FAQs for Home-Based Summer Programme 2022

The programme’s key aims are:

• to support pupils to continue their engagement with education,
• to build pupils’ confidence and increase their motivation,
• to promote wellbeing for pupils who are at key transition stages
• to help pupils to progress onto their planned further educational placement or adult service next September as appropriate.

For 2022, the Department is providing an online Sanctioning Portal to allow schools to submit a student’s details and confirm eligibility. A sanction email will issue to the parents and school to confirm eligibility and the hours that have been allocated to the student.

The parent must ensure that they show the sanction email with the hours sanctioned to the teacher/SNA before commencing with the programme of tuition/care support. Unsanctioned hours will not be paid.

If a child’s school is running a school-based programme it must be availed of at the school and the home-based programme will not be available to the child.

No, schools are not permitted to use the school premises for the purpose of providing a home-based programme.

Students with complex needs for whom there is no school-based programme available are eligible for the 2022 Home-Based Programme. For the purposes of the Home-Based Programme students with complex needs are defined as:

1. Any student enrolled in a special school or a special class – primary and post primary
2. Students presenting with the most significant needs in mainstream classes in primary or post-primary schools who are accessing the highest level of the Continuum of Support (School Support Plus). This will include a small number of students with enduring needs which significantly affect their capacity to learn, to function independently and to participate in education. These students require highly individualised and differentiated learning programmes that are significantly different to their peers.

These students may present with the following:

• Significant needs with physical and/or sensory functioning (including students who are Deaf or have severe to profound hearing loss and students who are blind or have a severe to profound visual impairment)
• Significant needs in cognitive functioning and independence/daily living skills (including students who have moderate to severe/profound learning disability)
• Significant needs in social communication, social interaction combined with rigid repetitive patterns of behaviour (including students with Autism)
• Students with Down syndrome
• Students with severe emotional behavioural needs, to the extent that these behaviours of concern are impacting on a student’s ability to learn, to function independently and to participate fully in school life

Children in the above categories entering primary school in September 2022 are also eligible for the programme.

Where a pupil who meets the eligibility criteria and was in their final year of school in the 2021/22 school year, they may participate in the 2022 Home Based Summer Programme if a school-based programme is unavailable.

The allocation of hours is 10 hours per week for a maximum 4 weeks where a student is eligible and their school is not participating in a school-based programme or is not in a position to offer them a place on a school-based programme.

Allocations for siblings are broadly reflective of the school grouping principle. This is where one teacher is allocated to a group of six students with complex needs in schools.

To allow for the differentiated needs of siblings with complex needs in the home, an increased shared allocation is provided for siblings as set out in the table below:

Conditions required for individual allocations for siblings

Separate allocations of 10 hours per week will be provided to a child where that child is:

• Attending school at a different educational sector to their sibling – (i.e. one child is primary and the other is post-primary)
• One child is in a specialised setting (i.e. one child in a special class or a special school and the other child in mainstream)
• Where two eligible children are each in a specialised setting (i.e. a special class or a special school)
• Where one sibling is living in a separate home

For examples of sibling allocation please refer to p7 of the Overview for Parents, Teachers and SNAs

* Modified Rate is paid to:

• A post-primary qualified teacher providing tuition to a primary pupil or;
• A primary qualified teacher providing tuition to a post-primary pupil or;
• A teacher who is registered with the Teaching Council of Ireland and who has a degree (minimum Level 7 on the National Framework of Qualifications) in a relevant area or;
• A PME student teacher registered with the Teaching Council under Route 3 or;
• Undergraduate student teachers registered with the Teaching Council under Route 5 or;
• A teacher who is registered and qualified and who is in receipt of a public service pension

Payment for the Home-Based Summer Programme 2022 will issue to teachers/SNAs via the Non–Teaching Staff (NTS) payroll operated by the Department of Education. Payment is made directly to the teacher/SNA’s bank account.

It is recommended that completed forms are submitted as soon as possible after the programme of tuition/care support has concluded and no later than the deadline date of 06 September 2022 to facilitate earlier processing of payments.

If a teacher/SNA is working with multiple families they should submit their claims together where possible.

Further information on payment dates will be published during the summer on www.gov.ie/summerprogramme

This programme will be provided by teachers or SNAs on a voluntary but paid basis. If the parent/guardian engages more than one teacher/SNA it is important that the combined hours of the teachers or SNAs does not exceed the total hours for which the child is eligible.

