James Lawless
Ceist:930. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education the status of an application by a person (detail supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43467/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 8 September 2022
Ceisteanna (930)
Freagraí scríofa
The purpose of the Home Tuition Grant Scheme is 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.
An application under the home tuition grant scheme for the child referred to by the Deputy was received by my Department on the 26th of August 2022 and a decision letter issued to the parent/guardian by email on the 01st of September 2022.
While the Home Tuition application form outlines that it may take the Department up to 15 working days to process home tuition applications, the Department is prioritising the processing of applications with a view to processing completed applications sooner than the 15 day deadline.