Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 April 2024
568. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of Tusla early learning and care registered services that have selected to engage with each of the quality support agencies as identified in the Core Funding Quality Action Plan, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17958/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraCore Funding supports Partner Services with their financial sustainability while enhancing the quality, affordability and accessibility of their services. In accordance with Partnership for the Public Good, (DCEDIY 2021) the Core Funding model commits to drive high quality service provision. To support this, Core Funding requires all early learning and care (ELC), school-age childcare (SAC) and childminding services that benefit from Core Funding to complete a quality planning template annually, using tools provided by the Department and their agents to compile their Core Funding Quality Action Plan.
Through the introduction of Core Funding, provision is made for services to identify actions that will enhance the quality of their service provision. Many services are already engaged in quality improvement processes, for example, through their engagement with the Better Start Quality Development Service or through self-evaluation processes supported by the Aistear/Síolta Practice Guide.
The quality action plan offers a means of systematically capturing and acknowledging this positive work for the first time. As part of this process for all partners, learning from it is being used to inform the development of the process as it evolves. Partner Services are offered an opportunity to provide feedback on the process. The process, and the feedback received on it, supports the commitment in First 5 to strengthen supports for self-evaluation and development of a single quality framework to support self-evaluation and external evaluation of services.
As quality improvement is an ongoing process, activities that services undertake may change and progress from year to year. Quality reporting requirements under Core Funding will also evolve in future years to reflect this, based on the learning drawn from this process. Therefore the quality action plan template may change annually.
From 20 May 2024 to 28 July 2024 Partner Services will be required to complete and submit a Quality Action Plan Report for the programme year 2023-24. This provides an opportunity to outline the option(s) chosen, the actions identified and how they progressed, support sought, and any challenges experienced. There will also be a section for services to provide feedback on the year two process; this information will be used to refine the process for year 3 and future years.
The table below indicates the number of requests for support through the Quality Action Plan process, broken down by organisation. It should be noted that the number of services actually supported may differ from this, and that support organisations may receive requests for support from sources other than the Quality Action Plan process.
Core Funding Quality Action Plan support requests across all Tusla registered services (ELC, SAC and childminding):
|
Organisation |
Number of Requests * |
|
Barnardos |
384 |
|
Better Start |
671 |
|
Bláthu |
11 |
|
Childminding Development Officer |
9 |
|
Childminding Ireland |
18 |
|
City/County Childcare Committee |
1,544 |
|
Early Childhood Ireland |
958 |
|
National Childhood Network |
335 |
|
St. Nicholas Montessori |
78 |
|
Total: |
4,008 |
Note: * Figures do not indicate numbers of unique services as a service can make requests across more than one organisation.