Teachers participating in the scheme must be registered and vetted with the Teaching Council.  SNAs must be currently employed by a school and have been vetted.

In circumstances where a parent cannot source a teacher qualified in the child’s sector, the Department of Education allows a parent to engage the services of a teacher who is registered with the Teaching Council and who has a degree (minimum Level 7) in a relevant area. These teachers will be paid at the modified rate.

No.

Yes. Home-based tuition/care support can take place at any time during the school summer holidays, excluding weekends and Bank Holidays.

The programme should be provided for a minimum of 2 weeks and a maximum of 4 weeks. The weeks of the programme do not need to be consecutive.

Teachers/SNAs should provide a maximum of 10 hours per week to an eligible child, and no more than 5 hours in any one day.

Yes, a teacher may work in a school-based Summer Programme and also engage in a home-based programme.

No – there is no maximum limit, but teachers must adhere to the published terms and conditions of the scheme (i.e., tuition between 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday, 1:1 provision exceptions for sibling applications, allowing time for travel and rest breaks between provisions etc.).

The 10 hours per week allocation must be strictly adhered to and any tuition hours provided in excess of 10 hours per week will not be funded. It can be provided any time over the summer holidays. The weeks do not have to run consecutively.

It is a matter between tutor and parent/guardian to agree how best to support the child for the provision. Tuition must be provided between 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday only. Unused hours from one week cannot be transferred to a subsequent week.

The INTO would advise against a teacher taking a child in their own car for Summer Provision. In light of Covid-19 it is acknowledged that public transport may not be a feasible option this summer and so it will be difficult to organise outings, but a teacher puts themselves in a vulnerable position if they travel with a child in their own car. It would also be advisable to check with your own insurance company.

We would recommend that a common sense approach should be taken around child and personal protection as you would in school when providing 1-1 teaching. For example leave the door open, ideally the room you are using should not be in an isolated part of the house, keep to common areas of the house ie kitchen etc. It would be advisable that another adult should be in the home but this may not always be feasible. It is also good practice to keep a record of the day to day interactions with the child. It is also advisable to follow the usual child protection guidelines.

No you are not covered by the DE or school. This is private arrangement between you and parents. You should be covered by the homeowners insurance policy.

Yes. Parents must ask the teacher/SNA to show his/her vetting disclosure. Parents are advised to request a newly issued vetting disclosure in circumstances where they are engaging the services of a teacher/SNA for the first time. Both the parent and the teacher/SNA must complete PART 3 (Form of Undertaking) of the Grant Claim Form

Teachers and SNAs engaged with the programme must ensure they have completed the Statutory Declaration for the Home Based programme, i.e. APPENDIX 1 of the Grant Claim Form. Notes on the completion of the Statutory Declaration have been provided as part of the Grant Claim Form. Please note that a school Statutory Declaration form is not acceptable for the Home-Based Summer Programme.

There is a two step process for applications.

For the 2022 Home-Based Summer Programme an Online Sanctioning Portal has been introduced. Where parents wish to participate in the scheme, schools are asked to submit the details of applicant students onto this portal. This will allow the Department to confirm eligibility automatically and issue a sanction email to the parent along with a link to the Grant Claim Form for the programme.

The Sanctioning Portal will be open until Thursday 9 June.

Step 1 – Application for Sanction

• Application forms and the Overview/Terms and Conditions for the home-based programme have been sent directly to schools. These should be provided to parents in cases where schools are not providing a school-based programme.
• One application form must be completed per child by the parent and given to the school to input into the sanctioning portal. Deadline for submission is Thursday 9 June.
• Parents of eligible children will receive a sanction email which is copied to the school. This will confirm eligibility and the number of hours the child is entitled to.

Step 2 – Grant Claim Form

• The sanction email will contain a link to the Grant Claim Form which the school can print for the parents.
• Parents complete PART 1 of the form.
• Separate Grant Claim Forms must be completed for each eligible sibling.

Step 1 – Parent engages Teacher/SNA

• The sanction email must be shown by the parents to the teacher/SNA to ensure they are aware of the number of hours the child is entitled to, or if siblings are sharing an allocation.
• Parents should advise the teacher/SNA if more than one teacher/SNA will be engaged to provide tuition.
• Before tuition commences the teacher/SNA must complete PART 2, PART 3 and APPENDIX 1 of the Grant Claim Form.
• Where more than one teacher or SNA is engaged by parents to provide the hours, each teacher/SNA must complete PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5, Checklist for teacher/SNA and APPENDIX 1 of the Grant Claim Form before tuition/care support commences. The forms for teachers/SNA for that child or children should be returned together.

