Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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270. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of applicants to each level of the AIM scheme; the number of successful applicants to each level of the scheme; the number of applicants who have drawn down their entitlements under the scheme; and the average cost of meeting the needs of one child on each level of the scheme in tabular form. [43949/19]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), which was launched in June 2016, is a model of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme.  Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme and reap the benefits of quality early years care and education.

AIM is a child-centred model, involving seven levels of progressive support, moving from the universal to the targeted, based on the needs of the child in the context of the pre-school setting they are attending.  AIM is administered by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. The levels of AIM for which applications may be made (either by the setting or by the setting and the parent together) are Levels 1, 4, 5 or 7.

AIM Level 1– AIM Level 1 recognises that a strong culture of inclusion must be fostered and embedded to support all children’s maximum participation in the ECCE programme. This includes the higher education programme in Leadership for Inclusion in Early Years (LINC).  Pre-school settings can elect to employ an Inclusion Coordinator who has graduated from the LINC Programme and has agreed to take on the role of Inclusion Coordinator (INCO) in the pre-school setting. Note – the LINC Programme commenced in September 2016, with the first cohort of graduates taking on the Inclusion Coordinator role from September 2017.  The role of the INCO relates to the setting as a whole, and accordingly the average cost per application in the table relates to the cost per setting.

AIM Level 4- AIM Level 4 involves expert educational advice and support from Early Years Specialists employed by Better Start. Level 4 involves advice and guidance to settings, and does not involve direct funding to settings. Whilst such support initially has direct benefit to the child who prompted the request for advice, the support provided has a wider benefit in upskilling the workforce across the setting that receives the support.

AIM Level 5- AIM Level 5 provides for access to specialised equipment, appliances, assistive technology and/or minor alterations capital grants for early learning and care 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.

AIM Level 7- AIM Level 7 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 best practice to support the integration and independence of children with a disability, Level 7 does not fund one-to-one support for a child. Rather, it provides financial support to the pre-school provider, which can be used either to reduce the adult to child ratio in the pre-school room or to buy in additional assistance to the pre-school room. Level 7 assistance is a shared resource for the pre-school setting.

** Some services receive more than one Level 7 payment, where there is more than one child with a disability attending. In some cases where there is more than one child with a disability in a single pre-school room, depending on the level of need a single additional staff member may be approved and is a shared resource for all the children in that pre-school room. Decisions on Level 7 approvals respond to the needs of the child and to the needs of the setting.