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Dear Providers,

Following on from the update on attendance rules that issued via the e-bulletin last month, please find bellow a copy of a letter that will be sent to all parents registered with NCS.

Regards,
The Early Years Team

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Dear Parent/Guardian,

We are writing to you to remind you of the attendance rules for the National Childcare Scheme (NCS), and in particular the flexibility under the Scheme to support families when there are occasional changes to your child’s attendance pattern.

We recognise that there will be occasions where your child’s attendance is less than your registered hours. This could be due to illness, appointments, early collections and late drop offs. Picking your child up early every now and then has no effect on your subsidy, and childcare providers will routinely round up your child’s daily attendance to the nearest full hour. Missing a day due to illness every now and then or taking 2 weeks holiday will not affect your subsidy.

For more information read on:

My Registered Hours

When your NCS application was approved, you received a unique CHICK code, along with a maximum number of weekly hours that the subsidy will be paid. This is the code you took to your childcare provider.

NCS is designed to be flexible. For example, a subsidy covering up to 20 hours can be used for four half-day sessions (8am – 1pm) or could be used for two full-day sessions (8am-6pm).

You can use the subsidised hours in a way that best suits your family needs and the sessions your chosen childcare provider is offering.

When you registered, both you and the provider will have confirmed how many hours you planned to use. It is important that this reflects the hours your child will actually be attending childcare. For example, if you are entitled to the maximum 45 hour a week subsidy but you know your child will be attending for 30 hours a week, you should ask your childcare provider to register for 30 hours. When you are confirming the registration, you must make sure the hours your provider has registered are correct.

Occasionally using different hours

Subsidies will only be reduced if your child is continuously absent from a service, or not using the agreed hours for a prolonged period.

Continuously absent means 4 weeks or more (with some exceptions for prolonged illness and certain other exceptional events).

Not using agreed hours for a prolonged period means not using the hours you agreed every week for 8 weeks or more, at which point the provider will be notified and will alert you.

If the reduced hours were temporary and you return to your registered hours within the next four weeks, then you don’t have to do anything.

If the hours used don’t return to those registered within this time period, then after 12 weeks of using fewer hours than your registration, the number of hours that can be claimed will be capped to reflect the number of hours actually attended on average in the previous 12 weeks. This will only affect your subsidy from this point on however, no money will be reclaimed from you or the provider for the initial 12 week period.

Permanently using different hours

If you plan to continue using these reduced hours in the future, you should inform your childcare provider so they can update your registration.

If you require more hours at certain times of the year up to the maximum hours allowed – for example, your child is in ECCE or school and you want to increase hours during mid-terms and summer holidays - this is allowed on the scheme, once it is agreed with your provider. It is important to note that only hours when the child is not in ECCE or school can be claimed for under the NCS.

We hope that this information proves useful, but if you have any further questions please contact the Parent Support Centre on 01 906 8530 for further advice.

From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth 

Published on 14 April 2023

• Report summarises feedback received through public consultation process
• Publication coincides with World Autism Month

To coincide with World Autism Month 2023, Minister for Disability, Anne Rabbitte, has today published a report analysing submissions received during an open public consultation designed to inform the development of the Autism Innovation Strategy.

This public consultation was convened in April 2022 and was designed to capture views about the challenges facing Autistic people in Ireland and how these challenges could be addressed.

There was a positive response from the Autistic community and the report aims to capture the richness and variety of perspectives put forward as part of the consultation.

The key findings identified in the report will directly inform the drafting of the Autism Innovation Strategy.

The Autism Innovation Strategy will seek to identify and deliver tangible solutions to address the bespoke challenges faced by Autistic and Neurodivergent people across Ireland. The strategy will identify simple, clear actions that can make a real difference to people’s lives. It will focus on areas that may not be addressed by other national strategies and frameworks on the basis of additionality and complementarity.

Announcing the publication of the report, Minister Rabbitte said:

“I am delighted to announce the publication of this important report that seeks to capture the voice of the Autistic community and highlights their views as to how the State can better recognise and meet their needs.

“It is crucial that the Autism Innovation Strategy be informed by the lived experience of Autistic people, and this report provides an invaluable source of insights and perspectives in this regard. I would like to thank all those individuals and organisations that contributed to the public consultation.

“Publication of this report is particularly timely as we mark World Autism Month 2023. This is an important opportunity to celebrate the contribution of the Autistic community to our society and to consider how we as a Government and a society can do more for Autistic and Neurodivergent people.

“I look forward to further progressing development of the Autism Innovation Strategy over the coming months as we work to make a meaningful difference to the lives of Autistic and Neurodivergent people in Ireland,”

concluded Minister Rabbitte.

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Action on Autism is a commitment in the Programme for Government.

On World Autism Awareness Day in 2021, Minister Rabbitte announced the Government’s intention to develop a national strategy on Autism. The Autism Innovation Strategy will complement existing policies and frameworks by addressing the bespoke challenges faced by Autistic and Neurodivergent people in Ireland.

Consultation with Autistic and Neurodivergent people, their families, supporters and representatives will be at the heart of the Autism Innovation Strategy, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The first stage in the development process of the Autism Innovation Strategy consisted of an initial public consultation, which took place from April to May 2022. The report published today summarises and analyses the submissions received as part of this consultation.

