Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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605. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when he will introduce a DEIS-type model for early learning centre settings to narrow the gap for disadvantaged children as committed to in the whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028. [26479/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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First 5: A Whole of Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families, published in November 2018, sets out an ambitious programme of work across Government Departments to improve the experiences and outcomes of children in Ireland from birth to age 5 across all aspects of their lives over a ten year timeframe. Included in First 5 is a commitment to designing a new Funding Model to improve the affordability, accessibility and quality of early learning and care and school-age childcare. The new Funding Model will be designed to support Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare provision to contribute to reducing inequalities and enhance the offering for children and families in the context of poverty and disadvantage.  In this context, First 5 specifically refers to developing enhanced contracts whereby additional funding would be available for the provision of high-quality ELC settings in communities of concentrated disadvantage... such a model may include additional funding for smaller staff:child ratios, family liaison staff, additional parent supports, and provision of food.

In September 2019, my predecessor announced the establishment of an Expert Group to develop the new Funding Model. The Expert Group is tasked with examining the current model of funding and its effectiveness in delivering quality, affordable, sustainable and inclusive services. The group is considering how additional resourcing can be delivered for the sector to achieve these objectives, drawing on international practice in this area. Since their first meeting in November 2019, the Expert Group has met fifteen times and they have made significant progress in their work.

To support the Expert Group's work, Frontier Economics was selected to deliver a significant programme of research to the Expert Group. Frontier Economics has delivered eight research papers to inform the Expert Group's work, covering international comparisons and funding approaches, staffing, affordability mechanisms, access and inclusion, quality, and collaboration.  Working Paper 5 (Approaches to Identifying Children or Settings in Need of Additional Support) and Working Paper 6 (Funding Models Addressing Early Childhood Disadvantage) are of particular relevance to the work to develop ELC/SAC services to contribute to tackling disadvantage. 

The Expert Group is also undertaking consultation and engagement with stakeholders. Phase 1 of this consultation and engagement took place between August and December 2020, comprising a call for submissions, a parental poll, two webinars and focused discussions with providers, practitioners and parents. Phases 2 and 3 of consultation and engagement is ongoing, involving a series of facilitated events that bring together different perspectives to engage deeply in the conversation about how the various issues of affordability, sustainability, quality and inclusion interact and how the new Funding Model can best support these objectives.  A number of organisations who have experience and understanding of dynamics of disadvantage and children's early years are participating in the consultation. 

It is expected that a report on the Expert Group’s recommendations on the new Funding Model will be submitted to me in November 2021 for consideration before submission to wider Government. I anticipate that the work of the Expert Group will contribute to informing the development of a revised funding model aimed at providing additional supports to address socio-economic disadvantage in Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare. These supports, having regard to experience and evidence from the operation of the DEIS model, may involve a range of financial, informational and material resources to meet its goals.

Material relating to the Funding Model, including meeting papers, research papers, and reports, is available on a dedicated website, www.first5fundingmodel.ie.