Early Childhood Care and Education programme (ECCE)

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme provides free early childhood care and education for children of pre-school age.

ECCE is funded by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE).

You may get financial support from the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) towards the cost of childcare for the hours spent outside of ECCE.

Your child cannot be enrolled in the ECCE Programme and Early Start Programme at the same time.

ECCE is available to children who have turned 2 years and 8 months of age before 1 September until they transfer to primary school if they are not older than 5 years and 6 months at the end of the pre-school year on 30 June.

You can find a calendar that shows eligibility by birth year on the DCDE website.

Age limit exemptions

If your child has special educational needs, they may get an exemption from the ECCE upper age limit. You can read more about exemptions in the ECCE rules document published on the DCDE website.

To apply for an exemption, contact EYQueries@equality.gov.ie. Applications can only be accepted from a child’s parent or guardian.

There are no exemptions to the lower age limit.

The pre-school provider must provide ECCE for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for 38 weeks a year. The 15 hours provided each week under ECCE are free.

Examples of pre-school providers that provide ECCE include:

• Full or part-time daycare services
• Half-day or sessional services (such as playschools, naíonraí, Montessori schools, or parent and toddler groups)

If your child attends for longer than the 3 hours covered by ECCE each day, you will be charged for the extra time.

A small number of sessional services that cannot open for 5 days a week provide 3 hours and 30 minutes a day for 4 days a week over the school year instead. This is an exemption and only applies to services that have already been granted permission by DCDE.

If your child does not attend ECCE

Your child may lose their ECCE place if they are absent for 4 weeks in a row.

However, in special circumstances, a child can keep their place if they are absent. For example:

• If the child, a sibling, or a parent or guardian have a prolonged illness, a place can be kept for up to 12 weeks
• If there is an immediate family bereavement, a place can be kept for up to 6 weeks

If you know your child is going to be absent from ECCE, let your ECCE provider know.

Children with special educational needs

The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) supports children with disabilities to access ECCE. The model is based on the needs of the child when starting pre-school and does not require a diagnosis of disability.

AIM has 7 levels of support, moving from universal support to targeted support depending on the needs of the child and the pre-school provider.

Universal supports

Levels 1–3 of AIM cover universal supports that help all children attending an ECCE programme. These include training and continuous professional development opportunities for pre-school providers to learn about creating inclusive pre-school environments.

Targeted supports

Levels 4-7 of AIM cover targeted supports that parents or guardians and the pre-school provider can apply for to help meet the child’s needs.

They may include:

• Expert educational advice and mentoring (level 4)
• Specialised equipment, appliances and minor building alterations (level 5)
• Therapeutic supports, such as behaviour support plans, professional advice and pre-school visits (level 6)
• Additional funding for extra assistance in the ECCE pre-school room (level 7)

Your child’s pre-school provider will work with you to consider if your child needs targeted supports to access ECCE. If needed, you and the pre-school provider make a joint application for the supports (see ‘How to apply for ECCE’ below).

You can find information for parents and frequently asked questions on the AIM website. Your local City or County Childcare Committee can also provide information about AIM.

The 15 hours provided each week under ECCE are free. DCDE pays the pre-school provider for these ECCE hours.

If your child attends for extra hours, you have to pay for the extra hours.

You may get financial support from the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) towards the cost of childcare for the hours spent outside of ECCE.

Is there a booking deposit for ECCE?

You may be asked to pay a booking deposit to hold a place for your child. The deposit must be refunded once your child’s registration for ECCE has been approved. The deposit cannot be more than 4 weeks of ECCE payments.

What are optional extras?

A pre-school provider may charge parents for optional extras, like food and activities. However, if you choose not to get optional extras, the pre-school provider must provide other activities for your child while optional activities take place.

Pre-school providers cannot prioritise ECCE places based on who decides to pay for optional extras.

To get a place for your child, apply to a participating pre-school provider.

You can:

• Get a list of participating services from your local City or County Childcare Committee (CCC), or
• Find a list of contracted childcare providers on the National Childcare Scheme website

To apply, you need to provide a copy of your child's birth certificate or passport and PPS number.

Applying for supports for children with special educational needs

If your child needs additional support to access ECCE, you and your child’s pre-school provider apply for targeted supports under AIM).

Applications for targeted supports are made to Pobal on the Early Years Hive website (your pre-school provider will be familiar with this website). Applications can only be made with your agreement.

You can contact the Early Years Specialist Service (EYSS) at Pobal for information on the application process at (01) 511 7222 or email onlinesupport@pobal.ie.

Leaving or changing pre-school provider

If you need or want to move your child to a different service during the ECCE programme year, you must give 4 weeks’ written notice to the pre-school provider. Read more about changing pre-school provider (pdf).