These are the deadlines, information, and announcements for the week of 02nd – 5th May 2023.
DEADLINES / IMPORTANT DATES:
Friday 5th May – 12pm
AIM Level 4, 5 & 7 applications open.
Friday 5th May
Annual Early Years Sector Profile opens.
Tuesday 6th June
Annual Early Years Sector Profile deadline
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
AIM Level 4, 5 & 7 applications
The application process for Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) Level 4,5 & 7 supports will open on the Early Years Hive on Friday 5th May at 12 noon. Please refer to the AIM Hive Guides to support you with the submission of your AIM applications.
Services are reminded to submit AIM Level 4,5 & 7 applications at least three months prior to a child’s planned start date in ECCE.
Training Documents
- Following on from the AIM Refresher webinars which took place on 27 and 28 April 2023, a number of training documents have been uploaded to the Early Years Hive. AIM 4, 5 and 7 Refresher Training Webinar
We would advise that service providers review the slides and the Q&A document in the announcements section on the Hive, prior to submitting applications.
Help & Support
Should you have any queries in relation to the AIM programme, please contact the Early Years Provider Centre (EYPC) by raising a Request on Hive using the following categories:
Programme: (select the AIM level)
Request type: Application
Request type detail: How To
Guidelines to Support Fee Management
The document attached, Together for Better: Guidelines to Support Fee Management, contains examples to assist with the understanding of the Core Funding fee management conditions. It does not cover all of Core Funding’s terms, conditions or rules.
This document also lays out the Core Funding Fee Review Process. Where a case of a potential breach of Core Funding fee rules by a Partner Service is identified, this may be examined and a conclusion reached through the Core Funding Fee Review process outlined within.
Together for Better is the new funding model for Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare. The new Funding Model supports delivery of early learning and childcare for the public good, for quality and affordability for children, parents/guardians and families.
Under Together for Better, Core Funding, is a key pillar of funding to early learning and childcare services that forms part of the new funding model as recommended by an Expert Group in their report, Partnership for the Public Good: A New Funding Model for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare and approved by Government in December 2021.
One of the key features of Core Funding is the introduction of a system of fee management, to ensure that affordability measures are passed on to parents/guardians. To achieve this, Core Funding introduced fee management for the September 2022 -August 2023 programme year.
All services that participate in Core Funding must operate their early learning and childcare service in line with the terms and conditions outlined in the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement and in accordance with the attached Guidelines. Services that have questions or queries about fee management, Core Funding or Together for Better are encouraged to contact their CCC for further guidance and support.
Annual Early Years Sector Profile
The 2022/23 Annual Early Years Sector Profile survey will be available on the Early Years Hive from Friday 5th May.
The Annual Early Years Sector Profile is the primary data source on the Irish Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) sector. It is developed and published by Pobal in collaboration with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY).
While we encourage all services to complete the survey, the completion of this year’s survey within the open window is mandatory for all existing Core Funding Partner Services.Services who wish to become a Core Funding Partner Service in the future must also complete the survey in advance of submitting their Core Funding application. As well as providing information about the sector, this survey enables the capture of data that will help to monitor the impact of the new funding model, Together for Better, on the sector.
Core Funding Partner Services with an active contract within the current programme call, up to the 29th March, must complete the March Review and Confirm prior to completing the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2022/23.
This year’s edition of the Annual Early Years Sector Profile will be shorter as the overall number of questions has been reduced. The Income and Costs Section of the Annual Early Years Sector Profile has also been removed, with the financial reporting requirements through Core Funding due for submission quarter four 2023 replacing this.
Westmeath County Childcare Committees are available to assist and support with completing the Sector Profile. In addition, training videos will also be available on the Early Years Hive.
The deadline for submission is 6th June.
Independent 10 year review of ECCE
DCEDIY have commissioned Stranmillis University College and Dublin City University to undertake an independent review of the ECCE programme. DCEDIY recently invited all ECCE providers to take part in Provider and Parent Surveys. These surveys provide an important opportunity for parents and providers to offer feedback on the ECCE scheme and shape its future development.
Happy Talk Newsletter
This month Happy Talk invite you to use Nursery Rhymes to tell stories. When you practice your rhymes think about: Who is in the rhyme? Where did it happen? What happens first, next and last? What were the characters thinking? How did they feel? And when you’re done telling all the stories, pretend to be an alien for the Alien Mindful Moment, and explore the world like it’s your first time seeing it! In Happy Talk we love exploration and wonder!
The Happy Talk Calendar Newsletter reminds us to listen, to wait, to pay attention and to take a Mindful Moment to build these skills.
Covid case advice
ELC and SAC providers and Childminders that have positive cases and require support can contact the HSE ELC/SAC dedicated helpline on 01 511 9777.
For general Covid-19 queries you can contact HSE live on 1800 700 700 or 01 240 8787 or visit the First 5 website for the most up to date information and guidance. (https://first5.gov.ie)
Should you have any queries on any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0449335454 or info@westmeathchildcare.ie
