans for sustained funding support of a school (details supplied); the requirements set out for the teaching staff of the school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39626/22]
View answerThe Purpose of the Home Tuition Grant Scheme is to provide a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of reasons, are unable to attend school. The scheme also provides a compensatory educational service for children with special educational needs seeking an educational placement for whom such a placement is not available. Provision is also made for early educational intervention for children aged from 2.5 years to 3 years with autism.
Home Tuition is provided as an interim measure only for children for whom a placement in a recognised school is sought but not available and should not be regarded as an optional alternative to a school placement. Ensuring that every child with special educational needs gets a suitable education is a priority for the Department of Education.
Where parents of children, who are eligible for Home Tuition under the terms of the scheme, and for whom home tuition has been approved, have sought alternative arrangements to be put in place for the tuition, my Department has responded by putting arrangements in place with private pre-school providers which provide group tuition to children in a class type setting, Children’s Language Development Preschool (CDLP) are one of these pre-school providers. Each pre-school provider is selected by the parents.
In recognition of the demand for group arrangements by parents of children, who are eligible for Home Tuition under the scheme, my Department now advises all such parents of the option to enter into a group arrangement with other parents of children for whom home tuition has been sanctioned. My Department has no contract with the pre-school providers. The contract is essentially between the parents and the relevant provider. My Department does not provide capital funding to private pre-school providers. Consent of the parent/guardian of the eligible child must be provided to allow the child attend the facility and to allow the facility to receive the payments which are due to the parent under the Scheme. These arrangements allow parents to forego the home based provision in favour of provision in a classroom setting which is supported by a direct payment provision.
Parents wishing to enter into such an arrangement must notify my Department in advance for approval. Funding is provided to these pre-school providers on the basis they abide by the rules established by the Special Education Section of the Department of Education, as set out in Circular 0046/2022 found here at assets.gov.ie/228074/7b95d89e-cb2a-4f97-90c7-7ea663c9e41b.pdf. The Teaching Council has no role in determining the criteria that shall apply to such schemes.
The below extract from Section 3 (Page 9) of the Circular relates to teaching council registration,
“As tuition takes place outside the usual school structure it is important that home tutors are qualified to provide an educational programme. Accordingly, it is a condition of the scheme that parents/legal guardians recruit a tutor who is qualified in the sector in which tuition is being provided, and is registered with the Teaching Council for the duration of the approved tuition, up to and including issue of final payment. Where all efforts have failed to secure the services of a teacher qualified to teach in the sector concerned, the Department may consider the engagement of a person who is registered with the Teaching Council and has a primary degree (minimum Level 7 on the National Framework of Qualifications) in a relevant area, e.g. Psychology.”
It is also set out in the terms and conditions issued to pre-school providers,
“The facility will operate at least 1 class on the basis of 6 children per class with 1 qualified teacher and 3 assistants who must be registered and vetted with the Teaching Council of Ireland. A pro-rata reduction will be applied both in terms of the number of tutors/assistants and the payments where the class is not operating at full capacity. In this regard, every effort should be made to have classes operating with the full complement of both students and registered tutors/assistants. The minimum number of children required to operate a class is 3.”
The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council (Registration) Regulations 2016 (SI444 of 2016, as amended). As set out in the Schedule of the Regulations, the Council registers teachers under four routes of registration: Primary, Post-primary, Further Education and Other.
In order to be entered on the Register of Teachers, and depending on the route of registration, all registrants are required to hold, or attain within 3 years, an accredited initial teacher education qualification. Where a teacher holds qualifications in special education in addition to a teacher education qualification, such qualifications may be added to a teachers record.
