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Early Childhood Care and Education

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2021

Tuesday, 15 June 2021

Questions (982)

Kathleen Funchion

Question:

982. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the funding allocated in 2019, 2020 and 2021 to the access and inclusion model; and the amount of this allocation that was drawn down for 2019 and 2020, in tabular form. [31364/21]

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Written answers

The allocations and draw downs for the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) are set out in the table.

Year

Allocated

Draw down

2019

35,500,000

34,290,000

2020

43,000,000

31,900,000

2021

48,330,500

n/a

Last autumn I was pleased to announce a €5 million increase in the AIM budget for 2021, which increased total funding from €43 million to €48.3 million. The additional AIM funding allows for a further increase in the number of children with disabilities who can receive targeted supports under AIM, and enabled an increase in the level of payment made to services for additional assistance under Level 7 of AIM. Level 7 capitation increased in January of this year from €195 per week (or €13/hour) to €210 per week (or €14/hr). The additional funding in the 2021 budget also allows for an increase in the number of funded Inclusion Coordinator roles in preschool services.

The under-spend in 2020 reflects the availability of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) to registered providers of early learning and care and school-age childcare. This was a significant support in helping service providers to meet the challenges of COVID-19.

EWSS provides wage subsidies for relevant staff members, including newly hired staff. Level 7 of AIM (additional assistance in the preschool room) provides financial assistance to service providers that may be used to cover or subsidise the wages of specific staff members. With the introduction of EWSS, AIM rules were amended to allow the wages of an employee delivering additional assistance in the preschool room to be supported through either the EWSS or AIM Level 7 capitation, but not both. It was open to a service provider to choose whichever of EWSS or AIM Level 7 funding was most appropriate to them.

To date, Pobal data shows over 1,089 AIM Level 7 applications were withdrawn by service providers citing a preference to hire a staff member using EWSS funds rather than AIM funding. These withdrawals account for a drop in AIM Level 7 applications by approximately 25%. As this information is submitted on a voluntary basis, the number of withdrawals due to EWSS funding may be higher than reported. This reductions in the number of AIM Level 7 applications, in addition to a possible drop off in the number of children with disabilities attending services due to Covid-19, has had a major impact on AIM Level 7 expenditure in 2020 and 2021. There are currently 109,242 approved ECCE registrations, which is 3% lower than this time last year. The combination of lower ECCE registrations and the continuation of EWSS will continue to impact on AIM expenditure until at least the end of Q3 2021.

The Access Inclusion Model (AIM), which is an inter-agency initiative led by my Department, supports the participation of preschool children with disabilities in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. The key objective of AIM is to support early learning and care providers to deliver an inclusive preschool experience, ensuring that children with a disability can fully participate in the ECCE Programme, thereby reaping the benefits of quality preschool education. AIM is based on the needs of the child in the context of the preschool setting. It does not require any diagnosis, recognising that many children do not have a diagnosis of a disability when starting preschool.

AIM has seven levels of progressive support. Universal supports (levels 1-3) empower early learning and care providers to create a more inclusive culture in their setting through an Inclusion Charter and Guidelines for preschools, and a level 6 qualification in Leadership for Inclusion (LINC).

Targeted supports (levels 4-7) are based on the needs of the child and the preschool setting they are attending. These supports include expert early years educational advice from Better Start Early Years Specialists, capital grants for special equipment and/or minor alterations for preschool settings, and therapy supports. AIM level 7 support provides additional funding to preschools who have a child requiring extra support. Providers can use this funding either to reduce the child-to-adult ratio in the preschool room or to fund an extra staff member as a shared resource with other children in the ECCE setting.

Question No. 983 answered with Question No. 978.
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