Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 November 2021
409. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will review correspondence (details supplied); the actions his Department can take to protect this vital service in Castleblayney, County Monaghan going forward; if his attention has been drawn to this matter; and the action being taken to support this service. [56014/21]
View answerMy Department is responsible for the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), which is a programme of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme and reap the benefits of quality early learning and care in any mainstream pre-school. AIM is based on the needs of the child in the context of the pre-school setting. It does not require any diagnosis, recognising that many children do not have a diagnosis of a disability when starting pre-school.
AIM has seven levels of progressive support, moving from universal supports (levels 1-3) to targeted supports (levels 4-7), based on the needs of the child and the pre-school setting they are attending.
Universal supports (Levels 1-3):
- Level 1, which aims to embed an inclusive culture in services, includes the national inclusion policy and guidelines for ECCE, the funding of the Leadership for Inclusion (LINC) training programme, the establishment of Inclusion Co-Ordinator (INCO) roles in ECCE settings, and a small increase in capitation of €2 per registered ECCE child, for services with qualified Inclusion Co-ordinators.
- Level 2 involves provision of information for parents and providers on AIM, through the AIM.gov.ie website and information provided by County/City Childcare Committees.
- Level 3 recognises the requirement to continue to develop a qualified workforce that can confidently meet the needs of all children participating in the ECCE programme. Supports include funding of training courses such as Hanen, Lámh and Sensory Processing E-Learning (SPEL).
Targeted supports (Levels 4-7):
- Level 4 addresses the needs of early years practitioners to have timely access to advice and support from experts in early learning and care (and disability in particular) to assist them meet each child’s needs. This is delivered by Better Start early years specialists.
- Level 5 recognises that some children require specialised equipment, appliances, assistive technology and/or that some early learning and care 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 minor capital building works.
- Level 6 provides access to therapeutic supports where they are critical to enable a child be enrolled, and fully participate, in the ECCE programme.
- Level 7: Additional assistance in the pre-school room involves additional capitation for service providers where an application process has demonstrated that supports Level 1-6 have not, or will not, by themselves, meet the child’s needs. Funding can be used by the provider to buy in additional support, or reduce the staff / child ratio, supporting the pre-school leader to ensure the child’s optimal participation.
It should be noted that targeted AIM supports are not guaranteed, as it may be found that existing supports are sufficient to ensure a child’s meaningful participation in the ECCE programme. More information on eligibility is in the AIM programme rules 2021/2022, available at: aim.gov.ie/app/uploads/2021/08/AIM-rules-2021_2022-FINAL-3.pdf
In their current form, the targeted supports within AIM are exclusively tied to the ECCE pre-school programme, and so targeted supports are not available in after-school settings. Some of the universal supports within AIM, however, such as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training, may benefit all children attending services that take part, which include some services that offer both early learning and care and school-age childcare.
First 5, the Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families, commits to consider enhancements to, or extension of AIM, following completion of the evaluation of AIM. Such an extension might involve younger children, longer hours of availability of targeted supports, children with additional needs other than a disability, or children attending school-age childcare services. Any decisions on extension or reform of AIM will be informed by the findings of the end-of-year-three evaluation of AIM, which is currently underway, with the final report due to be published in February 2022.
My Department officials have contacted Pobal and Better Start Early Years’ Service, who have confirmed that the named service has not applied for any AIM universal or targeted supports, for this programme year 2021/2022. I would recommend that the service provider contact their local Better Start Early Year’s Specialist for information in applying for AIM supports. The turnaround time from application of AIM supports to approval, is a matter of weeks. AIM supports such as Level 1 can be applied for via the HIVE on Pobal.
During the COVID-19 pandemic there has been significant additional funding for services made available via the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), and this funding is still available. The EWSS covers on average 50% of normal operating costs of early learning and care services.
EWSS provides wage subsidies for relevant staff members. Level 7 of AIM (additional assistance in the pre-school 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 pre-school room to be supported through either the EWSS or AIM Level 7 capitation, but not both. It is open to a service provider approved for AIM Level 7 funding to choose whichever of EWSS or AIM Level 7 funding is most appropriate to them.
