Latest blog posts

• New subsidy rates under the National Childcare Scheme effective from 2 January
• Record numbers of children now benefitting from supports under the Scheme
• All families encouraged to ensure they are availing of their entitlements under the Scheme

Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth today welcomed the introduction of new subsidy rates under the National Childcare Scheme, which is set to substantially reduce out of pocket costs for early learning and childcare for thousands of families across the country.

From 2 January, the minimum hourly subsidy under the National Childcare Scheme for all children under 15 will be €1.40 – an increase of €0.90 per hour from last year.

For families using Tusla-registered early learning and childcare, this subsidy increase represents further cost reductions of €2,106 (or a reduction of €3,326 in total) off the annual cost of early learning and childcare for each child.

The change to the National Childcare Scheme is being backed by €121 million secured in Budget 2023 by Minister O’Gorman, bringing total funding for the Scheme to €358 million this year.

Record numbers of children are now accessing supports under the Scheme. More than 98,000 children are currently in receipt of support, representing an 82% increase in the number of children for the same period last year.

Welcoming today’s changes to the National Childcare Scheme, the Minister said:

“This Government is delivering on its promise to make high-quality early learning and childcare more affordable for families and accessible to all children.

Families can now benefit from significant increases in the National Childcare Scheme, helping to ease the financial pressure associated with early learning and childcare in Ireland.

Increasing the subsidy that families can avail of under the National Childcare Scheme is the best way to ensure all families with children in Tusla-registered early learning and childcare can benefit from the Government’s €1 billion investment in early learning and childcare for 2023.

More families than ever before are already availing of the National Childcare Scheme, offsetting their early learning and childcare costs, and I am confident that with this additional investment starting today, we can bring further benefits to these families and thousands more like them.

I encourage all eligible families to avail of these supports on offer, by visiting www.ncs.gov.ie, calling the Parent Support Centre on 01 906 8530 or talking to their early learning and childcare provider”

https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/62c29-thousands-of-families-to-benefit-from-substantial-reductions-in-early-learning-and-childcare-costs-from-today/

Dear Service Provider, 

Service providers are reminded that changes to service calendars must be first approved by County Childcare Committees (CCCs) and parents must be given 20 working days’ notice in writing of any change to the service’s calendar.

Copies of such notices must be kept on file for compliance purposes.

For further infrmation on service calendars, please contact your local CCC or refer to the ECCE service calendar and the CCSP service calendar guidance pages available on the Hive

Regards,
The Early Years Team

As Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) services operate during COVID-19, it is important for babies, toddlers and young children that child-centredness continues to be a basis for how we develop our response for children. 

When all the child’s most important adults—parents and practitioners—work together, going to childcare can be a positive experience for everyone.

Everyone will need to remain vigilant and continue to follow Public Health guidance.

School, childcare and COVID-19 - HSE.ie https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/covid19/preventing-the-spread/child-returning-to-school-or-childcare/?fbclid=IwAR33E7j2rg_TeDjjwjSr5uOppQ41E2gzn5SnuA1hKSh2BcP8izKQFrQQHY8

Management of Infectious Disease in Childcare Facilities and Other Childcare Settings

Download Booklet: https://www.hpsc.ie/.../lifes.../childcare/File,13444,en.pdf

 KEY MESSAGES

When to keep your child at home from school or childcare
Keep your child at home if they:

• have symptoms of COVID-19 https://www2.hse.ie/.../covid19/symptoms/symptoms-child/...
• have got a positive COVID-19 test result
• have diarrhoea and are aged 12 or younger https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/diarrhoea-vomiting/

When it's OK to send your child to school or childcare?
It is usually OK to send your child to school or childcare if they:

• only have nasal symptoms, such as a runny nose or a sneeze, but otherwise feel well
• have tested negative and have not had any new symptoms for 48 hours
• have not had diarrhoea for 48 hours

RSV
The HSE are seeing a significant increase in the rates of RSV infection; a respiratory virus which causes Bronchiolitis in young children. Symptoms of bronchiolitis usually include a runny/blocked nose, mild fever and cough. In babies, however, it can cause more significant difficulties in breathing and feeding, and young babies are more likely to need hospital care.

