Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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71. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of hours and amount of funding allocated for home tuition hours for children with ASD and others in each of the years 2010 to 2018 and to date in 2019, in tabular form. [40554/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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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. Children with special educational needs, including autism, 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.

Allocation of hours under the terms of the Scheme

(1) Children between 2.5 and 3 years of age (who have been assessed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder based on the DSM V or ICD 10 criteria).

The maximum home tuition grant for children with ASD up to 3 years of age is based on 10 hours tuition per week.

(2) Children with Special Educational Needs seeking a school placement

The maximum home tuition grant for children awaiting a placement is based on 20 hours tuition per week subject to the appropriate school calendar.

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

Generally, grant aid based on a range of between 2 and 10 hours tuition may be approved with the allocation reflecting the level of attendance in the previous school year and whether the attendance was at primary or post primary level. As a general guide, up to 5 hours may be granted to children at primary level while students at post primary level may be granted between 2 and 10 hours.

Home Tuition Costs 2011-2018 (Please note 2019 is not available at present)