The goal of AIM is to support pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience for children and families. AIM is a child-centred model, involving seven levels of progressive support, moving from the universal to the targeted, based on the needs and strengths of the child and the pre-school setting.
The LINC (Leadership for Inclusion) training programme is part of AIM. LINC is a one-year higher education programme (at Level 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications) that prepares practitioners to take on the role of Inclusion Co-ordinator in their pre-school setting. In the four years since it began in 2016/17, the LINC programme has had over 3,100 registered students. So far 2,230 practitioners have graduated from the programme, of whom more than 1,900 have gone on to be Inclusion Co-ordinators working in ECCE pre-school settings. Students from the 4th year of LINC are expected to graduate in the coming months.
My Department is currently in the final stages of a procurement process for the provision of the next three years of delivery of a Level 6 Special Purpose Award training programme for the role of Inclusion Co-ordinator. Applications for entry onto the course for the academic year 2020/21 will open following completion of the procurement process.
Settings with a qualified Inclusion Coordinator in post are eligible for additional capitation payments as part of the ECCE pre-school programme. Plans for the reopening of the ECCE and AIM programmes for the 2020/21 programme year will be announced in the coming weeks. Information on 2020/21 additional capitation for Inclusion Coordinator posts will then be made available.
Applications for funding for the 2020/21 pre-school year under AIM Levels 5 (equipment and minor alterations) and 7 (additional assistance in the pre-school room) are already open.