Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

796. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the Access and Inclusion Mode (AIM) has been extended beyond ECCE years; the range of services which are available within ECCE under AIM; the range of services that are now on offer for other childcare settings; and the way in which the number of children served under each element of the programme has grown as a result of the change. [51901/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a programme of supports designed to ensure that children with additional needs can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. Since its introduction in 2016, AIM has had a major impact on the lives of children with additional needs and the overall quality of early learning and care. Through this period over 38,000 children have received more than 88,000 targeted supports across over 4,800 early learning and care services nationwide.

The Access and Inclusion Model supports children with additional needs to access and meaningfully participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme through 7 levels of universal and targeted supports.

The goal of AIM is to empower early learning and care 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 in any mainstream service participating in ECCE. AIM resources are allocated based on a child’s individual needs through targeted and universal supports. Detailed information on each of these supports can be found at: www.aim.gov.ie

In line with a commitment in First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028, an independent evaluation of AIM was undertaken in order to inform an extension of AIM beyond the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme as well as any potential enhancements to the model.

Since September 2024 AIM has expanded beyond time spent in the ECCE programme, allowing ECCE eligible children to access AIM targeted supports for an additional 3 hours a day during the ECCE term and 6 hours outside of the ECCE term.

It is intended that over time, all children with disabilities registered in early learning and childcare services will have access to supports under AIM. To this end, a tailored model is under design which would enable the extension of AIM to children under three. It is also intended to give consideration at a later date to an extension of AIM for children attending school-age childcare. Both extensions will require a redesign of AIM to ensure that it meets the different needs of children in these two separate cohorts and will also require funding through the annual Budget process.