Written answers
Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Department of Education and Skills
Home Schooling
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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257. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary and second level aged students that avail of home tuition in lieu of being offered a school place on a county-by-county basis. [7452/24]
Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Home Tuition Grant Scheme is available 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 provided as an interim measure only for children for whom a placement in a recognised school is not currently available, for a variety of reasons. It is a short term measure, and should not be regarded as an optional alternative to a school placement. Aspects of the scheme differ, depending on the reason for the application.
The Department of Education operates three categories of home tuition:
1. Home tuition for children with special educational needs and on medical grounds. Further detail is available on gov - Home Tuition (www.gov.ie).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. There are a variety of reasons why a child may be without a school place such as children moving school mid-year, family relocating, expulsion, children receiving a place further away than they can travel to and the Home Tuition Scheme as a short-term solution until a transport solution is put in place.
2. Maternity-related absences gov - Home Tuition (www.gov.ie).
3. Reasons other than special educational needs and medical groundsa. Strand 1 offers a temporary educational measure for a child who is temporarily without a school place, or without the offer of a school place and who is a actively seeking a place in a school recognised by the department. No School Place (NSP) Home Tuition Scheme provides interim provision for children without a school place, without the offer of a school place and for whom a place is being actively sought. Provision of tuition under this scheme is for a maximum of 9 hours per week for a period of 12 weeks or until the end of the school year or until the child in question receives an offer of a school place, whichever occurs first.
b. Strand 2 of this scheme is for children in care, who are without a school place due to emergency placement or placement disruption. The CIC Home Tuition Grant Scheme provides tuition for a maximum of 6 weeks for Children in Care for a maximum of 9 hours per week who are without a school place due to emergency placement or placement disruption. The maximum number of weeks of Home Tuition funding available under this scheme in any school year is 6 weeks. If, following 6 weeks the child is still without a school place, an application for the Department’s NSP Home Tuition Grant Scheme may then be made.
Currently 76 pupils (10 Primary and 66 Post Primary) are availing of Home Tuition Strand 1 and Strand 2.
- Primary – 2 Limerick, 3 Galway, 1 Meath, 1 Kildare, 3 Dublin
- Post Primary – 5 Cork, 1 Donegal, 17 Dublin, 9 Galway, 2 Kerry, 10 Kildare, 4 Limerick, 1 Mayo, 1 Meath, 1 Offaly, 5 Roscommon, 5 Tipperary, 1 Waterford, 2 Westmeath, 2 Wicklow.
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