Table of Contents
Programme Overview
Due to Covid-19 our childrens whole school experience has been interupted. The Department of Education and Skills have implemneted a Summer Programme to help assist the many pupils that have special needs and other difficulties to transition back into education after such a lengthy period out of their normal school routines.
On this page we’ve given you a break down of the steps you must take as per the DES guidelines to register your child for access to the summer programme both Home and School based. For the school based, not all of the steps are needed and we’ve highlighted this on the page. We are very happy for any organisation or support group to copy and share this info, but we ask that you’d acknowledge us as the scource.
Parents must register on-line via the DES link.
For this you will need…
- Your PPS number
- Your childs PPS number
- Your childs date of birth
- Your childs school Roll number. To find a roll number [click this link]
- To register on-line [Click this link]
Consult your child’s school to establish
- Your child’s eligibility to apply
- Are they planning on running the scheme
- If they are, your child must attend with them.
- If they are, no further action is needed by you and your school will advise you on next steps
- This year there is no movement between school and home ie if school only offer 2 weeks you can not apply for the home based scheme for the balance of 2 wereks.
If you are only doing the home based scheme
You must follow the following steps:
To confirm your child’s eligibility have your school principal complete pages 2 & 3 of the DES document. To open the document [Click Here]
We would advise you to get the application document completed asap by the school and the tutor/SNA. It’s also important to show the signed and stamped school pages to the tutor as confirmation for them that your child is eligible.
What are the eligibility criteria?
- Pupils with a diagnosis of Autism
- Pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties
- Pupils with Down Syndrome
- Any child in a special class or special school
- Children transitioning into a special class from early years settings
- Pupils in primary school mainstream classes who present with the following disabilities:
- Children who are Deaf or most severe hard of hearing
- Children who are blind or have a most severe visual impairment
- Children who have a moderate general learning disability
- Children with severe emotional behavioural difficulties
Note:
- Pupil refers to children enrolled in recognised schools only.
- Pre-school Children: Application school pages must be signed and stamped by Principal of school your child is starting with in the Autumn.
Are you interested in a grouping arrangement ?
Any provider interested in giving group tuition must contact the DES by emailing HomeBasedSummerProgram@education.gov.ie for full T&Cs.
Get information from your school on the supports that should be provided by the tutor/SNA for the summer programme.
To achieve the maximum benefit for your child we would suggest, if possible, that the tutor speaks with your child’s teacher / school resource.
Secure the services of a registered teacher or an SNA.
If you don’t already have a teacher/SNA post your needs on this notice board. There you can also message any teacher/SNA in your county that have posts up. You’ll need to register first, to see how [click here]. Tutors must meet the schemes qualification and child protection criteria.
Parents cannot provide the programme to their own children.
Prior to starting tuition
- Tutors must be a registered Teacher or an SNA
- Tutors must show you their vetting disclosure
- You must request a newly issued vetting disclosure if you are engaging with this tutor for the first time.
- You are advised to consider whether a newly issued vetting disclosure is necessary
- All tutors/SNAs engaged must have a current Statutory Declaration completed. A copy is available at appendix 1 on the application document [DES document]
The factors a parent/guardian may wish to take into account in determining whether a newly issued vetting disclosure is required may include the following
- Time period since last vetting was obtained
- Whether there are any gaps in the persons employment/career/educational history which have not been satisfactorily accounted for.
- Whether comprehensive references have been made available in respect of previous employments
The above is not an exhaustive list of factors that you may wish to take into consideration.
Tuition period
Tuition can take place over any of the 4 weeks commencing from Monday 29th June 2020 and finishing no later than Friday 21st August 2020.
Allocation of hours
The allocation is 10 hours per week over 4 weeks per household.
Siblings will receive adjusted hours as follows
- 2 Children receive a total of 15 hours per week for 4 weeks
- 3 Children receive a total of 20 hours per week for 4 weeks
- 4 Children receive a total of 25 hours per week for 4 weeks
Siblings will receive their own allocation of 10 hours per week over 4 weeks if they…
- Are in different educational levels ie 1 Primary and 1 in Post-Primary
- One child is in a specialised setting
- Or where one sibling is living in a separate home.
What to do with the various pages in the DES application documents?
To open the DES document follow this link ->Application Form
- Application form completed by the parent/guardian. – page 1
- Confirmation by school of child’s eligibility – pages 2 & 3
- Details page completed by the teacher/SNA – page 4
- Appendix 1 – Statutory Declaration – pages 6 & 7
- Appendix 2 – Form of undertaking – page 8.
- Parent/Guardian confirmation must be signed – page 8
UPDATE: It is very important that you have all of the documents completed and signed prior to starting the tuition services.
Make copies of these documents for your records and keep them safely.
Teacher must see signed school principal pages before starting any Summer Programme tuition.
All page originals must be returned to the DES before 28th August 2020.
Return address is: Department of Education & Skills, Summer Education Scheme payment, Cornamaddy, Athlone, Co. Westmeath N37 X659
When tuition is completed
- The teacher / SNA completes the time table of tuition – page 5
- Teacher signs the time table of tuition – page 5
- Parent signs the time table of tuition – page 5
- Write your child’s PPS No. clearly at the top of the sheet. – page 5
- Make 2 copies of the document – for your and the teacher/SNAs records
- Post it to DES address listed at the bottom of page 5
Before returning any documents to the DES we suggest that you make a copy for your own records.
Can tutors work with multiple children?
Yes under the terms of the home based scheme a number of different children can be tutored on a one to one basis.
Tutors are not required to get pre-approval from the DES to tutor multiple children, but the programme guidelines set out must be strictly adhered to and all paperwork must be completed by the childs school, the tutor and the child’s parent. The “Timetable of Tuition” must also be completed and returned with all the paperwork on completion of tuition.
Who pays for the tuition?
The DES will pay the tutors directly for the tuition they undertake for families.
If you have not worked for the DES before you will need to send them your bank details. [Click here] to open the bank account details form.
Note:
For a copy of the original DES info sheet that also contains pay rates for teachers/SNAs [CLICK HERE].
For a copy of the DES Parent info sheet [CLICK HERE].
There are a number of items that need clarification.
1. Will confirmations be issued to parents who register online? No
2. When should the various signed documents be actually sent back to the DES? After the tuition has been completed.
3. Can DES team override a school principals authorisation when they sign off a pupil for the scheme?
4. Do teachers need to get pre-clearance to work with multiple children? No, but they must adhere to guidelines.
5. Do siblings that are both in a special school setting get shared or seperate hours? Children in same school settings receive shared hours
When we have answers to these or any others that come up we will update this page and flag changes/additions clearly.
Have you any questions?
If you have any questions please do Contact Us and we’ll be happy to assist you further.