Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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26. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs for an update on the implementation of the national early years access initiative and the area-based childhood ABC programme. [35510/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is an innovative prevention and early intervention initiative. The programme builds on the work of the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme 2007-2013.

The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme involves joint investment of my Department and The Atlantic Philanthropies of €29.7m in evidence-informed interventions to improve the long-term outcomes for children and families living in disadvantaged areas. It aims to improve outcomes for children through integrated and effective services and interventions in the areas of child development, child well-being, parenting and educational disadvantage.

The ABC Programme is time-bound and the co-funding arrangement between Government and The Atlantic Philanthropies is in place until 2017. The 13 sites of the ABC Programme are operational.

A key purpose of the ABC Programme is to identify the learning in and across the ABC sites and to transfer this learning into existing and established services. Adopting such a systems focus, rather than merely a site or geographic specific focus, is the intention so that we can ensure a greater reach and sustained impact in services across the country. What I want to ensure is that, rather than creating parallel provision, the learning from this programme informs the ongoing reform of established services and supports for children and young people. Mainstreaming the learning in this way will bring improvements, not only in specific areas, but across the wider system, thereby addressing all areas of disadvantage. A Task Group was also established to explore how best to mainstream the learning where programmes and activities have proven more effective than existing provision.

The ABC Programme is currently being evaluated under the guidance of an Expert Advisory Group. The evaluation adopts a shared measurement framework across all ABC programme sites. The evaluation will consider the implementation from both local and national perspectives. Crucially it will also focus on how the outcomes for children and families in Area Based Childhood areas have changed during the course of the programme. National interim reports will be provided from mid-2016. The final national evaluation reports will be produced in 2018.

This evaluation will be crucial in indicating the impact of the ABC Programme, and along with the work of the Task Group will be key in informing considerations regarding the mainstreaming of the learning from this programme.

National Early Years Access Initiative (NEYAI)

The National Early Years Access Initiative (NEYAI) was a collaborative partnership between The Atlantic Philanthropies, Mount Street Club Trust, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the Early Years Education Policy Unit (DES) and Pobal, who provided a Governance, management and administration role to the initiative.

The NEYAI aimed to improve quality and practice within early years services for children (0-6 years) and their families living in disadvantaged areas. It did this through interagency collaboration and by developing innovative community-based models to respond to local needs. NEYAI worked across a number of thematic areas with a strong focus on Síolta - the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education (CECDC, 2006) and Aistear - the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (NCCA, 2009). Both of these are seen as fundamental to the growth and development of quality in the provision of early years care and education.

NEYAI ran from 2011 to 2014. Following completion of this programme, the findings from the evaluation were shared at a national dissemination conference in May 2014 and findings from local-level evaluation were explored there also and at local events.

Such findings, along with those derived from other initiatives and evaluations, will inform the work of my Department in the development of the National Early Years Strategy which is currently being advanced.