Focus Group on the New Draft Childminding Regulations for Parents
The Public Consultation on the New Draft Childminding Regulations have been launched recently and Carlow County Childcare Committee would like to invite parents to join our focus group on Wednesday 10th April @ 7pm in the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow to give your views.
We want your voice to be heard before the regulations are finalised.
Please book your place by contacting Carlow CCC on 059 9140244 before 3rd April
Minister O’Gorman launches Parent and Toddler Group Grants Initiative 2024
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, today launched the Parent and Toddler Group Grants Initiative 2024 as part of the Government’s First 5 Strategy. The Minister has secured funding of €250,000, which will be allocated to Parent and Toddler Groups nationwide through local City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs). From today, Parent and Toddler Groups are invited to make an application for funding under this Initiative through their local CCC.
This year the emphasis will again be on supporting Parent and Toddler Groups that offer a welcome to Ukrainian families and to all families who are newly arrived in Ireland.
Following from the success of last year’s Grants, the Parent and Toddler Group Grants Initiative 2024 will offer two streams of funding:
1. Funding of €800 for existing Groups and €1,000 for the establishment of new Groups.
2. Funding of up to €300 to establish and operate Buggy Walking Groups. These Buggy Walking Groups are organised social walks for parents/guardians and young children. This stream is open to any existing or new organisations or Groups who wish to offer a minimum of six organised walks within their community.
Conditions apply and the CCCs are available to discuss these with new and existing Groups. The contact details for all CCCs can be found on myccc.ie.
In announcing this year’s Parent and Toddler Group Grant Initiative Minister O’Gorman said;
“First 5 the whole of government strategy for under 6’s recognises children’s early years as a critical and distinct period to be enjoyed.
“My Department helps families to nurture babies and young children and support their development, with additional support for those who need it.
“Parent and Toddler Groups provide a great meeting place for parents and guardians with young children to relax and chat together in a supportive environment while children can play.
“I want to thank all the Groups that are offering a welcome and friendship to parents and children in their communities as well as those newly arrived to Ireland. I am delighted to be able to support this work.”
Some parents shared their experiences of Parent and Toddler Groups:
“Thanks to this children’s club, my daughter very quickly adapted [to life in Ireland] and got used to the children, learned to play, make friends, share and much more. Since my daughter is only 2.5 years old, she does not attend full-time kindergarten; we, as parents, really like this type of children’s club. Once again I express my gratitude, you are the best!” – Parents from Lisdoonvarna Parent and Toddler Group.
“It is great to have this opportunity to contact with other families, chat with other parents and help our kids to learn how to play and communicate with each other.” – Parent from Lahinch Parent and Toddler Group
gov – Minister O’Gorman launches Parent and Toddler Group Grants Initiative 2024 (www.gov.ie)
Focus Group on the New Draft Childminding Regulations
The Public Consultation on the New Draft Childminding Regulations have been launched recently and Carlow County Childcare Committee would like to invite childminders to join our focus group on Wednesday 13th March @ 7pm in the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow to give your views.
Your expertise is invaluable in shaping the future of Childminding Regulations. We want your voice to be heard before the regulations are finalised.
For further information or to book a place, please phone Carlow County Childcare Committee on 059 91 402 44 or email eilish@carlowccc.ie .
Press Release: Minister O’Gorman announces €18 million Capital Grant for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector
Press release
Minister O’Gorman announces €18 million Capital Grant for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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Last updated on
- €18 million announced under the Building Blocks Expansion Grant Scheme
- Grants in 2024 for Early Learning and Childcare services to expand their capacity by means of internal renovations and reconfigurations
- Scheme will deliver thousands of Early Learning and Childcare places in areas of undersupply
- Scheme will use new analysis to target funding at areas with biggest supply gap
- Maximum fee threshold will apply to ensure that places delivered through this funding are not unaffordable
Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, has today announced an €18 million Capital Grant Scheme for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector.
The Building Blocks Capacity Expansion Grant Scheme is part of the wider Building Blocks Capacity Grant Scheme for Early Learning and Childcare under the revised National Development Plan 2021-2030 (NDP).
