Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 October 2019
271. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her attention has been drawn to cases in which a child has been deemed in need of level 7 of the AIM scheme but has been unable to access entitlements under the scheme due to the fact the childcare facility has been unable to provide the required member of staff for this scheme (details supplied). [43950/19]
View answerAs the deputy is aware, 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 preschool providers to deliver an inclusive preschool experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE Programme and reap the benefits of quality early learning and care. 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 and the preschool service.
Under Level 7 of AIM, preschool providers, in partnership with parents, can apply for additional capitation to fund extra support in the preschool room or to enable the reduction of the adult-to-child ratio. Where additional capitation is given to fund extra support in the preschool room, the preschool manager is responsible for recruiting a member of staff to take on this role.
The Better Start Early Years Specialist Service within Pobal administers AIM Level 7 on behalf of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Where there is a delay in recruitment of staff to provide AIM Level 7 support, service providers must complete the ‘Notification of Change’ form and submit this to Pobal.
Pobal has advised that data is available for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 (to date) preschool years on services which have been approved for AIM Level 7 support to support a child or children to access preschool, but who have informed Pobal that they have been unable to recruit suitable staff. Pobal has advised that the total number of preschool services who have notified them that they have been unable to recruit suitable staff to provide AIM Level 7 support is seven over the two years (six in 2018-19 and one to date in 2019-20).
It is important to note that in the small number of instances where a level 7 support is not available, the child and service provider will still be able to avail of supports under Levels 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 of AIM.
Children are entitled to two years’ of free preschool under the ECCE programme. Where a child has availed of AIM Level 7 in their first year of preschool, the preschool provider can submit a second year extension request for the child to avail of AIM Level 7 support in their second year of preschool.
Pobal data on Level 7 supports is broken down as follows:
|
- |
2018/2019 |
2019/2020 (as of 18th October 2019) |
|
Total AIM Level 7 applications approved (including second year extensions) |
3,924 |
3,464 |
|
Total AIM Level 7 applications approved (including second year extensions) where the preschool service has notified Pobal it is unable to recruit suitable staff |
6 |
1 |
Recruitment of staff has been a significant challenge to many services in recent years. Other than poor terms and conditions which impact retention, this is believed to be mostly due to the major expansion that has occurred in the sector which included a doubling of investment and a doubling of the number of early learning and care and school age childcare places.
The Pobal Sector Profile data is showing that, now that capacity has been doubled, the growth rates are levelling off although we expect that the further budgetary increase for 2020 will continue to support further growth in capacity. Turnover of staff has reduced by approx. 3.5% over the last two years.
A number of factors should begin to see the recruitment difficulties being experienced lessening over time. First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families (2019-2028), was published in November 2018. First 5 identifies over 150 actions across the domains that impact on young children’s lives, including ambitious and far reaching actions related to the Early Learning and Care (ELC) sector. First 5 commits to at least doubling investment in ELC by 2028 and a key vehicle to ensure that such significant additional investment delivers for children, families and the State will be a new Funding Model.
The intention with the new Funding Model is to design mechanisms to deliver additional funding to ELC and School Age Childcare providers to ensure greater levels of affordability, quality and inclusion in their services. It is planned that the new Funding Model will operate in addition to the major funding streams for the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) universal preschool programme and the National Childcare Scheme, when it comes into operation later this year.
The new Funding Model will be a key vehicle to achieve the vision of ELC services that are equipped to provide high-quality, graduate-led services for children, affordability to parents and sustainability for providers. ELC services that operate in the context of disadvantage will also receive extra support to provide additional services to families.
Alongside the new Funding Model, work has also begun on a Workforce Development Plan (WDP), which will ensure appropriate levels of Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) staff at all levels in the sector. The Workforce Development Plan will aim to help to address recruitment difficulties by establishing role profiles, career pathways, qualifications requirements and associated policy mechanisms. The Workforce Development Plan will set out plans to raise the profile of careers in Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare, establishing a career framework and leadership development opportunities and work towards a more gender-balanced and diverse workforce.
The Workforce Development Plan will be carried out in two stages. The first stage will involve preparation of a core report that sets out a high-level vision for the Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) workforce for the period 2020-2028 and a pathway for achieving the commitments set out in First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families (2019-2028), in relation to development of the ELC and SAC workforce. It will include qualification requirements for different roles in the sector, including ELC, SAC, and childminders. This stage is expected to conclude by mid- 2020. The second stage of the Workforce Development Plan will involve completion of implementation plans by working groups to be specified in Stage 1. Stage two of the plan is expected to be completed by mid-2021.