The second phase of the development process, comprising an application process for membership of the Autism Innovation Strategy Oversight and Advisory Group, was launched in June 2022. The group was appointed and met for the first time in December 2022.

The findings from the public consultation will now help to inform the text and scope of the Strategy, which is currently being prepared.

 

AIS Report on Public Consultation_April 2023

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From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth 

Published on 13 April 2023 

 

This paper was produced by the Research and Evaluation Unit (REU) to support and inform the establishment of a new Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) Infant Cohort. This will be known as GUI Cohort 24’. Pilot data collection by the Central Statistics Office, from a large national sample of parents and their 9 month old infants is scheduled for 2023, with the main phase data collection scheduled for 2024. The paper provides an overview of the policy, social and economic context related to the new infant cohort.

 

The paper is organised into two main sections. The first provides an introduction to the topic and outlines the relevant priorities under First 5, the whole-of-Government strategy to improve the lives of babies, young children and their families. The second section details the wider policy landscape, highlighting the key data needs and gaps relevant to the new infant cohort and Growing Up in Ireland.

 

This report presents the findings from a public consultation on the review of the Regulations governing early learning and care that took place between March and October 2022. The review primarily focused on enforcement powers of the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate, the independent statutory regulator for the sector. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth also took the opportunity to undertake a wider examination of lessons learned from the implementation of the Regulations since 2016.

This report was commissioned by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and produced by ACE Communication Ireland.

Report on a Public Consultation on a Review of Regulations for Early Learning and Care - March 2023 Click here to Download Click to View

Further information on the public consultation is available here.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is currently preparing a new Statement of Strategy to cover the period 2023-2025. It will set out our high-level goals and objectives as well as the strategies and actions to be progressed to achieve our mission.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT A RESPONSE

Following the publication of the Department’s last Statement of Strategy in March 2021, we have succeeded in achieving a wide range of goals across our policy areas.

Our Statement of Strategy 2021-2023 included the following 6 strategic goals.

• We will develop, implement and influence evidence informed policies and legislation that improve the outcomes for those we serve.
• We will ensure the provision of a range of quality and sustainable services, underpinned by strategic investment, that meet the needs of individuals, families and communities.
• We will help those who are vulnerable, including children, young people and at risk individuals, to overcome adverse circumstances and to achieve their full potential.
• We will promote the development of a progressive, respectful and equal society, informed by the experiences of past generations and seek to respond to the needs of survivors.
• We will work in partnership with individuals, families and communities, and across Government Departments, public bodies and civil society to achieve better outcomes.
• We will maintain high standards of performance and corporate governance with engaged, motivated and supported staff.

These goals were framed by the 2020 Programme for Government 2020 and the following priority areas contained therein:-

1. White Paper on Direct Provision: Commitment: Publish a White Paper by end-2020

2. Capping of Parental Childcare Fees: Commitment: Publish a policy, legal and economic analysis on capping of parental fees irrespective of income, including an examination of what happens in other countries.

3. Successor Strategy to Better Outcomes Brighter Futures: Commitment: Publish and Implement a successor to Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures

4. Implementation of commitments in First Five: Commitment: Implement the First Five Strategy

5. Early Years Pay: Commitment: Support the establishment of a Joint Labour Committee in the childcare sector and the drawing up of an Employment Regulation Order, which would determine minimum rates of pay for childcare workers, as well as terms and conditions of employment.

6. Action Plan on Racism: Commitment: Publish a new Action Plan against Racism.

7. Implement HIQA (Health Information and Quality Authority) Report on Tusla: Commitment: Fully implement Tusla’s Action Plan on the Recommendations of the HIQA Statutory Investigation into Tusla’s Management of Referrals (June 2018).

8. Childminding Action Plan: Commitment: Examine options to increase flexibility within centre- based care, as well as options to accelerate access to subsidies for non-relative childminders, with a report to be published by year-end.

9. Youth Services: Commitment: Continue to invest in youth work.

10. Comhairle na nÓg: Commitment: Seek to increase funding and establish a Rural Youth Assembly.

11. LGBTI+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex +): Commitment: Implement the LGBTI+ Youth Strategy.

12. Domestic Violence: Commitment: Undertake an examination of paid domestic violence leave.

13. Equality: Commitment: Minister has expressed support for adding socio-economic status as a tenth ground for discrimination under the Equal Status Acts.

In light of our evolving landscape, now is an opportune time to develop a new Statement of Strategy which will outline the strategic vision of this department in the coming years. We welcome the views of interested stakeholders.

Submissions
The Department is inviting submissions from stakeholders in relation to its Statement of Strategy to be received by 5pm on 2nd of May 2023. Click here to submit a response. You will have the opportunity to respond to a series of questions about the Department’s goals and objectives, as well as to tell us what you think we should prioritise in the coming period.

We would request that organisations submit one coordinated response, however individuals are also welcome to submit their views.

Freedom of Information Notice
Please note that submissions will be subject to the Freedom of Information Acts. On completion of this consultation the department may publish all submissions online.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT A RESPONSE

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/79c4f-statement-of-strategy-2023-draft-survey/