Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2020
951. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide funding to support Down's syndrome language development for young children aged three to six years of age in preschool. [32964/20]
View answerThe Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) was established in 2016 to support children with disabilities to access and fully participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) preschool programme, thereby reaping the benefits of quality early years care and education and realising the opportunity to reach their full potential, including their social, emotional, cognitive and language development. The budget allocated for AIM in 2020 is €43 million.
The focus of AIM is on the needs of the child in the context of the preschool setting, and therefore access to AIM supports does not require a formal diagnosis. AIM has seven levels of progressive support, moving from universal (levels 1 to 3) to targeted (levels 4 to 7). Details of the seven levels of support are presented below.
As AIM is an integral part of the ECCE programme, the criteria for eligibility regarding age of the child is the same as for the ECCE programme, i.e. between 2 year 8 months and 5 years 6 months. AIM supports are available for the two years of the ECCE programme.
AIM is a highly collaborative, cross-Government initiative, with implementation shared across a number of different bodies. Since its introduction in 2016, AIM has provided over 14,100 children with disabilities with over 33,000 targeted supports across over 3,500 preschools. Thousands more preschool children are benefitting from the universal supports provided under AIM. A full evaluation of the Access and Inclusion Model is due to commence before the end of the year.
Level 1: An Inclusive Culture: This level is the critical foundation for the model. It sets out that a strong culture of inclusion must be fostered and embedded to support all children’s maximum participation in the ECCE Programme. Supports include the national inclusion policy and guidelines for ECCE, the funding of a Level 6 NFQ programme on leadership for inclusion (LINC), the establishment of Inclusion Co-ordinators (INCO) in ECCE settings, and a small increase in capitation for services with qualified INCOs.
Level 2: Information for Parents and Providers: This level recognises the requirement of parents and preschool providers to have clear, consistent and up to date information accessible to them regarding ECCE services and supports and this is supported through the AIM.gov.ie website and also information provided by County/City Childcare Committees.
Level 3: A Qualified and Confident Workforce: This level recognises the requirement to continue to develop a qualified workforce that can confidently meet the needs of all children wishing to participate in the ECCE Programme. Supports include funding of Continuing Professional Development courses such as Hanen, Lámh and Sensory Processing E-Learning (SPEL) courses.
Level 4: Expert Educational Advice and Support – This level addresses the needs of early years practitioners across the country to have timely access to advice and support from experts in early years education (and disability in particular) to assist them meet each child’s needs.
Level 5: Equipment, Appliances and Minor Alterations Capital Grant: This level recognises that some children require specialised equipment, appliances, assistive technology and/or that some early years settings may require minor structural alterations to ensure children with a disability can participate in the ECCE Programme. Supports include grants for equipment and some capital building works for a service.
Level 6: Therapeutic Intervention : This level provides for access to therapeutic services where they are critical to enable the child be enrolled, and fully participate, in the ECCE Programme.
Level 7: Additional Assistance in the Preschool Room: This level recognises that a some children will require more support than is available through Levels 1-6. With this Level, additional capitation is available to service providers where an application process has demonstrated that supports at Level 1-6 have not, or will not, by themselves, meet the child’s needs. The application is made by both provider and parent. It can be used by the provider to buy in additional support, or to reduce the staff / child ratio, supporting the preschool service to ensure the child’s optimal participation.
