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Your Setting
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Scéalta blog - Kindness elves
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In this first Scéalta of 2021, Eilish Balfe from Happy Days in Ratoath tells us about how the Kindness Elves inspired practice story evolved with the children and what being the Inspired Practice 2020 Award-winning setting means to her, the children and families and the staff in her setting.
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EYES update: 13 January 2021
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The first EYES update of 2021 looks at the recently provided FAQs, and our subsequent guidance, for reopening and level 5 restrictions.
We also invite members to learn more about Early Childhood Ireland’s Learning Hub over this period.
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Nurturing our children under 2: Episode 1 Slow relational pedagogy
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For the new season of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast, we plan to have a number of themed series, with a range of guests discussing aspects of a particular topic. To get this new format started, we decided to shine a light on the subject of children under 2.
In the next 4 episodes, we will reflect on how we can care best for very young children, a subject we know early childhood educators are passionate about and of course it is of vital importance to get right. For the first episode we are joined by Dr Geraldine French from DCU to discuss slow relational pedagogy.
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Membership renewal 2021
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We are now entering the final weeks of our membership renewal period and would like to thank all members who have renewed to date. If you have not yet renewed your membership, there is still time before the 31 January deadline.
Click the button below to renew online today and you will continue to avail of our wide range of benefits and services.
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Garda vetting update 13 January 2021
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It will soon be compulsory for every Early Learning and Care setting to have a Garda National Vetting Bureau (GNVB) Affiliate Registration Number in order to access Garda Vetting.
If you have one already, please email us a copy of the GNVB letter so that you can be registered on the National Vetting Bureau portal.
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The Big Picture
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Approaches to identifying children or settings in need of additional support
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As part of the First 5 Strategy, Frontier Economics was appointed to produce a set of research papers that will inform the development of a new funding model for our sector. Today, we finish the series that has been summarizing and commenting on each one of those papers.
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ECI in the Media
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Early Childhood Ireland CEO Teresa Heeney has given a number of high profile media interviews in recent weeks, including a piece on Ireland AM on Thursday, 7 January which can be viewed at the link below.
Here, Teresa discussed daycare services and their crucial work to support frontline and essential workers throughout the coming weeks. She explains that the welfare and availability of staff is a huge ongoing consideration for daycare services and that this will be a balancing act for all going forward.
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Training and Support
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Capital Funding 2021
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The 2021 Capital Funding Programme centres on fire safety grants to support services in complying with fire safety standards. Tusla requires providers to submit a fire safety certificate as part of the statutory registration process.
Pobal will manage the 2021 Capital Programme and will open an online application process in mid-January, with a closing date in mid-February.
Capital grants of €1,000-€10,000 will be available towards helping services with the costs of works needed to achieve fire safety certificates.
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Registration for the Sensory Processing Early Learning (SPEL) course from Better Start is currently open.
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If you have the opportunity to engage in some CPD during these times when many settings are closed, you might be interested in these online offerings from Better Start.
They are providing a series of workshops on the Hanen Teacher Talk programme, a well-regarded programme to support children’s language development. They also have a Sensory Processing in Early Leaning series of workshops available. For further details click here.
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ECI Shop
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200 Medium Disposable Non Powdered Latex Free Vinyl Gloves
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These gloves meet the requirements for the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate.
- Latex free and non-sterile reducing the risk of hypersensitivity and allergic reactions
- Powder free design reduces the chance of powder contamination
- Beaded cuff for added strength and easier donning
- Lasts longer than most gloves with a shelf life of 5 years
- Phthalate-free means better safety and comfort
- Food grade gloves for use in catering environments
- Ambidextrous
- Single use only
Disposable Glove Sizing Chart available to download.
Biodegradable aprons sold separately.
Member price: €18.50
Non-members: €21.00
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Disposable Medical Grade Face Mask Type IIR (QTY: 50)
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3 Layer Protection
- Outer Layer: Professional waterproof non-woven fabric.
- Coloured to distinguish from fluid-resistant face masks and ensures the user wears the mask the correct way.
- Middle Core Filter: High-efficiency melt-blown filter cloth.
- Gives 0.1 Micron particle filtration and 3.
- Micron bacteria filtration efficiency at > 99%.
- White Inner Layer: Professional grade hydrophilic non-woven fabric.
- Enables users to wear the masks comfortably for an extended period.
Member price: €32.00
Non-members: €37.00
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GDPR Training Pack (Contains 1 toolkit & training for the manager plus one additional training)
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The GDPR training pack features a toolkit with all the tools you will need to implement the GDPR including a certified Training Programme for 2 staff members and a practical toolkit to help you achieve compliance.
These include a GDPR Readiness Questionnaire, a GAP Analysis Action Plan, a Data Protection Questionnaire and Risk Assessment Template, template for dealing with Subject Access Requests and Data Breaches and all the necessary policies and procedures to be GDPR-compliant.
The GDPR pack also includes online training for two staff members. Once staff members have completed the training, a certificate can be downloaded and kept on file to demonstrate an understanding of the regulations.
Member price: €20.00
Non-members: €30.00
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Survey Results
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| Thank you to the 631 full daycare service members who completed our recent survey to share their experiences of reopening after the Christmas break.
The survey was run over two days - in advance of additional Government measures being announced on 6 January. This feedback was an invaluable source of information for our advocacy work, as we shared the information gained at our interactions with Government.
Among the key findings were:
- At that point in time, 27% of services were closed. The main reasons given for these closures were reduced demand from families (32%) and lack of staff (28%). Concerns over health & safety also featured.
- Over a third of respondents (39%) reported having to refuse parents access to childcare services. The primary reason given for this was that parents were not deemed to be essential workers (67%). Other reasons cited included reduced staff levels due to concerns over health & safety, positive test results and/or childcare issues.
- The vast majority of services (71%) were operating at levels of up to 30% capacity. Just 2% of respondents had up to 100% of children attending the service when surveyed.
- There is strong support for the sector to be given priority access to vaccines, with 80% in favour of this. Meanwhile, the introduction of free private testing for those in the sector would be welcomed by 72% of respondents.
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