The primary focus of the Expansion Grant Scheme is to increase capacity in the 1-3 year old (pre ECCE) age range for full day or part-time care. This will be achieved by funding projects that reconfigure or internally renovate existing Early Learning and Childcare services to accommodate additional children in this age category.
The Expansion Grant Scheme will be open to Core Funding partner services.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has examined the levels of supply and demand for Early Learning and Childcare using the latest census data and information on existing provision and enrolments, as well as CSO data on commuting patterns, to generate insights into the extent to which existing levels of supply meet local demand across the country. This analysis is being used to identify areas of undersupply across the country, allowing the funding to be targeted at areas most in need.
A further feature of this scheme will be the application of a maximum fee threshold for Early Learning and Childcare places that are delivered through this funding. In line with the objectives of the Minister to improve access to affordable, quality early learning and care, funding for capacity expansion will only be made available to services that charge fees below a maximum fee threshold.
Welcoming the announcement, Minister O’Gorman said
“Ensuring high-quality Early Learning and Childcare that is affordable and accessible to all is a key priority for Government. In recent years, the Government has invested significantly to reduce costs to parents, yet we know that early learning and childcare can be difficult to access in certain areas of the country. The Expansion Grant Scheme will provide for an immediate increase in affordable Early Learning and Childcare places in 2024, and will be specifically targeted in areas in where they are needed most. It will be the first of two significant capital investment schemes, to be delivered in 2024 and 2025.”
He added
“I hope this will provide a huge support for services that are ready to expand capacity through smaller-scale renovations and upgrades. Since I announced the Building Blocks Capacity Scheme in December, my Department has worked closely with Pobal and the network of City and County Childcare Committees to prepare to deliver the scheme. ”
In addition to the Building Blocks – Capacity Grant, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth continues to progress a range of actions to ensure the supply of Early Learning and Childcare aligns with demand including:
- The establishment of a new Supply Management Unit in January. The Unit will manage the design and delivery of the Building Blocks Capacity Grant. The Unit will also focus on developing the division’s forward planning capacity to better estimate supply and demand and develop effective responses to meet supply gaps.
- Engagement with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Updating the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings.
- The regulation of childminders under the National Action Plan for Childminding, which will allow the National Childcare Scheme to open to parents who use childminders from autumn 2024.
ENDS/
Note for Editors:
Key features of the Expansion Grant Scheme:
Projects of between €50,000 and €100,000 will be funded to deliver additional capacity, e.g. where services can renovate or upgrade existing space to cater for more children. This grant will be open to both private and community-based services, under the following conditions:
- Private Providers can apply for funding between €25,000 and €50,000.
- Community Providers can apply for funding between €50,000 and €100,000.
- Match funding will be required for privately owned services, with a maximum contribution by the
Department of 50% of total project costs. Match funding will not be required of community-led services.
In order to be eligible for grants, services must commit to increasing their service provision by at least five places for 1-2 year olds or at least six places for 2-3 year olds (pre ECCE) , or to increase capacity over both age cohorts to a minimum of 6. Places for children in other age brackets may also be eligible for funding once the minimum requirements are met.
Minimum requirements for the number of hours of provision per week and weeks per year will also apply.
A key feature of the scheme will be a check to ensure that fees charged by services applying do not exceed a maximum fee threshold. This is to ensure that capital investment does not result in the delivery of places that are unaffordable to parents.
The maximum fee threshold has been determined using data on fees from the Pobal Early Years Sector Profile and applying a statistical technique, Tukey’s Fence, to identify outliers from the normal range of fees. Accounting for variation in the range of fees charged, a ‘fence’ is established. Any fee values above the fence are classified as outliers. The method was applied to the data for the country as a whole for both full and part time fees.
- The maximum fee threshold for full time care is €295 per week.
- The maximum fee threshold for part time care is €190 per week.
The Department and Pobal have jointly developed a Relative Demand Model using the latest census data and information on existing provision and enrolments, as well as CSO data on commuting patterns, to generate insights into the extent to which existing levels of supply meet local demand across the country. This analysis will enable the funding to be targeted to where it is most needed.
