Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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545. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the role her Department will play in the implementation of the access and inclusion model of supports for children with disabilities; the funding her Department is providing for this in 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49356/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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AIM supports children with disabilities to reap the full benefits of free pre-school education. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience. AIM is a child-centred and evidence-based model, involving seven levels of progressive support, moving from the universal to the targeted, based on the needs of the child and the pre-school setting. These include:

Level 1: An Inclusive Culture - This level is the critical foundation for the model. This sets out that a strong culture of inclusion must be fostered and embedded to support all children’s maximum participation in the ECCE Programme. Under this level, a new Inclusion Charter has been developed. Updated Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Guidelines have been published and a nationwide training programme on these Guidelines is currently being rolled out. By mid-October, almost 1,900 pre-school practitioners completed this training. A new higher education programme, Leadership for Inclusion for Early Years (LINC), has also been developed and up to 900 pre-school practitioners are expected to graduate from this Programme every year for the next 4 years. These graduates will work as Inclusion Co-ordinators in their pre-school setting attracting an increase of €2 per child per week in the rate of ECCE capitation payable to that setting.

Level 2: Information for Parents and Practitioners - This level recognises the requirement of parents and pre-school practitioners to have clear, consistent and up to date information accessible to them regarding early years services and supports. A dedicated website ()has been launched under this level and a communications strategy is currently being developed by my Department.

Level 3: A Qualified and Confident Workforce - This level, in recognising the requirement to continue to develop a qualified workforce that can confidently meet the needs of all children wishing to participate in the ECCE Programme, provides for a multi-annual training programme for pre-school practitioners. In May 2017, my Department established a Training Working Group to develop and support the delivery of a suite of training courses for pre-school practitioners under AIM Level 3. These courses, which will be funded by my Department, will be available from 2018.

Where a pre-school provider, in conjunction with a parent, considers that some additional support is needed in order to meet the needs of a child with a disability in an inclusive way, an application can be made for a suite of targeted supports, namely:

Level 4: Expert Educational Advice and Support - This level provides access to mentoring for pre-school practitioners from a team of dedicated AIM Early Years Specialists. To avail of this support, pre-school providers and parents are requested to complete an online Access and Inclusion Profile. This looks at the strengths, abilities and needs of the child, as well as the strengths and needs of the pre-school setting.

Level 5: Equipment, Appliances and Minor Alterations Capital Grant- This level provides for access to specialised equipment, appliances, assistive technology and/or minor alterations capital grants for pre-school settings to ensure children with a disability can participate in the ECCE programme. A short report from a designated professional is required confirming that the specialised equipment or minor building alterations are necessary.

Level 6: Therapeutic Intervention - This level provides access to therapeutic services where they are critical to enable the child to be enrolled and to fully participate in the ECCE Programme. To avail of this support, pre-school providers and parents are requested to complete the online Access and Inclusion Profile. The Early Years Specialist will review the profile and, where therapeutic input is likely to be required; the Specialist will initiate contact with the HSE. The HSE decides on the appropriate level of therapeutic intervention.

Level 7: Additional Assistance in the Pre-School Room - This level provides additional assistance in the pre-school room where this is critical to ensuring a child’s participation in the ECCE Programme. In line with emerging best practice to support the integration and independence of children with a disability, AIM does not fund Special Needs Assistants (SNAs). Rather, it provides additional capitation to the early years setting, which can be used to:

a. reduce the adult to child ratio in the pre-school room by enrolling less children without financial loss or

b. increase the adult ratio in the pre-school room by buying in additional assistance.

Accordingly, Level 7 assistance is a shared resource for the early year setting.

The total funding allocated to AIM for 2018 by my Department is €32.42m.

My Department has lead responsibility for AIM and works with the Departments of Education and Skills and Health, and a range of agencies and organisations, (i.e. City and County Childcare Committees, the Early Years Specialist Service, the Health Service Executive, the National Council for Special Education, the National Disability Authorities and Pobal) on AIM implementation.