Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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468. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will sanction a home tutor for a child (details supplied). [52064/21]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, 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 children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school.

Home tuition is not an alternative to a school placement and is provided in very limited and specific circumstances. By its nature, it is intended to be a short term intervention.

The scheme provides a compensatory educational service for

- Children with special educational needs seeking an educational placement in a recognised school

- 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 scheme also provides Home Tuition for pre-school/early educational intervention for children with autism who meet the schemes eligibility criteria.

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 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. It may 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.

To date, no application for home tuition, for the child referred to by the Deputy, has been received by my Department.