Applications are ready to be opened in February with closing date of 3rd April. Services will be notified of the outcome of their applications in June.
DCEDIY Press release: New Early Learning and Childcare Data website launched by Minister O’Gorman
Press release
New Early Learning and Childcare Data website launched by Minister O’Gorman
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
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• New website with a series of interactive dashboards presenting data about the early learning and childcare sector
• Allows key data on the early learning and childcare sector to be filtered by a range of variables including county and provider type
• First two interactive dashboards – Overview of Service Providers and Capacity – now available
• Replaces the the ‘Annual Early Years Sector Profile report’ with an easy to use, accessible and innovative dashboard that helps to improve user experience
Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth today launched the Early Learning and Childcare Data website. This new website will include a series of interactive dashboards that will be released by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) over the coming weeks and months. The first two interactive dashboards – ‘Overview of Service Providers’ and ‘Capacity’ – are released today.
The Early Learning and Childcare Data website provides a new and innovative way of displaying administrative data as well as survey data collected annually from over 4,400 early learning and childcare services across the country, supporting evidence-informed policy development and planning.
The full suite of interactive dashboards, will be available on the Pobal website over the coming weeks and months (www.pobal.ie ). The dashboards will include data that were previously published in the Annual Early Years Sector Profile report such as the number of services and children participating in DCEDIY funding programmes and schemes, fees data and workforce data on wages, qualifications and turnover of early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners in the sector. The dashboards will also allow the data to be filtered by a number of variables, including county and service type.
Key data from the first two interactive dashboards in the series: ‘Overview of Service Providers’ and ‘Capacity’ – includes:
• As at 1 June 2023, 4,483 service providers delivered at least one DCEDIY funded programme or scheme, 48 more than on the same day in 2022.
• 95% of service providers participated in Core Funding in 2022/23, while 87% delivered the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) pre-school programme and 77% provided the National Childcare Scheme (NCS).
• It is estimated that over 213,000 children were enrolled in early learning and childcare services across the country in 2022/23, 8% more than in the previous year.
• The total estimated capacity of the sector in 2022/23 was over 243,000, an increase of 6% on the previous year. The highest growth in capacity was for children attending school age childcare, at 25% for those aged 4 to 6 years, and 20% for those aged 6 years and older.
Commenting on the launch of the new Early Learning and Childcare Data website, Minister O’Gorman said:
“I am delighted to launch the new Early Learning and Childcare Data website today, which is an innovative resource for all stakeholders in the early learning and childcare sector, that will support evidence-informed policy development and planning at a national and local level”.
“This new approach will allow us to release data in a more timely way. The interactive nature of the dashboards will provide users greater control over their use of the data and will ensure it is more meaningful and useful to them”.
“I look forward to seeing how these dashboards, developed by Pobal, will evolve and are used in the coming months and years”.
“The key data in the first of two interactive dashboards released today – show the substantial increase in the numbers of services in contract for the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) as well as an increase in the numbers of services delivering supports under the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM)”
Anna Shakespeare CEO of Pobal said:
“The launch of the New Early Learning and Childcare Data website is a testament to the progressive nature of the work being undertaken across our Data and Analytics teams in delivering a better user experience to our customers. We are delighted to work alongside the DCEDIY in delivering this new data resource which we think will be a valuable addition to the Early Learning and Childcare sector and Government for future policy making and programme planning over the coming years”.
The dashboards with data for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 programme year can be accessed via [external-link https://www.pobal.ie/childcare/earlylearningandchildcaredata/ www.pobal.ie/EarlyLearningandChildcaredata. ]
Notes to Editor
• Pobal is a not-for-profit organisation that works on behalf of Government to support communities and local agencies towards achieving social inclusion and development.
• Pobal administers a range of programmes and schemes on behalf of the Government, for the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Social Protection, as well as the Department of Health/HSE, the Department of Justice, the Department of Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, the Department of Transport, and a number of EU bodies.
