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*******EARLY YEAR’S SUPPORT WORKER - Fixed Term Contract********

Offaly County Childcare Committee is seeking to recruit a temporary Early Year's Support Worker for a fixed term contract to the end of December 2020. The successful candidate will have responsibility for supporting the development of Early Years Services in County Offaly and for assisting in the delivery of the Local Implementation Plan. The candidate will work with existing early years services, supporting them with the national quality & curriculum frameworks. The candidate will also be expected to organise activities for early years services in the county.

Application is by handwritten application form only, CVs will not be accepted. Application form, full job description and personal specification are available on request from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Closing date for receipt of completed application forms is 5pm on Thursday 13th June 2019.

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone TD, today launched a public and stakeholder consultation process on future regulations and a quality improvement
framework for school-age childcare.

The numbers of families accessing school-age childcare has seen significant growth and development in recent years. It is expected that the families of more than 21,000 school going children will benefit from subsidies through the National Childcare Scheme when it starts later this year. In addition, €3.45m in capital funding has been invested since 2017 to create an additional 6,131 school-age childcare places.

Last December Minister Zappone signed Regulations which provided for the registration of school-age childcare services. These initial Regulations came into force in February, enabling services that register with Tusla to take part in the National Childcare Scheme when it opens.

The National Childcare Scheme will provide financial support towards the cost of childcare for parents availing of these services.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is now seeking to build on this work by developing comprehensive Regulations and a quality improvement framework. This work will build on draft quality standards that were prepared by a national working group in 2018 and which are being published as part of the public consultation.

Launching the consultation, Minister Zappone invited everyone to share their views.

The Minister stated, ‘Achieving the goal of quality accessible affordable childcare means we must listen to the voices of children, parents and providers. School Age Childcare is a reality for many families. We have made much progress, but school-age childcare is still in the early stages of development. This consultation is a great opportunity to hear the views of all concerned, so we can ensure the 117% increase in Government investment secured since 2015 continues to deliver the best possible benefits for all. The forthcoming National Childcare Scheme marks a major milestone in our efforts. By ensuring all voices are heard we can complete the journey of transformation from having one of the most expensive childcare systems in the world into the best.”

From now until early July, interested parties and members of the public, including children, will be able to make a submission or fill out an online survey available on the Department’s website.

On June 20th, the Department will also host an Open Policy Debate on the future of school-age childcare to which key stakeholders, including school-age childcare providers and groups representing children, parents and practitioners will be invited.

A consultation with school-age children was carried out as part of the development of the Action Plan on School Age Childcare, published in 2017.

SAC survey Irish

Call for Submissions on Regulations and a Quality Improvement Framework for School

Glaoch ar Aighneachtaí faoi Rialacháin agus Creat Feabhsúcháin Cáilíochta do Chúram Leanaí ar Aois Scoile

Final Draft SAC Standards

lnitial SAC registration regulations

Devised by Sergeant Dermot O'Connell of Killarney Garda Station, Operation Paisti is an awareness campaign around Car Seat Safety. The aim of the campaign is to address the serious lack of awareness among motorists about how to restrain children correctly and safely in vehicles

The interactive road safety campaign involves working with local schools and the media, in order to get safety information to as many as possible and to make it easier for parents and children to understand the safest way to restrain children in cars. Legally in Ireland a child car seat is required until a child is either 150cm (4.92 Ft) or 36kg (5.67 Stone): this is approx to 12 years old. The penalty for this offence is 3 penalty points and a fine of €60.00.

Expanding Operation Paisti

The campaign was initially implemented through the Garda schools programme and is now in the process of being expanded both divisionally and nationally, with the support of key agencies, including the Road Safety Authority, Department of Education and Skills, Local Authorities, Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and various media outlets.

For information on when Operation Paisti will be run in your area please contact your local Garda station.

AIM Informed Consent

In order to apply for AIM Level 4, 5, or 7, consent from the Parent/Guardian is required to be submitted with the child’s application. This will enable the Early Years Specialist and other professionals to support a child’s inclusion in the pre-school for the duration of his or her ECCE registration and to plan for his or her transition to primary school

The information required on the AIM informed consent form includes;
· The child’s name
· The Service DCYA reference number
· The setting name
· Signatures of the Parent’s/Guardian of the child.

The form should then be uploaded onto PIP and submitted with the application. This form is a legal document and should be completed in full and all signatures need to be dated. Delays will occur in processing the application if details are missing from the consent form.

Please see a link below to the form.
http://aim.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/AIM-Informed-Consent.pdf

Minister Zappone highlights the range of supports available for families during Tusla’s National Child and Family Support Week 

Monday 13th May 2019

From the 13th to the 19th of May, special events will be taking place across Ireland as part of the Tusla National Child and Family Support Week. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone, welcomed this initiative to highlight the variety of accessible and friendly supports provided by Tusla and its partners to parents at all stages of their children’s development.

The events aim to increase awareness of the wide range of family supports available for parents, children, young people and communities across Ireland. Events include parenting talks, workshops, coffee mornings, film screenings, teddy bears’ picnics and much more. Details of all events are available here.  (Click here to view what is happening in Offaly)

Supports funded by Tusla include the Parenting24seven.ie website which contains tips on what works best for children and families at different stages of childhood, a wide range of services in family resource centres, parenting classes, Creative Community Alternatives and Meitheal, an inclusive, team-based approach to identifying and meeting children’s needs. Other parenting supports include parent, baby and toddler groups, breastfeeding support groups and the HSE’s mychild.ie website.

Minister Zappone stated: “Families play a critical role in teaching, supporting and nurturing children. We must ensure that all parents can access high quality supports at different stages in their child’s life.”

A Parenting Support Policy Unit has been established by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to lead out on the work of co-ordinating policy direction and activity relating to parenting support. A recent survey of parents carried out on behalf of the Department found that seven out of ten parents in Ireland felt supported by family and friends. Finances, sleep and work/family life balance were the top three challenges identified by parents.

Minister Zappone stated “It is important that all parents have access to high quality supports when they need them. As part of First 5, the Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families, my department will lead the development of a national model of parenting supports to meet the needs of parents in Ireland and their children”.