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Free Inclusion Training for Childcare
Minister Zappone announces up to 1,200 free places on leadership for inclusion programme
“Investing in childcare personnel delivers quality accessible services for children, parents and families”

Friday 9th March, 2018

Up to 1,200 free training places are being made available to pre-school practitioners to ensure their free pre-school services are inclusive and accessible to children with disabilities, according to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone.

Applications will open on 12 March 2018 for the third intake onto the Leadership for Inclusion (LINC) higher education programme for pre-school practitioners which will commence this September.

The LINC programme is funded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and is delivered by a consortium, led by Mary Immaculate College, Limerick together with Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education, Maynooth University and Early Childhood Ireland.

Minister Zappone welcomed the announcement of the third intake onto the LINC Programme, noting that:
‘Since the introduction of AIM we have made great strides to ensure children with disabilities can participate in free pre-school education alongside their friends. The provision of high quality education and training to upskill pre-school practitioners through this award winning Programme has been central to our success. Since this Programme was first launched, approximately 750 graduates have taken on the role of Inclusion Coordinator in their setting, a further 850 students are expected to graduate later this year and up to 1,200 places will be offered for new enrolments.”

The LINC Programme contains online and classroom based sessions in order to ensure a flexible and quality learning experience, enabling pre-school practitioners in full-time employment to attend this important continuing professional development (CPD) programme. According to Mr Fintan Breen, LINC National Programme Coordinator ‘pre-school practitioners have engaged enthusiastically with this Programme over the last two years and we are delighted with the impact that LINC is having on children, families and communities.

Across the country, almost 750 graduates from the first intake are now performing a new leadership role of Inclusion Coordinator within their pre-school setting. This attracts an increase of €2 per child per week in the rate of ECCE capitation payable to that setting.

The application deadline for the LINC Programme is Thursday, 12 April 2018 and further information on how to apply can be found on www.lincprogramme.ie

EARLY YEARS & SCHOOL AGE CAPITAL 2018 CLOSING FOR APPLICATIONS AT 3PM ON Wednesday 14th MARCH 2018

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION ASAP. PLEASE ENSURE YOUR APPLICATION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED AND IS NOT REMAINING IN DRAFT FORMAT

Please note if you are having technical issues the following applies.

All IT related issues or errors relating to the form/form submission must be logged by COB Tuesday 13th March (17:00hrs). Applicants seeking technical support after this date and time cannot be addressed. Please ensure you email a screenshot of any issue you are experiencing to speed up the process of resolving the issue.

Please note that our lines are always very busy on the Deadline day. Any issues or queries raised with the Online Support team on Wednesday 14th March 2018 may not be resolved before the 3pm application submission deadline and may impact on you being able to complete/submit your application in time for the deadline.

Capital application window extended due to adverse effects of weather

New deadline of 3pm Wednesday 14th March 2018
Providers given extra three working days to complete applications

Due to the unforeseen delays and inconveniences caused to childcare providers across the country by the recent snow event, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. Katherine Zappone, today announced the extension of the 2018 Early Years and School Age Capital application window by three working days, to Wednesday the 14th of March 2018 at 3pm.
It is hoped that the revised application window will allow for applicants whose preparations were affected by the recent red weather warning to complete their application forms as planned before the close of the deadline.

Childcare providers are encouraged to contact their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) for any help or guidance they may require in completing their applications for capital funding before the window closes.

Update to the Early Years and School Age Childcare Sector (28th February)

The National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) has met again this morning following the issuing of a Status Red weather warning in some parts of the country. Conditions are expected to worsen over Thursday and Friday in parts of the country and the NECG are advising that roads should be avoided in Status Red areas due to expected treacherous conditions. DCYA is advising childcare services that local decisions should be taken based on the weather status in their part of the country. In making this decision DCYA strongly advises that services have regard to any Met Eireann weather warnings in place, particularly when a red warning is in operation, the availability of transport, the accessibility of roads and whether schools in the area are open.

The safety of children, parents and staff is of utmost importance and we are aware that some services have already taken the decision to close their services today on foot of the current snowfall in parts of the country. The worst weather is currently predicted to occur on Thursday and Friday. DCYA will continue to attend the daily meetings of the NECG and update further as the day.

