Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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220. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to matters raised in correspondence by the principal of a school (details supplied) regarding the shortage of available substitute teachers; if she has engaged with the management of the school; the steps she is taking to address these shortages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51840/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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A range of measures have been put in place to provide enhanced substitute cover in the context of Covid-19. These include a major expansion of the Primary Schools Substitute Teacher Supply Panels, which now employ almost 380 teachers and provide substitute cover to over 2,500 primary schools across the country. Further work is underway to ascertain if there are ways the operation of the panels can be enhanced to help with substitute teacher supply.

The Supply Panels work alongside the existing methods of sourcing substitute teachers, such as the national substitution portal service Sub Seeker, operated by the Irish Primary Principals Network and developed in accordance with my Department's Teacher Supply Action Plan. Schools can also make local arrangements to have their own regular substitutes to call on if needed. 

Measures are also underway to raise awareness of the availability of substitute work in schools. There are over 111, 000 teachers on the Teaching Council register each of whom has been emailed directly by the Council to raise awareness to the current teacher substitute challenges and where possible to make themselves available, through Sub Seeker, for substitute work 

My Department has also adjusted its payroll operational arrangements so that the restriction on the number of days that teachers on career break may be employed as substitutes has been suspended and teachers who are job sharing are allowed to work additional hours.

My Department and the Teaching Council are also planning to meet with the providers of primary initial teacher education (ITE) in the coming days to explore how flexibility in ITE programme delivery could facilitate additional substitute supply.

My Department is engaging on an ongoing basis with stakeholders to analyse the demand for substitution and to identify means to improve the availability of substitutes at this time.

My Department has received correspondence in relation to these matters from the principal of the school to which the Deputy refers and a response will issue directly to the principal.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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221. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that the lost home tuition hours for a pupil who was sanctioned home tuition six weeks late (details supplied) can be reclaimed during the school year, with the said lost hours being utilised either over school holidays, out of school hours or at weekends; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51844/21]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Special Education Home Tuition Grant scheme provides funding towards a compensatory educational service for children with special educational needs seeking an educational placement for whom such a placement is not available.  The scheme also provides for early intervention for children with Autism.

The application forms and related Circular for this year’s scheme were published on the 7^thJuly 2021.

The Department works closely with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) which has responsibility for working with families and schools and for the provision and coordination of an adequate number of specialist educational places to meet local demand throughout the country.

The NCSE has a national network of Special Educational Needs Officers (SENOs) to plan the necessary provision to meet local need. SENOs assist and advise parents experiencing difficulty finding a suitable school place for their child.

Where a parent cannot secure a suitable school place for their child, they can make an application to the Department for the Home Tuition Grant.  The Home Tuition Grant provides funding towards a compensatory educational service for children until a school placement is available.  By its nature, it is intended to be a short term intervention.

The application is signed by the NCSE local SENO to confirm that no school placement is currently available for the child. A completed application was received on the 13^thof September 2021 and sanction issued to parent on the 6^thof October 2021 via email.

The Home Tuition Application form outlines that it may take the Department up to 15 working days to process home tuition applications.

As per the circular 0038/2021 ,Parents should not commence Home Tuition until they have received a grant approval letter from the Department confirming that they meet the terms and conditions of the scheme and the date of commencement of grant aid.

Parents/legal guardians are advised that the home tuition grant will not be back-dated.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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222. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps a school should take in cases in which no substitute teacher can be sourced in view of the shortage of substitute teachers for schools. [51887/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012).

In accordance with Department Circulars 0044/2019 and 31/2011, schools are required to employ appropriately qualified and registered teachers and ensure that unemployed teachers should be offered employment in preference to those who have retired.

Teacher allocations to all schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment.  The criteria for the allocation of posts are communicated to school managements annually and are available on my Department's website. 

In accordance with Circular 50/2021, primary schools should have plans in place to access substitutes in the following sequence:

- Supply panel if the school is part of a supply panel cluster arrangement,

- School’s own panel of regular substitutes,

- National substitute service,

- Administrative Principal if applicable

- Local arrangements that facilitate the pupils to be supervised in a manner that does not involve them being split between existing classes in classrooms

A range of measures have been put in place to provide enhanced substitute cover in the context of Covid-19. These include a major expansion of the Primary Schools Substitute Teacher Supply Panels, which now employ almost 380 teachers and provide substitute cover to over 2,500 primary schools across the country. Further work is underway to ascertain if there are ways the operation of the panels can be enhanced to help with substitute teacher supply.

The Supply Panels work alongside the existing methods of sourcing substitute teachers, such as Sub Seeker the national substitution portal service for primary and post primary schools, operated by the Irish Primary Principals' Network and developed in accordance with my Department's Teacher Supply Action Plan. Schools can also make local arrangements to have their own regular substitutes to call on if needed. 

Measures are also underway to raise awareness of the availability of substitute work in schools. There are over 111, 000 teachers on the Teaching Council register each of whom has been emailed directly by the Council to raise awareness to the current teacher substitute challenges and where possible to make themselves available, through Sub Seeker, for substitute work 

My Department has also adjusted its payroll operational arrangements so that the restriction on the number of days that teachers on career break may be employed as substitutes has been suspended and teachers who are job sharing are allowed to work additional hours.

As in 2020/21, flexible school placement arrangements are being implemented to enhance the availability of post-primary Professional Master of Education (PME) student teachers to fill short term substitute vacancies. My Department and the Teaching Council are also planning to meet with the providers of primary initial teacher education (ITE) in the coming days to explore how flexibility in primary ITE programme delivery could facilitate additional substitute supply.

My Department is engaging on an ongoing basis with stakeholders to analyse the demand for substitution and continue to identify measures to improve the availability of substitutes at this time.