As of 4th October, 3,879 services had contracted for the ECCE programme in 2022/2023, of which 1,493 are ECCE-only services. (i.e. the only child registrations for the purpose of funding were through ECCE programme). For the 2022/23 programme year, there all ECCE capitation will be paid at a flat rate of €69 per child per week.
This is a departure from the previous approach which paid differential capitation rates to services depending on whether or not sessions were led by a graduate. In 2021/22 952 ECCE-only services were in receipt of higher capitation.
For the programme year 2022/2023, services that deliver the ECCE programme will receive standard capitation in respect of registered children and will have the option to also avail of Core Funding. Core Funding provides funding based on a service's capacity (opening hours, number of places and age group of children), and graduate premiums for lead educators and managers. Base rate allocations for capacity at the sessional pre-school rate offers €0.65 per child place per hour and the graduate lead educator premium allocation is €4.44 per hour.
While Core Funding will operate in addition to and alongside ECCE (standard capitation), AIM, CCSP and NCS, it replaces ECCE higher capitation and incorporates funding previously allocated to the discretionary Programme Support Payments (PSP) from September 2022.
The change in approach to funding ELC Graduates is underpinned by the recommendations of an Expert Group, outlined in their report Partnership for the Public Good , and approved by Government in December 2021. The Expert Group noted that the higher capitation payment has diverted graduates away from non-ECCE provision, despite the importance of high-quality provision for under-3s. The Expert Group also reference a Focused Policy Assessment of higher capitation, which noted a difficulty in ensuring that the additional payment was passed on to educators.
Funding for ELC Graduates is now one element of a larger funding model, and is underpinned by Employment Regulation Orders setting minimum rates of pay in the sector, including differential pay rates for graduates in leadership roles. This will ensure that educators and managers with degrees will feel the benefits of the graduate premium payment being made to services.
Given the different approaches to funding ELC Graduates, it would not be appropriate to make direct comparisons between the previous ECCE higher capitation and the Graduate Lead Educator Premium in Core Funding.
ECCE higher capitation had been paid on the basis of the number of children participating in the ECCE session, not the number of hours of ECCE being led by a graduate. For example, an ECCE room with 22 children previously received 2.75 times more higher capitation funding than an ECCE room with 8 children. In both cases, the graduate Lead Educator is providing the same amount of hours of service.
Core Funding provides an opportunity to rectify that disparity as well as extend funding for graduates beyond the ECCE programme to other aspects of ELC provision.For this reason, the Graduate Lead Educator Premium in Core Funding is paid as a top up on the number of hours of provision that is led by a graduate, rather than the number of children that are participating in that room.
Services who were previously in receipt of ECCE standard capitation in 2021/22 will see capitation increase by at least 9.5% through the Core Funding base rate. This is before any potential Graduate Manager Premium is awarded to the service, which is worth an additional €2,530.80 per ECCE session. In addition, any provision offered outside of the 15 ECCE hours per week will further increase Core Funding income to the service.
A full comparison of income under the previous funding model (ECCE standard capitation plus PSP) and the new funding model (ECCE standard capitation plus Core Funding) is published online and outlined below in tabular form. The data provided below is stylised for typical service models and makes assumptions about service capacity in order to estimate income. It also includes income from ECCE and Core Funding for ECCE hours only and does not include income available to services through the Access and Inclusion Model or other income such as from parental fees for extra services.
Standard Capitation services
|
Number of children
|
Previous hourly service income (ECCE plus PSP)
|
Core Funding hourly service income
|
Difference
|
|
8
|
€38.35
|
€43.95
|
14.6%
|
|
9
|
€43.14
|
€48.55
|
12.5%
|
|
10
|
€47.94
|
€53.15
|
10.9%
|
|
11
|
€52.73
|
€57.75
|
9.5%
|
|
12
|
€57.52
|
€69.50
|
20.8%
|
|
13
|
€62.32
|
€74.10
|
18.9%
|
|
14
|
€67.11
|
€78.70
|
17.3%
|
|
15
|
€71.91
|
€83.30
|
15.8%
|
|
16
|
€76.70
|
€87.90
|
14.6%
|
|
17
|
€81.49
|
€92.50
|
13.5%
|
|
18
|
€86.29
|
€97.10
|
12.5%
|
|
19
|
€91.08
|
€101.70
|
11.7%
|
|
20
|
€95.87
|
€106.30
|
10.9%
|
|
21
|
€100.67
|
€110.90
|
10.2%
|
|
22
|
€105.46
|
€115.50
|
9.5%
|
Services previously in receipt of ECCE higher capitation will see capitation increase by up to 11.1% through Core Funding. A very small percentage of services will see no increase. These are larger ECCE-only services – with 20+ children in a session. In 2021/2022, ECCE sessional services with 22 children received income of €1,829.30 per week under ECCE higher capitation and PSP. This will be matched in Core Funding. I have issued a Funding Guarantee in order to ensure that no service will see a decrease in funding. Very few services will require this Funding Guarantee.
A comparison of income under the previous funding model (ECCE higher capitation plus PSP) and the new funding model (ECCE standard capitation plus Core Funding) is published online and outlined below. The same assumptions about typical service models, capacity and income apply as in the data provided above. Also as above, the Graduate Manager Premium and any non-ECCE provision are not included and would be additional income to the service.
Higher Capitation services
|
Number of children
|
Previous hourly service income (ECCE plus PSP)
|
Core Funding hourly service income
|
Difference
|
|
8
|
€44.35
|
€48.39
|
9.1%
|
|
9
|
€49.89
|
€52.99
|
6.2%
|
|
10
|
€55.44
|
€57.59
|
3.9%
|
|
11
|
€60.98
|
€62.19
|
2.0%
|
|
12
|
€66.52
|
€73.94
|
11.1%
|
|
13
|
€72.07
|
€78.54
|
9.0%
|
|
14
|
€77.61
|
€83.14
|
7.1%
|
|
15
|
€83.16
|
€87.74
|
5.5%
|
|
16
|
€88.70
|
€92.34
|
4.1%
|
|
17
|
€94.24
|
€96.94
|
2.9%
|
|
18
|
€99.79
|
€101.54
|
1.8%
|
|
19
|
€105.33
|
€106.14
|
0.8%
|
|
20
|
€110.87
|
€110.74
|
-0.1% *
|
|
21
|
€116.42
|
€115.34
|
-0.9% *
|
|
22
|
€121.96
|
€119.94
|
-1.7% *
|
* All services will have their current income matched if they are operating on the same basis as last year.
Budget 2023 allocates €1,025m to early learning and childcare – a clear demonstration from Government of the value of the sector. In recent weeks, there have been numerous important developments including the commencement of the Employment Regulation Orders, the launch of Together for Better, and the Budget announcements.
Together for Better aims to transform the sector and my Department and I are committed to working constructively, collaboratively and positively with Partner Services towards a goal of delivering early learning and childcare for the public good.
I would encourage services that are experiencing difficulty and who would like support to contact their City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) to access case management supports. Services can be assisted on an individual basis through this route and it also allows for trends and themes across the country to be identified that can inform a more systematic response if necessary. My officials are not receiving any indications from CCCs that there have been providers reporting financial difficulties and in need of support. This case management process through the CCCs is the route to access additional sustainability funding if required.
