Minister Zappone Welcomes Positive Response to the National Childcare Scheme

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone, has welcomed the news of the overwhelmingly positive response to the new National Childcare Scheme, the pathway to quality, affordable, accessible Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare.

A huge year for childcare in Ireland, a nationwide Communications Campaign is now underway to raise awareness and help both parents and providers to prepare for the National Childcare Scheme’s opening in October. The Scheme’s website, www.ncs.gov.ie went live on Monday 11th of March, and with over 23,000 hits so far is already proving hugely popular.

The website contains tailored information for families looking to access the Scheme and providers interested in participating, with dedicated parent and provider pages. Information leaflets, detailed booklets and a range of Frequently Asked Questions have been published and are available to download. More resources will be added in the coming weeks, including an Irish language version, instructional videos and how-to guides.

Initial analytics indicate a relatively even split in gender engagement with the website, which currently stands at 46% female to 54% male, while the age demographic is 60% 18-34 year olds.

Nationwide training sessions on the National Childcare Scheme for service providers begin on the 25th of March, and places can be booked now via the website. There are currently 185 events listed by region with more being added regularly, and over 2000 bookings have already been made.