Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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200. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on whether the current AIM model in childcare is sufficient to attract enough qualified childcare workers to care for children with ASD; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28170/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) 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 learning and care.

Under Level 7 of AIM, pre-school providers, in partnership with parents, can apply for additional capitation to fund extra support in the pre-school room or to enable a reduction in the adult-to-child ratio. Where additional capitation is given to fund extra support in the pre-school room, the pre-school manager is responsible for recruiting a member of staff to take on this role or extending the hours of other staff in the service.

As staff who are supported under AIM Level 7 work alongside other staff in the pre-school room to provide early learning and care on an inclusive basis for all children in the room, the minimum qualification requirement of a Level 5 award in early childhood care and education applies to all staff, including those recruited under AIM Level 7.

Of the 1,439 pre-school providers currently in receipt of AIM level 7 funding, only 42 have reported to Pobal that they are impacted by recruitment difficulties under AIM level 7. While I acknowledge the challenges arising for children and services in those cases where recruitment difficulties have caused delays, I do not believe the data suggests there is a need to change the current AIM model.

More broadly, actions under way to develop a Workforce Development Plan for the sector and to look at possible establishment of a Joint Labour Committee (JLC) are intended to support providers to recruit and retain qualified staff.

The Workforce Development Plan will set out plans for moving to a graduate-led workforce by 2028 and establishing a career framework for staff in early learning and care and school-age childcare, including role profiles, qualifications requirements and career pathways. A report on phase one of the work can be found at www.gov.ie/en/publication/26122f-workforce-development-plan-for-the-elcsac-sector/ . The final Workforce Development Plan report is due for publication by the end of 2021.

In December 2020, I began a short process to examine the possibility of regulating the pay and conditions of employment of practitioners in early learning and care and school-age childcare, and to examine the suitability of establishing a JLC for the sector. On foot of this process, the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail has written to the Labour Court, who are currently examining whether to establish a JLC. If established, a JLC could lead to an Employment Regulation Order, which would establish binding rates of pay and conditions for the sector, thus supporting recruitment and retention of staff.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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201. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps he is taking to ensure there are sufficient childcare places for children with ASD in Dublin city and county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28171/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Access Inclusion Model (AIM), which is an inter-agency initiative led by my Department, supports the participation of pre-school children with disabilities in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme. The key objective of AIM is to support early learning and care providers to deliver an inclusive preschool experience, ensuring that children with a disability can fully participate in the ECCE Programme, thereby reaping the benefits of quality pre-school education. AIM is based on the needs of the child in the context of the pre-school setting. It does not require any diagnosis, recognising that many children do not have a diagnosis of a disability when starting pre-school.

As AIM responds to the needs of the child in the pre-school context, it is not limited to a specific number of places in any region of the country.

AIM has seven levels of progressive support, moving from universal supports (levels 1-3) to targeted supports (levels 4-7), based on the needs of the child and the pre-school setting they are attending.

Universal supports under AIM include:

- An Inclusion Charter for the Early Years Sector and updated Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Guidelines, a national training programme on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

- A higher education programme in Leadership for Inclusion in Early Years Settings (LINC), the graduates from which may be employed as Inclusion Coordinators in a mainstream pre-school setting.

Targeted supports under AIM include:

- Expert early years educational advice and support from a team of dedicated 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 preschool setting.

- A programme of capital grants for specialised equipment, appliances, assistive technology and/or minor alterations for pre-school settings to ensure children with a disability can participate in the ECCE programme.

- Access to therapeutic services where they are critical to enable a child to be enrolled and to meaningfully participate in the ECCE Programme, provided with the HSE.

- Additional assistance in the preschool room to ensure a child’s participation in the ECCE Programme. AIM provides financial support to the pre-school provider where needed, which can be used either to reduce the adult to child ratio in the pre-school room or to buy in additional assistance. Level 7 assistance is a shared resource for the pres-chool setting.

First 5, the whole-of-Government strategy to improve the lives of babies, young children and their families, commits to continue to roll out AIM, and subject to an evaluation of AIM, to consider further enhancements or extensions to this initiative. This evaluation is currently underway and is expected to be completed by end 2021.

The report of the Inter-Departmental Group in 2016 recommended that other specialist pre-school supports provided by the Department of Education and the Department of Health/HSE should remain in place at least during the initial years of AIM roll-out. This includes autism-specific pre-school services provided by the Department of Education which include:

- 135 Autism Early Intervention Classes attached to primary schools for autistic children aged three and over.

- A Home Tuition Scheme which provides funding towards 10 hours tuition for children under 3 years of age and 20 hours per week for children over 3 years of who cannot secure a placement in an early intervention class. Subject to conditions, Parents are free to use the grant to engage tutors to deliver tuition in their home or pre-school providers to deliver tuition in a group/pre-school setting. Such arrangements are essentially between the parents and the relevant provider.