DCYA Early Years Recognised Qualifications

The DCYA has published a list of recognised qualifications, for the purposes of meeting the minimum qualification requirement in the pending Early Years Regulations and for meeting the contractual requirements for the DCYA Childcare Funding Programmes has been published.

This list will enable employees working in the Early Years sector in Ireland to verify whether the qualifications they hold will be recognized under the pending Early Years Regulations.
It also sets out the qualifications that will be recognised for the purposes of the DCYA Childcare Programmes, in particular, if the qualification they hold meets the requirement for the room leader in the ECCE programme and for a service to receive the ECCE Higher Capitation rate.

Where a qualification is not published on the list of DCYA Early Years Recognised Qualifications but the holder considers it to be an appropriate Major Award at Level 5 on the NFQ or equivalent, the holder can apply to have their qualification assessed for approval.

The list of ‘Early Years DCYA Recognised Qualifications’ and the ‘Qualification Assessment Process’ can be downloaded from the DCYA website by clicking on the links below.

The list will be converted into a searchable database in the near future and will be updated on a regular basis as other qualifications are approved.