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Child Care Services.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 April 2010

Tuesday, 20 April 2010

Ceisteanna (223)

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

257 Deputy Ruairí Quinn asked the Minister for Health and Children her views on altering the cut off age for children who wish to avail of the early childhood care and education scheme from 30 June to 31 August in order that the minimum age requirement is three years and two months; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the current requirement prevents children who are born in the months of July and August from availing of the ECCE scheme and then proceeding to immediately enter primary school thereafter; if her further attention has been drawn to the fact that the cost of this change would effectively be cost neutral; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14647/10]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have responsibility for implementation of the free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme which was introduced in January of this year. Children will qualify for a free pre-school year place when they are aged between 3 years 3 months and 4 years 6 months at 1 September each year. The application of this age range is being interpreted as generously as possible to include children who are aged more than 3 years 2 months and less than 4 years 7 months at 1 September each year. The upper age limit does not apply where children are developmentally delayed and would benefit from participating in the pre-school year at a later age or where the enrolment policy of the local schools prevents a child from availing of age-appropriate education.

The objective of the ECCE scheme is to make early learning in a formal setting available to children in the year before they commence primary school. To achieve this, services participating in the pre-school year will be expected to provide appropriate age related activities and programmes to children within a particular age cohort. Targeting the pre-school year at a particular age cohort is clearly fundamental to the scheme and it is necessary, therefore, to set minimum and maximum limits to the age within which children will participate in the scheme each year. To extend the age limits in which children will qualify for the scheme would undermine the ability of services to provide appropriate age-related activities to children in the pre-school year.

In setting the minimum and maximum age limits, account is taken of a number of factors, including the fact that the majority of children commence primary school between the ages of 4 years and 6 month and 5 years and 6 months. The qualifying age range for the ECCE scheme extends to more than 15 months and requires the amount of funding which is allocated to the scheme to be higher than would be the case if a stricter time frame was imposed. Despite current budgetary constraints, this more generous approach has been adopted and the higher allocation of funding has been made.

I am satisfied that the age range set for the scheme achieves a reasonable balance between supporting the provision of appropriate age related programmes and activities and providing flexibility to parents and their children and there are no plans to review the position in this regard at this stage.

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