Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 March 2017
53. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the level of consultation between her Department and the Department of Education and Skills and-or the Department of Health on necessary supports for children with a disability who are in mainstream early childhood services; and if she will provide the national strategy to support these children. [15222/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn Inter-Departmental Group (IDG) was established in June 2015 to design a model that would support access to the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme for children with a disability. The IDG included senior officials from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA), the Department of Education and Skills (DES) and the Department of Health (DoH). It also included representatives from the Health Service Executive (HSE), the National Early Years Inspectorate at the Child and Family Agency, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), the National Disability Authority (NDA), Better Start National Early Years Quality Development Service (NEYQDS) and the City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs).
The Report of this IDG was launched in November 2015. The IDG based its conclusions on national and international evidence and consulted with a range of key stakeholders. The IDG acknowledged the huge benefits to children with disabilities of attending mainstream pre-schools; however the IDG also recognised that a small number of children will continue to require specialist pre-school services, due to very complex needs arising from their disability.
The IDG recommended introducing a model of seven levels of support, ranging from universal to more targeted supports. The IDG concluded that such a child (and parent) centred model would build truly inclusive practice in a workable and sustainable manner and generate effective cross-sectoral working between education and health. Based on this recommendation, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs launched the ‘Access and Inclusion Model’ (known as AIM) in June 2016.
In line with the recommendations of the IDG, two cross-Government groups were established to drive and oversee the implementation of AIM: a Cross-Sectoral Implementation Group and a Project Team. These groups review progress on implementing AIM on an ongoing basis and they are attended by the same organisations who participated in the IDG. Accordingly, consultation between my Department, the Department of Health and the Department of Education and Skills is regular and on-going.
As regards situating AIM within a National Strategy, the IDG and AIM were established in response to an action set out in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures Access, the National Policy Framework for Children and Youth People.
