Featured News

Check out the latest edition of the Early Years e-bulletin 

Contents:

Dear Service Provider, 

Important updates to Registrations for the 2023/2024 ECCE, CCSP Saver Programme, NCS Programme Call

Please see the following important updates regarding registrations for the 2023/2024 programme call for ECCE, CCSP Saver Programme and NCS in this announcement:

• Updated Applicant Declaration forms.
• New fields on child registration pages for ethnic group/background and Eircode.
• Tusla registration change reminder.
• Training and support information.

Applicant Declaration Form

The Applicant Declaration form replaces the Parental Declaration form. It is printed from either the ECCE or CCSP Saver Programme child registration page after a child’s registration has been submitted for the parent/guardian to sign has been updated. As well as automatically populating the child’s personal information and the service’s calendar information, the form now provides a space for services who are required, under the terms of their funding agreements, to manually enter the fee information for each parent/guardian. Please note where there is more than one child in a family in receipt of funding under the ECCE or CCSP Saver Programmes, an Applicant Declaration is required for each child.

Where there is a change in fees or a change in level of childcare provided to a child, a new Applicant Declaration form must be printed and signed by the parent and kept on file for compliance purposes.

New fields on child registration pages for ethnic group/background and Eircode

There will be two new fields to complete on the child registration page for both the ECCE and CCSP Saver Programmes for the 2023/2024 programme call. The first will ask the parent/guardian to select the ethnic group/background of the child from a dropdown of options. The second will ask the parent/guardian to input the Eircode of the child. The provision of an Eircode is obligatory for an Approved Provider to make a registration. Where an Eircode is unavailable for a property, services should save the registration as a draft and raise a Request quoting its registration identifier code.

This information will help develop an identification model for the Equal Participation Model, a new funding strand as part of Together for Better.

The ethnic group/background field has also been added to the NCS application form, while the Eircode field is a pre-existing question on the NCS application form. This form is submitted by the child’s parent/guardian and there will be no additional requirement for service providers for NCS registrations.

Tusla registration change reminder

As previously communicated via an announcement on 24 May, there has been an important change to Tusla registration number requirements on the Early Years Hive. Service providers are now required to provide their Tusla registration number(s) for each care type offered. i.e., if you offer Early Learning and Care (ELC), you must provide a valid ELC registration number. If you offer School Aged Childcare (SAC), you must provide a valid SAC registration number and if you provide both ELC and SAC, you must provide valid Tusla registration numbers for both of these care types.

When registering a child, there will be an automatic system check to ensure you hold the relevant Tusla certification for the education stage of the child. Otherwise you will be unable to proceed with the registration until the correct Tusla certificate is uploaded.

Training and support

Registration training for ECCE and the CCSP Saver Programme is being held on Tuesday 4 July and Wednesday 5 July. Please see the invite announcement posted on Friday 23 June for more information.

Should you have any queries in relation to registrations, please contact the Early Years Provider Centre (EYPC) by raising a Request on the Early Years Hive using the following categories:

Programme: Choose the programme (ECCE, NCS, CCSP)
Request Type: Registrations

Regards,
The Early Years Team

Dear Service Provider,  

Registration and Programme Call opening dates for the 2023/2024 ECCE, CCSP Saver Programme, NCS Programme Call

Please see the registration and programme call opening dates for the 2023/2024 programme call for ECCE, CCSP Saver Programme and NCS below.

All Programme Readiness dates are added to the calendar page of the Early Years Hive for your benefit.

Please note that there are updates regarding registrations for these programmes for the 2023/2024 programme call which will be outlined in a separate announcement later today.

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme

Registrations will open for the ECCE 2023 Programme Call on Monday 3 July 2023. The ECCE 2023 Programme Call will commence on Monday 21 August 2023.

You can find guidance on how to register a child on ECCE on the ECCE Child Registration page in Help & Support HERE.

Important: Except for compliance purposes, under no circumstances should you cancel an active 2022 registration as this will create an overpayment for your service. If you are registering a child for ECCE 2023 who is currently registered in your service, please add an additional, separate registration for ECCE 2023.

The Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP) Saver Programme

Registrations for the 2023 CCSP Saver Programme will open on Monday 7 August 2023. The CCSP Saver Programme 2023 Programme Call will commence on Monday 14 August 2023.

You can find guidance on how to register a child on the CCSP Saver Programme on the CCSP Child Registration page in Help & Support HERE.

Important: Except for compliance purposes, under no circumstances should you cancel an active 2022 registration as this will create an overpayment for your service. If you are registering a child for CCSP Saver Programme 2023 who is currently registered in your service, please add an additional, separate registration for CCSP Saver Programme 2023.

National Childcare Scheme (NCS)

Registration of CHICKs for NCS can be submitted on the Early Years Hive at any time. For NCS, a service calendar for both 2023 and 2024 must be created on Early Years Hive to allow for 52-week awards which span across both programme years.

You can find guidance on how to register a child on NCS on the NCS Child Registration page in Help & Support HERE.

Training and support

Registration training for ECCE and CCSP Saver Programme is being held on Tuesday 4 July and Wednesday 5 July. Please see the invite announcement posted on Friday 23 June for more information.

Should you have any queries in relation to registrations, please contact the Early Years Provider Centre (EYPC) by raising a Request on the Early Years Hive using the following categories:

Programme: Choose the programme (ECCE, NCS, CCSP)
Request Type: Registrations

Regards,
The Early Years Team

Dear Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare Providers, 

Following on from the DCEDIY’s announcement on the 22 June, the application process for the Core Funding 2023/2024 programme year will open at 12pm today 23 June 2023.

In advance of submitting a 2023/2024 Core Funding Application, Partner Services must ensure that their Service Profile is up to date, and that they have completed the 2022/2023 Annual Early Years Sector Profile Survey.

Existing Core Funding Partner Services who have completed the June Review and Confirm process and are at an approved status will be able to transfer their most recent Core Funding Application data into their new Core Funding Application Module for 2023/2024. To submit a 2023/2024 Core Funding application Module please go to the Programmes page of the Early Years Hive.

Once a partner service has submitted their application, they have a 14-day window to activate the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement 2023 which they will find on the Programmes page of the Early Years Hive in the Available Programme Applications section.

You can view a copy of the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement 2023 in  Core Funding Documents or else at the below link:

Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement 2023

If your service requires support completing an application, additional resources are available under the Core Funding Documents section on Hive. Your local CCC (County Childcare Committee) also remain available to assist you in completing your Core Funding Application Module.

If you require any further assistance or clarification on any of the above, please contact the Early Years Provider centre by raising a ticket as follows: -Programme: Core Funding, Request Type: Application, Request Type Detail: Application

Best wishes,

The Early Years Team

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 information 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.

Thank you,

The Early Years Team