Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 November 2023
231. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Education if she is aware of a centralised list of tutors for home tuition in the Balbriggan area for situations where a child has been allocated home tuition but cannot source a tutor; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50596/23]
View answerThe Home Tuition Grant Scheme is available to provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school.
The aim of the Department is to meet the needs of families and to ensure every child is allocated a suitable school placement. 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 student peers.
Accordingly, home tuition is provided as an interim measure only for children for whom a placement in a recognised school is not currently available and should not be regarded as an optional alternative to a school placement.
Home tutors are engaged by the parents/guardian of the child who is to receive tuition and the tutor has no contractual relationship with the Department of Education. As tuition takes place outside the usual school structure it is important that home tutors are qualified to provide an educational programme relevant to the sector the child is in.
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. 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.
As set out in Circular 0024/2023*, it is the responsibility of the parent/legal guardian to source a tutor at the earliest possible opportunity to allow for applications for registration/vetting to be made by the tutor to the Teaching Council, if necessary. This Department does not keep lists of tutors available to carry out home tuition, however to help parents source a home tutor for this scheme in their local area, the Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) has created a Home Tuition Noticeboard for Parents to help them source a suitable candidates. This noticeboard is available on www.educationposts.ie . It may also be helpful to contact local schools in the first instance, or alternatively, the Department is aware that many parents use education provider websites to advertise for tutors or indeed place advertisements in local newspapers or on shop/community notice boards.
*The following is a link to Circular 0024/2023: www.gov.ie/en/circular/67f37-home-tuition-grant-scheme-20232024-special-education-component/ .
