The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme is a universal programme available to all children within the eligible age range. It provides children with their first formal experience of early learning prior to commencing primary school. The programme is provided for three hours per day, five days per week over 38 weeks per year and the programme year runs from September to June.
While the ECCE Programme runs in parallel with the school year ECCE providers are private businesses or community organisations. My Department is not the employer of early years service providers or their staff and there are no plans to provide all year round funding to these services.
In addition to the 38 weeks funding provided by my Department in 2017 I introduced Programme Support Payments (PSPs). These payments recognise the additional time required of providers to complete the administrative work associated with DCYA-funded early learning and care and school age childcare programmes. The payment also recognises the time required to perform activities outside of contact time with children, such as preparing materials for early learning and care sessions and assisting parents.
ECCE providers who apply for PSP before the June 12 closing date will be paid equal to 7 days’ (1.4 weeks’) registrations at standard capitation.
