Information on the new arrangements and their operational impact for service providers from 1 February to 5 March 2021

Below you will find information and resources to assist you with the new arrangements for services in affect as of 1st February 2021.

New funding arrangements

The new funding available to services from today was announced and can be viewed in the DCEDIY’s press release from Wednesday, 27th January, available here.

Further breakdown of on the funding arrangements and conditions are available in the latest DCEDIY Provider FAQ, published on Friday, 29th January. See page 8-11 for the funding available based on different provider scenarios. Note this is version 2 of the FAQ.

Programme payments

A list of payments made for the week of 29th January were listed in this announcement posted on PIP and Hive on Thursday, 28th January.

Services that have a declined Force Majeure application and/or services who have been contacted by Pobal to submit a Force Majeure application/additional information, and have not yet submitted it,  will have had their Funding Agreement placed on hold and will not have received a payment last week.

Covid-19 Operating Support Payment (COSP)

In addition to the other supports available outlined in the FAQ, the Covid-19 Operating Support Payment (COSP) is intended to support services that are very reliant on parental fees to remain sustainable during the period of high level restrictions, while meeting the condition of not charging fees for families whose children are not attending the service.

The payment seeks to enable services to support parents by not charging fees for children who are not attending, regardless of whether non-attendance is because their parents are not essential workers or because their parents have chosen not to use ELC and SAC services at this time.

A notification has been issued to the PAU of all eligible services on the Early Years Hive. To view this on the Notifications page, expand the yellow arrow and select Open. Eligibility for COSP is determined based on a calculation designed to identify the services most reliant on parental fees. Please see question 12 of the Provider FAQ for information on eligibility and the calculation that was applied.

An application form is expected to be made available by 12 February which will enable providers formally agree to the terms and conditions.

You can see how COSP is calculated, an example and the conditions for payment here and for more information, see questions 11, 12, 13 of the Provider FAQ.

Key administrative points for the operation of programmes

ECCE-only services

ECCE-only services are to remain closed until 5th March, 2021. ECCE only services’ include services which provide ECCE with no more than 30 minutes of additional of childcare paid for by parents.

Open services / services closed with approved Force Majeure or HSE directed

NCS

• Weekly attendance returns to be submitted as normal based on child attendance. In cases where a child cannot attend (due to current restrictions), weekly attendance records should be based on the week ending Sunday, 20 December 2020.
• Children in attendance should be recorded accordingly on the weekly attendance return on the Hive.
• Non-term weeks/hours (children receiving NCS and ECCE/school going children) can be used, where eligible, for children of essential workers and vulnerable children.  For further information on adding non-term hours please see Adding Non Term Hours Quick Guide
• New applications for NCS remain open

CCSP/TEC Saver Programmes

• The Savers Management Window will remain open until the end of the 2020-21 programme year to allow providers to make any necessary amendments to registrations on CCSP/TEC 2020-2.

Help and support

Providers can continue to contact the Early Years Provider Centre for queries relating to programme funding. However, we ask that you contact your CCC in the first instance regarding Covid-19 and service closures.