Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

770. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the supports available to a child (details supplied). [1583/23]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Departments Home Tuition Grant Schemes provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school. By its nature, it is intended to be a short term intervention.

The Home Tuition Grant Schemes are governed by annual circulars which sets out the purpose, eligibility criteria and details of the scheme. Circular 0046/2022 provides information in relation to the 2022/2023 Home Tuition Grant Scheme and can be accessed by clicking on the following link: www.gov.ie/en/circular/22b2a-home-tuition-grant-scheme-20222023-special-education-component/.

The purpose of the Home Tuition Grant Scheme is to provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for:

(a) Early educational intervention for children with autism who meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria

(b) Students with special educational needs seeking an educational placement in a recognised school

(c) Students, enrolled in schools, with a significant medical condition, or school phobia and/or associated depression/anxiety, which has caused, and is likely to continue to cause, major disruption to their attendance at school

In exceptional cases the Department will consider home tuition applications on behalf of students with diagnoses of school phobia and/or associated depression/anxiety which has caused, and is likely to continue to cause, major disruption to their attendance at school. This exception will only apply where a continued absence from school is required to facilitate appropriate medical or therapeutic intervention with a view to the reintegration of the student in their school.

In relation to applications in respect of students with diagnoses of school phobia and/or associated depression/anxiety, the principle that home tuition cannot be provided as an alternative to school applies.

Eligibility in exceptional cases is assessed having regard to, although not limited to, the following criteria:

- The student’s attendance levels during the previous school year.

- Psychologist’s/psychiatrist’s report which should

i. Clearly confirm a diagnosis of school phobia and/or associated depression/anxiety.

ii. Provide details of medical or therapeutic intervention plans in place with a view to reintegrate the student back into his/her school.

- Details of engagement with the relevant support agencies (e.g. School, National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), Education Welfare Officer (EWO), Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), TUSLA (Child and Family Agency), HSE, NCSE).

It is not the role of diagnosing professionals to recommend home tuition as an alternative to school. Such recommendations will not be taken into consideration when determining an application.

Officials from my Department are currently engaging with the parent of the child to assist with their Home Tuition application, with the view to obtaining a positive outcome on this matter.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

771. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools that provided July provision in the past five years, by county; the number of schools that propose to facilitate July provision in 2023, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1594/23]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The purpose of the July Provision Scheme was to provide an extended school year for children with a severe or profound general learning disability or children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The scheme was developed to reduce potential regression in learning associated with these specific categories of special education needs over the summer holidays. Special schools and schools with special classes were permitted to run the school-based programme up until 2020.

In 2020 a significantly expanded summer programme was established as a response to COVID-19 with the eligibility criteria widened to include approximately 9,000 additional children with complex needs.

The programme aims were to ensure, in so far as possible, that these children could reintegrate/transition into their planned education setting for the next school year with their peers. As part of this expansion, the Department’s existing Literacy and Numeracy camps for DEIS Primary Band 1 schools was included in the Summer Programme and extended to all DEIS Primary schools. Furthermore, DEIS post-primary schools were given the option of running an inclusion scheme for the first time.

In 2021, due to the ongoing pandemic, the government announced a further expansion to the Summer Programme. Under this expansion, students with complex special educational needs and those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage had access to an enhanced summer programme of education. The total funding available to provide the programme was €40 million, which was a 100% increase on the allocation for summer provision in 2020. The range of schemes on offer built on the success of the expanded programme that ran in 2020 and incorporated feedback from education stakeholders. For the first time, all primary schools were given the opportunity to run a 2-3 week inclusion scheme, and the inclusion scheme that had run in DEIS post-primary schools in 2020 was expanded to all post-primary schools.

The 2022 programme continued to build on the 2021 programme.

For 2023, additional funding has been secured in Budget 2023 to run the programme to match the investment in 2021 and 2022 bringing the total funding available to €40m.

This will allow schools the certainty they require to let them plan for a summer programme in their school in 2023. In recent years my Department has made a range of additional resources and supports available to schools to encourage participation in this essential programme and it hoped that the early announcement of funding in Budget 2023 means that schools will be in a position to commit to running a programme.

My Department is currently finalising the details of the 2023 summer programme and details will be published as soon as possible. Following the launch of the programme, schools will be invited to register to participate and numbers of schools will only be available after this process takes place.

Due to the different structures of July Provision and the Summer Programme as outlined above, the information as requested by the Deputy is broken down to cover the years 2018-2020 and 2022 for the primary and post primary programmes, as well as a separate breakdown of the DEIS Literacy and Numeracy/Campai Samhraidh over the period 2018-2022.

2018-2020

211a Schools offering the Special Class & Special School Scheme

1b 2020 – DEIS Post Primary Schools offering the Inclusion Scheme

2. 2021 and 2022

2a. Expanded Primary Programme

Note:Some schools ran both the Special Class & Special School Scheme and the Inclusion Scheme

20212022

2b. Post-Primary Schools offering Inclusion scheme in 2021 and 2022

3. Number of DEIS Primary Schools that ran Literacy and Numeracy Camps (English and Gaeilge) 2018-2022

English

Gaeilge