The funding agreement for ELC/SAC funding measures covering the period 1st February – 5th March will be available on Hive from 10am today (Friday, 12th February) until close of business on Friday, 26th February.

All ELC and SAC services, including ECCE only services are requested to review the Frequently Asked Questions document  to determine standard and/or enhanced funding levels available from February 1st to March 5th to and the terms and conditions of that  funding based on the status and nature of your service (see questions 3 to 16 of the FAQs).

It is extremely important that you review the FAQs and are fully aware of the implications of signing/not signing this funding agreement for your service.

Following review of this material, and in order to receive certain funding described in the FAQs you will be required to sign-up for the terms and conditions.

Please see also the Funding Agreement Guidelines  for further information and assistance.

Open/Closed Status including Force Majeure

To determine standard and/or enhanced funding levels, services must indicate on a weekly basis whether they are open or closed throughout the period 1st Feb – 5th March. If a service is closed, a reason must be provided and where necessary supporting documentation attached.  Closure information will be reviewed and approved or declined as appropriate. This process will replace the current off-line Force Majeure for the week of submission only.  Weekly Force Majeure due to lack of demand must be submitted on a weekly basis through normal processes.

Covid 19 Operating Support Payment (COSP)

Services eligible for COSP will be able to view their weekly COSP allocation as part of the contracting process. In order to receive COSP funding, eligible services must accept the terms and conditions of funding and if closed, have an approved closure period. (See Force Majeure above)

Services awaiting the outcome of a COSP review request, should not complete the contracting process until the review outcome has been finalised.

Payment Schedule

Services who have contracted by COB on Monday 15th February, and who have confirmed that they will be open for all weeks in the period, will be paid on Friday 19th February.  Service Providers who have indicated closed weeks in the period, will require review and on approval will be paid in the subsequent weekly payment runs.

To ensure services are receiving funding as quickly as possible, payments will be issued on a weekly basis from 19th February onwards.

Further information on standard and enhanced funding is available here.

Help and support

Should you have any queries in relation to the Covid 19 Operating Supports outlined above please contact the Early Years Provider Centre by raising a Request on Hive and selecting the following categories:

• Request Type Detail: COSP General Query
• Request Type: COSP
• Programme Request: Covid 19 Supports

The Early Years Hive and the National Childcare Scheme website will be unavailable this afternoon at 5pm for a maximum of 3 hours due to scheduled maintenance.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your cooperation.

Thank you,
Early Years Team

See this Link Barnardos Webinar

Supporting Young Children Experiencing Adversity During Covid 19 is a recorded webinar that gives early years educators an understanding of the kinds of stresses and challenges children and their families may be experiencing in their everyday lives and the impacts these have on children’s wellbeing, learning and development. It also outlines ways you can fully support the child while they are in the setting.

Please note that this webinar is for information only and there is no certificate awarded.

Find more information on Supporting Young Children Experiencing Adversity During Covid 19 CLICK HERE

To access Supporting Young Children Experiencing Adversity During Covid 19, Please click the button below using the Passcode: g4LsY9X% 

WEBINAR ACCESS

*Please note that this webinar is for information only and there is no certificate awarded.

NPC Internet Safety Information sessions for Parents – Virtual 2021

Please note these sessions will be interactive allowing parents to participate and hence places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Tuesday the 9th of February is Safer Internet Day and the National Parents Council Primary would like to offer parents of Primary School Children an opportunity to take part in one of our virtual training programmes on Internet Safety for Parents.

The session aims to give you information and skills to be able to engage in your children’s online lives. It covers the benefits and risks of the internet and provides hints and tips for parents; helping children be effective, responsible and safer Internet users. These include open communication and setting rules and boundaries with children, which are important aspects of keeping them safe online, as well as in every other aspect of their lives. The session also explores cyber-bullying and how we can help our children learn how to deal with cyber-bullying situations.

Information provided at each session will be the same.

Sessions are on:

10am Tuesday 9th February
8pm Tuesday 9th February
10am Wednesday 10th February
8pm Wednesday 10th February
10am Thursday 11th February
8pm Thursday 11th February
10am Friday 12th February

For more information and to book one of the above sessions, see  NPC Internet Safety Information Virtual sessions

Review requests are currently being accepted in relation to the COVID-19 Standard Operating Payment (COSP).  Further details on the review process, including review eligibility criteria, can be found here.

All requests must be submitted via HIVE and details of how to do this can be found here.  All review requests must be submitted by 5pm on Tuesday 9th February.