Frances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children & Youth Affairs, today launched a ‘Learner Fund’ totalling €3 million over two years to support staff in early years services who need to up-skill to meet new qualification requirements.
Minister Fitzgerald stated: “Increasing staff qualification requirements is a key objective of my 8 point agenda to improve quality standards in early years and childcare services. International evidence tells us that raising the qualification levels of staff working with children is key to improving the quality of services.”
The Minister added: “I am pleased to have secured funding of €3 million over 2 years, and I know that it will benefit many childcare workers and will help us to build quality services and improve the outcomes for children.”
The ‘Learner Fund’, which will be administered by Pobal with the help of local City and County Childcare Committees, will provide funding for a two-year period specifically to assist existing childcare staff working directly with children in registered early years services to meet new qualification requirements.
The fund will be used to subsidise the cost for eligible learners to undertake accredited Level 5 and Level 6 Fetac courses provided by certain approved training providers. Training courses subsidised under this fund are expected to commence in September 2014.
As part of the pre-school quality agenda, the Minister last year announced that by September 2015 all staff working with children in early years services would have to have a minimum Level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework qualification in early years care and education, or an equivalent qualification.
In addition, by September 2015, Preschool Leaders delivering the free Pre-School Year programme will have to have a minimum Level 6 qualification, or equivalent.
The Minister said that "the fund I am launching today will help support staff who will have to meet those requirements.”
Individual applicants can submit an online application for a subsidised training course under the ‘Learner Fund’. To be eligible, they must be currently working directly with children in a registered early years service and meet the criteria for the ‘Learner Fund’ which will be set out in the application process.
Full details of the eligibility criteria and how to apply are available on the Pobal website.
Ends…/
Background for Editors:
Training Providers
Training Providers interested in delivering some of this training anywhere in the country may submit an online ‘Expression of Interest’ (EOI) through a link on Pobal’s website during the next 3 weeks.
To be eligible, Training Providers will need to meet a number of criteria including being QQI registered with validated programmes of learning. The EOI process is expected to be completed by the end of May 2014 when an approved panel of training providers will be created for the ‘Learner Fund’.
Learner Applicants
Individual applicants can submit an online application for a subsidised training course under the ‘Learner Fund’. To be eligible, they must be currently working directly with children in a registered early years service and meet the criteria for the ‘Learner Fund’ which will be set out in the application process. A link to this form will be accessible through County Childcare Committee websites and the Pobal website. Application forms will be accepted for the next four weeks. The ‘Learner Fund’ is limited and it is expected that applications will be considered on a “first-come” basis. Confirmation of the outcome of applications is expected to have completed in June 2014.
Exemptions
There are some people who have been working with children for many years and who wish to be exempted from the new qualification requirements. As the purpose of upskilling is to boost quality in the best interests of children, it is only possible to do this in a very limited way. The Minister has agreed to waive the minimum Level 5 requirement for a small number of staff who will be leaving the sector within the next 7 years. Individuals who expect to retire between September 2015 and September 2022 will not be required to meet the new qualification levels. Arrangements will be put in place later in the year for those staff to register their intention and to receive an exemption. Full information on this process will be available in May.
Qualifications that are not on the National Qualifications Framework.
Many staff working in the sector have older qualifications that were awarded in before the development of the National Qualifications Framework. The Minister indicated that where an existing qualification has previously been accepted by DCYA as meeting a Level 5 or Level 6 requirement it will be recognized as meeting the specified level for the purposes of the new qualification requirement. Anyone who is not sure of the level of their qualification should in the first instance contact the institution that awarded the qualifications. In addition, a special mailbox, quals@dcya.gov.ie has been set up so that queries can be dealt with. Information is available on the dcya website.