Dear Colleagues,
Here are the deadlines, important dates, and announcements for the week of 16 – 20 August 2021.
DEADLINES/IMPORTANT DATES:
Monday 16 August 2021
- Learner fund bursary and childminder learner fund bursary applications open
- CCSP saver programme call opens on PIP
Tuesday 31 August 2021
- Playing outside grant applications close
Sunday 31 October 2021
- Final date for completion of subsidised FAR training course
Monday 1 November 2021
- Final date for re-registration of ELC services
FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
Parental Declarations
Acceptance can be by email or hard copy; this is the written agreement between the service provider and parents. Parents who wish to accept by email need to reply directly to your Parental Declaration email and it should be clear from the email thread that the parents are agreeing to what is set out in the parental declaration.
For both ECCE and CCSP you have the option to print the declaration or save. Save a copy if the parents wish to accept by email.
Under NCS there is no automatically generated agreement. We have attached a guide to drawing one up for your service.
Re-registration webinar
For those of you still working on your registrations with Tusla, we would highly recommend viewing recordings of their two webinars on the subject, one from March and one from just this week. The webinars very clearly set out what is required and how to ensure your re-registration goes as smoothly as possible. Although the deadline is not until 1 November, we cannot stress enough the importance of getting the process completed as soon as possible.
The webinar recordings can be found here:
https://www.tusla.ie/services/preschool-services/elearning-webinars-and-resources/webinars/
Book lists for young children
Children’s Books Ireland, is the national arts organisation and charity that champions every child’s right to develop a love of reading. To help adults connect young readers with books they will love, they produce a range of recommended reading guides and lists each year.
Small Print: Drawing on the principles of early learning and development and the themes of Aistear, Small Print contains a selection of ten excellent picture book recommendations for young children (aged 2.5 to 6) for use in Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare settings. Also included: reading tips, a detailed suggested activity to make the best of the book, more activities to try and links to further resources (books, links to videos, songs and so on).
Should you need them, their Recommended Reads portal also has over 40 further reading lists and guides, with new reviews and recommendations published weekly.
Fees list publication
Under the ECCE and NCS contracts you are required to publish your fees list in an area that can be seen easily by parents but also on any online platform you have.
The programme contracts also allow the DCEDIY to publish your fees list. From Thursday 26 August the fees list you uploaded to the Hive will be available to parents on the NCS parents’ website.
Covid Case Support Helplines
There are two helplines available to services who have a suspected or confirmed case of Covid-19 in their service.
The HSE have a helpline to advise service providers if they have been informed of a Covid-19 case in a child or a staff member. The number is 01 511 9777. It is open Monday – Friday 8.30 – 4.30 and 10 – 4.30 Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.
For those services who need support on engaging with the relevant authorities due to a suspected or confirmed case of Covid-19, there is an out of hours helpline. The number is 1800 940 341. The service will be available Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays from 10.00 – 13.00 and 13.30 – 16.00.
Kind regards
Westmeath County Childcare Committee
