Organisation of Early Childhood Education and Care

Accessibility

Services participating in the free Pre-School Year ECCE scheme are located in all geographical areas of the country. The ECCE programme is a universal programme available to all children within the eligible age range. It provides children with their first formal experience of early learning prior to commencing primary school. A child-minder must have a minimum enrolment number of eight ECCE-eligible children per session in order to provide the ECCE programme and be registered with TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency.

The programme is available to all children from the age of three years. Three entry points (August, January, April) allow children to begin free pre-school as soon as possible after they have turned three years of age. Childcare services taking part in the ECCE scheme must provide an appropriate pre-school educational programme which adheres to the principles of Síolta and Aistear. ECCE is only available through participating early years’ services (available through the relevant local City and County Childcare Committees).

Early Start facilities are provided in primary schools in designated areas of urban disadvantage. Primary schools are generally available within a reasonable distance of children’s homes. There is a State organised school bus transport system in operation for pupils outside a defined catchment area from the school.

In September 2016, a cross-Government initiative, the Better Start Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), was successfully launched to ensure that children with disabilities can access and meaningfully participate in the ECCE Programme in mainstream pre-school settings. AIM is a child-centred model involving seven levels of progressive support and designed to be responsive to the needs of each individual child in the context of their pre-school setting. Its goal is to empower service providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can fully participate in the ECCE programme and reap the benefits of quality early years care and education. It is operated by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

A new national specialist service offers expert advice, mentoring and support to pre-school providers for children with disabilities. Additional capitation, specialised equipment, appliances and minor alterations which are necessary to support a child’s participation in the ECCE programme are also available. A dedicated website on AIM contains a new Inclusion Charter and Guidelines, comprehensive information on the model and on how to apply for the new schemes and supports. A commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government allows all children entitlement to a full two years of the ECCE scheme from September 2018. This extends the scheme from 38 weeks to an average of 61 weeks for children depending on their date of birth and age starting school. Capitation paid to Early Years providers for the delivery of ECCE will increase by 7% from September 2018.

Admission Requirements and Choice of ECEC Institution

Ireland has a tradition of supporting parents and families to make informed, but independent choices regarding the care and education of their young children.

Many children start primary school in the September following their fourth birthday and consequently approximately 40% of 4-year-olds and virtually all 5-year-olds are enrolled in infant classes in primary schools.  Children normally attend the local school in their area. The Education Act, 1998, acknowledges the right of parents/guardians to send their children to the school of their choice with due regard for the obligation of denominational schools to maintain their religious ethos. It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. Where a school refuses to enrol a pupil, parents have a right to appeal refusal of admission and an independent board is constituted to this end under Section 29 of the Education Act.

For pre-school programmes which are funded by the Department of Education and Skills, the criteria for enrolling pupils are:

• Age: Children must be over 3 years and 2 months and under 4 years and 7 months of age on the 1st day of September of the year in which they are enrolled.
• Disadvantage: Early Start is designed to cater for the needs of children, including those with disabilities, who are most at risk of not reaching their potential in the education system and therefore priority is given to the children who are most at risk.

The ECCE scheme run by the Departmen of Children and Youth Affairs has three points of entry in a given school year ( September, January and April). Children are eligible to participate in the ECCE scheme at the entry point that fails after their 3rd birthday. Children cannot be aged more than 5 years and 9 months. Parents can enrol their children in the participating service of their choice, subject to availability of places. Enrolment in individual services is the responsibility of the managerial authority of those services.

Age Levels and Grouping of Children

For the Early Start programme, children must be over 3 years and 2 months and under 4 years and 7 months on the 1st day of September of the year in which they are enrolled.

Each Early Start pre-school class caters for a total of 30 children - 15 in the morning and 15 in the afternoon. 15 of the Early Start centres cater for 60 children by providing two pre-school classes. Each pre-school class has a qualified teacher and a child care worker. The Programme can cater for 1,650 children.

Under the terms and conditions of the ECCE scheme, participating services are expected to have a minimum enrolment of 8 children in their pre-school year. Exceptions will occasionally apply for very rural services. The minimum number of pre-school leaders and assistants in the free Pre-School Year service are as follows:

Organisation of Time

Children attending Early Start settings attend five days a week (Monday to Friday) for approximately 2.5 to 3 hours daily and for a similar period to the standard school year (183 days). The ECCE Scheme is delivered on the basis of 3 hours per week, 5 days per week for 38 weeks per year.

Organisation of the Day and Week

The curricular guidelines for the Early Start programme include structured play activities, with specific objectives, aimed at enhancing the children’s language, cognition and social/personal development.

Services participating in the ECCE scheme are required to provide an appropriate programme of activities in early childhood care and education, which adheres to the principles of Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education.