The combined hours of the teachers or SNAs engaged must not exceed the total hours sanctioned and for which the child/children are eligible. Each teacher/SNA should ensure they are aware of how many hours a child is entitled to before they commence tuition. Unsanctioned excess hours will not be funded.

Step 2 – Delivery of Programme

• The parents must keep a daily record of the timetable in Part 4 of the Grant Claim Form.
• Where siblings have a shared allocation and are supported together by the same teacher/SNA both children’s names should be entered on the timetable. Where siblings with a shared allocation are supported by two teachers/SNAs, a separate timetable should be completed by each teacher/SNA.

The Teaching Council and Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) will promote the summer programme with this year’s graduate teachers, Professional Masters of Education (PME) students and undergraduate student teachers to increase the supply of available teachers.

To help parents source a teacher/SNA for the summer programme in their local area, the IPPN has created a Summer Programme Noticeboard for teachers and SNAs to advertise their availability for the programme. Parents can also post notices on the board to source suitable candidates. The Summer Programme Noticeboard is available on www.educationposts.ie

The NCSE have compiled a non-exhaustive list of private home tutor services and online platforms who may advertise for tutors for the 2022 Summer Programme. This document may support parents to source a tutor when they cannot source one through their schools. It can be accessed here: https://ncse.ie/information-for-parents-on-private-home-tutor-services-for-the-summer-programme

Parents may also wish to check with service providers and advocacy groups like AsIAm, Inclusion Ireland or Down syndrome Ireland to see if they can support or advise or help make connections.

Parents are required to carry out the required qualification, vetting and child protection procedures regardless of how they source a teacher/SNA.

The programme can begin once steps 1 and 2 below have been completed and the school is not running a school-based programme or does not have the capacity to accommodate the child.

For 2022, there is no requirement to submit any part of the grant claim form to the Department of Education before tuition commences.

• Parents can complete PART 1 with their own details and those of their child/children.
• The Teacher/SNA must complete PART 2 and PART 3 plus Appendix 1.

Note: Where more than one teacher or SNA is engaged by parents to provide the hours, each teacher/SNA must complete PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5, Checklist for teacher/SNA and APPENDIX 1 of the Grant Claim Form before tuition/care support commences. The forms for teachers/SNA for that child or children should be returned together.

All parts of the Grant Claim form (when completed) should be submitted to the Department of Education after tuition has concluded.

It is the responsibility of the parent(s)/guardian(s) to complete and submit the completed Grant Claim Form to the Department of Education as soon after the provision has concluded but no later than 6 September 2022.

Completed forms should be returned to the Summer Programme Team in the Special Education Section of the Department of Education at the address below:

Department of Education
Home-Based Summer Programme
Special Education Section
Cornamaddy
Athlone
Co Westmeath N37 X659

Graduate teachers can work on the summer programme where they have commenced their registration process with the Teaching Council and where the following conditions are fulfilled:

1. They have received their final results from their HEI confirming they are eligible for registration with the Teaching Council.
2. Garda vetting has been completed as part of their application for registration with the Teaching Council.
3. Their registration with the Council will be finalised prior to 7 October 2022.

PME student teachers who have applied for registration with the Teaching Council under Further Education can be engaged by primary or post-primary schools where the following conditions are fulfilled:

1. Garda vetting has been completed as part of their application for registration with the Teaching Council.
2. Their registration with the Council under Further Education will be finalised prior to 7 October 2022.

Student teachers who are:

• currently in Year 3 of a four-year undergraduate teacher education programme or
• currently in Year 3 or Year 4 of a five-year undergraduate teacher education programme

can work on the home-based summer programme where they have commenced their registration process with the Teaching Council and where the following conditions are fulfilled:

1. Garda vetting has been completed as part of their application for registration with the Teaching Council.
2. Their registration with the Council under Route 5 – Student teachers will be fulfilled by 07 October 2022.

A student teacher registered with the Teaching Council under Route 5 can be engaged by parents to work on the Home-Based Summer Programme and will be paid at the modified rate.

Yes, a teacher/SNA who is on Career Break or Jobsharing may be employed as a teacher/SNA during the period of the Home Based Summer Programme.

Teachers who have retired on medical grounds Strands 1 and 2 cannot participate in the summer programme.

Teachers retired under Strand 3 may participate in the summer programme. Please note they are subject to the restrictions of the pension scheme governing their retirement.