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The Minister for Children has announced that the resumption of the Early Childhood Care and Education Plan will be delayed until January 11, when schools are to reopen.
Early education and child care services are considered essential under the Tier 5 restrictions set forth in the Living with Covid plan.
However, after consultations with the sector, the Minister of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, has announced that the resumption of the preschool ECCE program will be postponed until 11 January.
The plan, offered through more than 4,000 services nationwide, provides two years of state-funded preschool education for all children in the eligible age cohort, for three hours a day during the school year.
Currently, more than 100,000 children are enrolled in this program.
In a statement, the department said that “On December 31, Minister O’Gorman met with the Covid-19 Early Education and Child Care Advisory Group to discuss this matter.
“The Advisory Group representatives shared their concerns about the full resumption of early learning and child care beginning in early January. While accepting the need to maintain early learning and child care for priority groups, the Advisory Group called for that the preschool program (AEPI) align with the reopening of schools on January 11. “
The statement added that by postponing the return of these children to the preschool program, the social mix will be reduced, which will help prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the post-Christmas period.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth will continue to provide funding to providers for the preschool program during the week of January 4-8.
The minister is calling for general childcare services to reopen as planned from January 4 to provide childcare, especially to priority groups.
The department will provide guidance to services on how to prioritize demand for places in their services, if they are understaffed and cannot reopen with a full complement of staff next week.
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