Information from across all government departments regarding the effects of the current weather situation can be found by visiting www.gov.ie

Closures
Early years settings should take decisions based on local conditions and the safety of staff, children and parents.

Should weather conditions in your locality determine that you must close your service, Clause 12 of the Grant Agreement for DCYA programmes refers to Force Majeure and the fact that services forced to close will be paid for children registered for current schemes.

In the event that you must invoke Force Majeure, please download and complete the Force Majeure form from PIP and send onwards to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. within four weeks. Should you require support with this process please contact Online Support by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

DCYA will continue to update the sector via PIP updates and communication with stakeholders as the weather situation evolves.

Update to the Early Years and School Age Childcare Sector

The DCYA has attended a further meeting of the National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) to monitor the emerging weather situation. Severe weather is expected towards the latter end of this week. DCYA is asking childcare services to be aware of local weather warnings and travel restrictions that may affect their service.

The worst weather is currently predicted to occur on Thursday and Friday. DCYA will continue to attend the daily meetings of the NECG and monitor the situation as it evolves.

Communicating with parents

In particular DCYA asks that childcare providers maintain contact with parents throughout the week in order to keep them informed and to allow time for planning to minimise any possible disruptions.

The safety and welfare of children, providers, staff and parents should be carefully considered by each service and if a childcare service is forced to close due to the worsening weather conditions we encourage childcare services to communicate this to the parents in their service as early as possible.

We encourage both childcare services and parents to visit the Winter Ready website for advice www.winterready.ie and make the appropriate preparations.

Closures
Should conditions in your area worsen to an extent where you cannot open your service safely, Clause 12 of the Grant Agreement for DCYA programmes refers to Force Majeure and the fact that services forced to close will be paid for children registered for current schemes.

In the event that you must invoke Force Majeure, please download and complete the Force Majeure form from PIP and send onwards to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. within four weeks. Should you require support with this process please contact Online Support by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01 511 7222

DCYA will continue to update the sector via PIP updates and communication with stakeholders as the weather situation evolves.

The DCYA has attended the National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) which met this morning to plan for severe weather conditions expected later this week.

DCYA is asking childcare services to be aware of local weather warnings and travel restrictions that may affect their service.

We encourage childcare services and parents to visit the Winter Ready website for advice (www.winterready.ie) and make the appropriate preparations to minimise disruptions.

The safety and welfare of children, providers, staff and parents is paramount and should be carefully considered by each service.

Should conditions worsen throughout the week childcare providers affected by the weather conditions should note that Clause 12 of the Grant Agreement for DCYA programmes refers to Force Majeure and the fact that services forced to close will be paid for children registered for current schemes.
In the event that you must invoke Force Majeure, please download and complete the Force Majeure form from PIP and send onwards to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. within four weeks.

Should you require support with this process please contact Online Support by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01 511 7222

DCYA will continue to update the sector via PIP updates and communication with stakeholders throughout this weather event. We ask that services in turn keep parents updated of the situation in their area. Please stay safe throughout these adverse conditions.

Offaly County Childcare Committee are hosting an evening to celebrate International Women's Day.

Come and join us for an evening of Mindfulness with Gaye Mullen

• Discover how a simple Mindful session can reduce stress and anxiety!
• See how mindfulness can help you find a calming life /work balance!
• Discover amazing benefits!
• Boost your happiness mindfully!

This practical and fun workshop will introduce you to Mindfulness and Meditation .

Gaye Mullen has practised Mindfulness for the past 25 years having studied the mindfulness approach Heartfeltness' in America.

Gaye established the successful Punchestown AMI School which offers the full AMI Montessori structure. She also runs Parenting Workshops, Mindfulness & Well being classes, one to one sessions and mentoring.

See poster for full details

Better Start AIM Hanen Teacher Talk training programmes

A new programme of specialised training for Early Years Practitioners will be rolled out as part of the AIM programme. The first round of training is Hanen Teacher Talk, which is a certified 3 day course which will be delivered by Better Start Early Years Specialists.

Better Start are collaborating with Teacher Education Centres around the country to ensure local delivery of training. The first round of training will begin in March and April 2018 in Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Leitrim, Limerick and Wexford and will take place on one Saturday per month. ECCE services in receipt of AIM targeted support (Levels 4-7) will be invited to apply.

Further training courses will be available throughout 2018. More information will follow shortly. Watch this Space!