Written answers

Thursday, 24 November 2016

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Child Care Qualifications

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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271. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the total amount of the child care budget for 2016 that is used to provide part-funded training; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36679/16]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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276. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the total amount of the child care budget for 2016 that is used to fund her Department's fully funded training for child care practitioners; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36684/16]

Photo of Katherine ZapponeKatherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 271 and 276 together.

The funding referred to by the Deputy is provided through the 'Learner Fund', and also through the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) which provides supports to enable children with disabilities to participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. The Learner Fund was introduced in 2014 to provide support for existing childcare staff to achieve the minimum level 5 on the National Framework of Qualifications requirement that was to be introduced in the new Child Care Regulations. The Fund was later expanded to support existing pre-school leaders to up-skill to Level 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications, which is now the minimum requirement for pre-school leaders delivering the ECCE programme.

The first two years of funding - 'Learner Fund 1' and 'Learner Fund 2' have now been closed to new entrants. Funding of €1.5m has been made available in 2016 to continue support to childcare workers pursuing level 6 qualifications in the context of the expansion of the ECCE programme. This is available to childcare staff undertaking training with approved training providers. Applications for this funding are made through the County/City Childcare Committees, who process payment on behalf of my Department. As courses are currently in process, a final amount paid for 2016 is not yet available.

I also intend to extend the Learner Fund to support childcare staff to achieve higher level qualifications in childcare, i.e. Level 7 and Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications. My Department, in association with the Department of Education and Skills and Pobal, intends to commence work as soon as possible on the development of an approved panel of Level 7 and Level 8 training providers, and a new Learner Fund application process.

In addition, I hope to be in a position to make some funding available to those childcare staff who have already completed higher level courses entirely at their own expense.

In relation to AIM, funding of over €700,000 has been provided to the City/County Childcare Committees to deliver a suite of training modules to service providers to assist in implementing AIM; and, to date, €20,000 has been allocated to Early Childhood Ireland. The purpose of this funding to Early Childhood Ireland is to develop the Train the Trainer programme for the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Guidelines published under AIM; and to roll out this programme to 60 participants.

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