• Pobal works in the areas of, early learning care and childcare, social inclusion, local and community development, peace and reconciliation, equality, labour market supports, and education and training. Some of the groups supported by Government through Pobal include the long term unemployed, young people, farmers / fishermen, families, Travellers, older people and ex-prisoners.
• As at 1 June 2023, 4,483 service providers were contracted for at least one DCEDIY funding programme.
• More information about Pobal can be found at https://www.pobal.ie/
• Please see press release from 7 December 2023 for related information regarding addressing capacity gaps in the sector
Further information –
The Early Learning and Childcare Data dashboards were designed to replace the Annual Early Years Sector Profile report which was produced annually for 19 years from 2002 to 2021.
Minister O’Gorman announces the introduction of a new pilot Nurturing Skills Learner Fund
Press release
Minister O’Gorman announces the introduction of a new pilot Nurturing Skills Learner Fund
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
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Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, has today announced the introduction of a new Nurturing Skills Learner Fund on a pilot basis, co-funded by the European Union through the EIST programme 2021 to 2027.
The new Nurturing Skills Learner Fund will support early years educators to undertake approved degree-level qualifications while continuing to work in the early learning and care (ELC) sector. It aims to help achieve the Government objective of achieving a graduate-led workforce in ELC services by 2028.
The expansion of funding opportunities for early years educators to upskill was a key commitment in Nurturing Skills, the Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028. Nurturing Skills aims to build on the significant progress already made in raising skill levels across the workforce. Current data indicates that the proportion of early years educators with a relevant degree qualification has risen from 12% in 2012 to 37% in 2022. Nurturing Skills aims to increase this proportion to at least 50% by 2028.
The pilot Nurturing Skill Learner Fund will make a contribution of up to 90% of course fees for early years educators seeking to upskill by studying for a recognised ELC qualification at level 7 or 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications. It is designed to complement and add to other Government financial supports, such as the Free Fees Initiative and SUSI grants. Funding will be provided directly to approved higher education institutions to reduce the upfront costs of studying for early years educators.
The new Fund aims to enhance the quality of ELC services, while supporting the professional development of early years educators, developing career pathways, and supporting recruitment and retention of staff in the sector.
Announcing the pilot fund, Minister O’Gorman said:
“It gives me great pleasure to announce the pilot Nurturing Skills Learner Fund. The research evidence is clear that the quality of early learning and care services is key to ensuring good outcomes for children, and that early years educators are the key to the quality of those services.
“I would like to recognise the dedication of the many early years educators who have already undertaken higher-level qualifications, often at considerable cost to themselves. While my Department’s Learner Fund has already provided financial support to many, I know that the financial barrier to upskilling has remained high. This new pilot Fund aims to significantly reduce the barrier to early years educators’ professional development.”
The Nurturing Skills Learner Fund will be co-funded by the European Union through the ESF+ Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training programme (EIST) 2021-27. It is included under the Skills and Lifelong Learning strand with the aim of promoting lifelong learning, in particular flexible upskilling and reskilling opportunities for all.
Applications for the Pilot Nurturing Skills Learner Fund will open in May 2024, via Pobal, to early years educators who have applied to approved higher education institutions, with a view to educators who are selected for the pilot receiving financial support for studies commencing in September 2024.
The current Learner Fund has since 2017 given financial support to 3,720 early years educators who have completed ELC qualifications at levels 7 and 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications. The current Learner Fund will continue to be available, with a higher level of post-award bursary contribution from 2024, to assist those who are undertaking degrees but are not part of the new pilot Nurturing Skills Learner Fund.
Notes to the Editor
• The reports mentioned are available at www.gov.ie/nurturingskills and Gov.ie/First5
• Further information on the ESF+ programme in Ireland in available at eufunds.ie
• To be eligible for financial support, courses must have been approved by the Qualifications Advisory Board for the ELC sector: Qualifications Advisory Board (QAB) for the Early Learning and Care (ELC) Sector
DCEDIY Press Release re: Capital Grants for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector
Press release
Minister O’Gorman announces €45m Capital Grant for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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