Learner Fund 4 opens for applications on Monday 25th January 2016
Minister James Reilly has announced Learner Fund 4 to support expansion of the free pre-school programme. See available details here.
Winter Newsletter out now!
Our Winter Newsletter 2015 has now been distributed to all childcare services and primary schools across Limerick City and County. We have included articles of interest to parents and Early Years practitioners alike - Budget 2016 (childcare provisions), subsidised childcare, recognised qualifications, Aistear Síolta Practice Guide, and lots more! If you haven't managed to get [...]
Extension of deadline for CCS expansion
The deadline for registrations under the recently announced expansion of CCS has been extended. In summary, the deadline extension is as follows: All CCS services already ‘in contract’ can continue to register eligible children in their service up until Friday 29th January 2016 ( childcare start date can only be between 2nd November 2015 and 25th [...]
Latest results from Growing Up in Ireland research
Launch of new report on non-parental childcare and children's cognitive outcomes On 3rd December Dr. James Reilly, TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs officially launched 'Non-Parental Childcare and Child Cognitive Outcomes at Age Five' - the latest in a series of reports from Growing Up in Ireland, the National Longitudinal Study of Children. Using [...]
Pobal Compliance Notification For All Services
The 2015/ 2016 on-site compliance visits in respect of the DCYA programmes (ECCE, TEC & CCS) are about to commence. Please note that Pobal compliance visits will again be Unannounced Visits. In order to prepare for the forthcoming cycle of visits, all services are strongly advised to read and familiarise themselves with the compliance documents [...]
‘Supporting Access to Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme for Children with a Disability’ – IDG Report published
Minister James Reilly yesterday launched a major new programme aimed at providing supports to children with disabilities in free pre-school. See the Press Release here.
Guide to ECCE Programme Eligibility
Our friends in Donegal County Childcare Committee have produced a very useful How many weeks entitlement to free ECCE does my child have which will help you to ascertain when your child is eligible for the ECCE programme.
Introducing the Irish language in your English speaking setting.
Would you like to introduce the Irish language to preschool children in your English speaking setting? The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has produced a tip sheet which will assist you with this. It links to the Aistear themes of Well-being, Identity and Belonging, Communicating, Exploring and Thinking, and to the Síolta Standards [...]
Learner Fund 3 reopened February 2016
Please note that Learner Fund 3 has been reopened and will remain open until 6 p.m. on Thursday 10th March 2016. Learner Fund 3 offers a subsidy towards the cost of training to support existing Early Years practitioners, who wish to continue working directly with children, to attain the minimum qualification required under the revised Pre-School Regulations [...]