More details on Bronchiolitis can be found here: https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/bronchiolitis/ 

Dear Service Provider, 

Following on from the recent announcement in relation to the ongoing NCS compliance inspections, inspections on the ECCE (inc. AIM) and CCSP Saver programmes will commence shortly. These on-site inspections will continue for the 2022/23 programme call and as previously, the compliance process will involve a series of standardised checks aimed at confirming adherence with programme rules and contract conditions as set out by the Department of Children Equality Disability Integration & Youth (DCEDIY).

It is advised that services prepare for an unannounced compliance visit by collating relevant information for review e.g. in a Compliance File which can be made readily available to the Visit Officer on arrival. This will ensure minimum disruption and expedite the compliance visit. It is acknowledged that services file their records in different ways which is acceptable, but it should be noted that records must be available to enable the Visit Officer to complete the compliance inspection in a reasonable timescale. In this regard we request that the person in charge on-site has access to the Compliance File / records in the event of an unannounced visit. Please only maintain compliance related information in the Compliance Folder. 

It is important to note, that unlike NCS where the previous 12 months of records up to the visit date are reviewed, for ECCE and CCSP Savers the compliance inspection will review documents from the beginning of the programme year i.e.22nd August 2022 for ECCE and 15th August 2022 for CCSP.

With the commencement of the 2022/23 inspection cycle, Compliance have updated the relevant ECCE support documents which are available on the Hive under the Resources section. These documents are listed below and can also be accessed through this link (The CCSP documents will be finalised and updated shortly):

• ECCE Compliance Service Provider Guide 2022/2023 - a guide on the ECCE compliance process
• ECCE Compliance Checklist 2022/2023 - a checklist to help services to make sure they have all relevant documentation ready for any unannounced compliance visit 
• ECCE Post Inspection Rectification Actions 2022/2023 - a checklist summarising what actions services must take to rectify matters, if a service is found to be non-compliant
• CCSP Saver Compliance Service Provider Guide 2022/2023 - a guide on the CCSP compliance process
• CCSP Saver Compliance Checklist 2022/2023 - a checklist to help services to make sure they have all relevant documentation ready for any unannounced compliance visit 
• CCSP Saver Post Inspection Rectification Actions 2022/2023 - a checklist summarising what actions services must take to rectify matters, if a service is found to be non-compliant
  
  Please note - these documents are only supports, intended to assist you. There is an onus on each service provider to familiarise themselves with their responsibilities under the relevant ECCE and CCSP contractual conditions.

The Visit Officers will adhere to any public health guidance while on-site at Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare facilities. 

We want to take this opportunity to thank services in advance for your continued co-operation with compliance checks.

Regards
Pobal Compliance Team
DCEDIY

Dear Service Provider, 

In certain exceptional circumstances, a service may apply to retain a child’s funding under NCS/ECCE/the CCSP Saver Programme beyond the standard 4 weeks non-attendance allowed under the scheme/programme rules.

Service Providers wishing to apply for Special Circumstances to retain a registration beyond 4 weeks of continuous absence up until 6 weeks, are required to complete an Exemption Request for Continuous Absence due to Special Circumstances declaration form, downloadable from the Programme Documents section of the Early Years Hive (for ECCE and NCS) and PIP Resources (for CCSP Saver). Please also find the form attached here.

One form will be applicable to NCS, ECCE and CCSP for applying for a continuous absence exemption. The form is to be signed by both the service provider and the
parent/guardian.

Please ensure to include the applicable reasons for the child’s absence and clearly specify absence dates. Once complete, please attach the declaration form to the child’s registration on Hive/PIP for Pobal to process.

Please note absences extending beyond 6 weeks to a maximum of 12 weeks, will require Pobal to seek acceptable proof of special circumstances. Acceptable proofs may include a letter or medical certificate which can be uploaded onto the system by the provider.

Declaration form Checklist:

• Signed by parent/guardian
• Signed by service provider
• Special Circumstances reason indicated (tick box)
• Absence period/dates specified
• Attach to child’s registration on PIP/Hive
• Provide additional proof medical letter/certificate (If absence extends beyond 6 weeks).

Regards,

The Early Years Team