Please find attached invitations in English and Irish, QR codes to send to parents on Whatsapp and a  poster for your service.

The Department would be delighted if you could share My Little Library with Families.

Kind regards,

Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare Division

Thank you to all who attended our recent Programme Readiness 2026 training sessions.

For those who may have missed the training sessions, you can watch the recorded webinar and view the training slides and a document with answers to the questions asked on the sessions using the links below:

• Programme Readiness 2026 webinar
• Programme Readiness 2026 training slides
• Programme Readiness 2026 Question & Answer document version 1.0

These resources are available on the Recorded training webinars page of the Early Years Hive.

Regards,
The Early Years Team

We wish to advise that the Transfer of Ownership process for the 2025 programme call remains open.

All services with AIM Level 5 equipment supporting children who are expected to complete their ECCE eligibility at the end of the 2025 programme year are strongly encouraged to initiate and complete the transfer of ownership process as soon as possible.

As per the AIM rules, section 7.20

“ELC services and parent(s)/legal guardian(s) must engage with Pobal in relation to the transfer of ownership of equipment (including returning signed transfer of ownership forms, as appropriate)”.

Please note the following important requirement:

• Equipment provided under AIM Level 5 must not be removed from the pre-school setting until the transfer of ownership process has been fully completed.

If you require further information or support, please submit a request through the Early Years Hive using the following categories:

• Programme: AIM Level 5
• Request Type: Equipment
• Request Type Detail: Transfer of Ownership

We appreciate your cooperation in ensuring compliance with the AIM guidelines and in supporting a smooth transition for all involved.

Regards,
The Early Years Team

The Parent and Toddler Group grants support weekly meet-ups for hundreds of parents, guardians, grandparents, childminders, and young children across the country.

In 2024, almost 400 parent and toddler groups received grants worth €912 on average to support their work.

The independent review of the Parent and Toddler Group Initiative found that it delivers important social and parenting support for many families and represents significant value for money.

Minister Foley said:

“I am pleased to be able to support the valuable work of the Parent and Toddler groups. It is heartening to read in this report about parents and children alike making new friends through the groups and learning from each other. The groups have a welcoming, relaxed, friendly, warm, and inclusive atmosphere.”

Some of the feedback gathered from parents as part of the review was as follows:

“I enjoy chatting with the parents. It helps me know I am not by myself, and if you are going through hard times.” [Mother]

“You hear what other parents have gone through with teething or other things, and other parents tell you that will pass and you come back the next week and say ‘you were right’!” [Father]

“I think the buggy walking group helps people post-birth navigate that window getting out actually and getting fresh air exercise. You know, it’s all those things that kind of help lift your mood like as well.” [Mother]

“It gives you a better sense of community, and it would give you the confidence to pop into the town and the local library and you might bump into people you know from here (group).” [Father]

“I go to all the groups around with my grandson. I mind him three days a week and it is good to have something on in the morning and then you just have the afternoon. He likes playing with the other kids.” [Grandmother and childminder]

“Maybe slightly later down the line, but we did get a social outlet from it as well. How many times did we meet up on a Saturday? Do you remember those meetups we would do coffees we used to go to each other’s houses and the kids.” [Mother]

The review was undertaken by Sandra Roe Research on behalf of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. It examined the operation and impact of the grant initiative based on face-to-face consultations with members of parent and toddler groups, national data and surveys.

The review highlighted the important role that parent and toddler groups play in strengthening community connections and integration, offering an accessible, low-cost support at a time when parents and caregivers can feel quite isolated.

It stated:

“Overall, the Parent and Toddler Group Grants Initiative represents very good value for money, is meeting the objectives of the scheme as well as the social and parenting support needs of parents and children and is an important infrastructure and support systems for many families in their community.”

While there were generally more mothers than fathers attending groups, the review heard that fathers felt welcome and comfortable attending groups with their young children. They stated that improved paternity leave for fathers had helped facilitate them to attend groups.

Alongside these benefits, the review identified a number of challenges faced by parent and toddler groups, including rising rent and insurance costs, administrative demands and finding volunteers to support the operation of the groups.

Minister Foley said:

“The findings of this review underscore the importance of Parent and Toddler Groups in creating a sense of connection for people with their community. These groups have developed friendships between the parents and guardians, and provided a range of activities for children, including arts and crafts, story time, music and singing. There are valuable recommendations in this review which give us an opportunity to further strengthen the supports for Parent and Toddler groups.”

Full details on the review of the Parent and Toddler Group Grants Initiative can be found online here.

Practising professionals from the Early Learning and Care (ELC), School‑Age Childcare (SAC) and Childminding sectors are reminded to complete the national CPD mapping survey commissioned by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE).

The survey explores current CPD opportunities, access and engagement across the sector and will help shape future CPD planning.

🗓 Survey closing date: 8 June 2026
🔗 Survey link:  DCDE CPD Mapping Exercise – Educators Survey

We encourage all eligible professionals to participate and share their experiences.

There are still places available within the focus group sessions for all educators, practitioners and childminders, please contact Robert O’Connell @ robert.oconnell@crowe.ie directly if you are interested in availing of the focus group.

Kind regards,

Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare Division

The first stage of Programme Readiness for ECCE, NCS and the CCSP Saver Programme 2026/2027 is now available for services to complete on the Early Years Hive.

Please note, Core Funding 2026/2027 will be available soon. Further details will be posted on the Early Years Hive.

Activating Funding Agreements

Before you can activate a funding agreement, your service must ensure that the following information is up to date for 2026/2027:

• Organisation details
• Service Provider details
• Primary Authorised User (PAU)
• Portal users
• Bank account
• Tusla registration
• Minimum numbers (ECCE only)

Also, that you have submitted the following:

• 2026/2027 Fee Table
• 2026/2027 Service Calendar (per programme)

Once these steps are completed, the Primary Authorised User (PAU) of your service can activate a funding agreement on the All Programme Applications page of the Early Years Hive.

You must also update your Parent Statement for the 2026/2027 programme year, but this step can be completed either before or after you activate a funding agreement.

Fee Table/ Parent Statement and Service Calendar for 2026/2027

You will need to submit your Fee Table and Service Calendar(s) for 2026/2027 before activating a funding agreement for ECCE, NCS, or the CCSP Saver Programme.

• Information on creating your Fee Table and your Parent Statement is available here.
• Information on creating your Service Calendar for 2026/2027 is available here.

Guidance 

• Copies of the 2026/2027 funding agreements and programme rules for ECCE, NCS and CCSP Saver Programme can be found under the relevant programme heading on the Programme Documents page.
• Guidance on completing programme readiness steps and activating a funding agreement for ECCE, NCS and CCSP Saver Programme can be found under the relevant programme heading on the Help and support page.

Supports

A recording of one of the training webinars and the PowerPoint slides are available here.

The questions from the webinars are currently being reviewed and, on completion, a Q&A document will be added to the Early Years Hive.

Checklists: Programme Readiness checklists for each programme can be found by clicking the links below:

• ECCE Checklist
• CCSP Checklist
• NCS Checklist

Help and support: If you have any questions about programme readiness, contact the Early Years Provider Centre (EYPC). Simply raise a Request on the Early Years Hive by selecting the relevant programme and request type from the dropdown menu.

Regards,
The Early Years Team

This announcement provides further information regarding the AIM application process for the 2026/2027 programme call.

AIM Level 4 and Level 5 applications opened on 06 May 2026. All applications should continue to be submitted in line with existing application processes.

AIM Level 4:

As outlined in previous communications, as part of the AIM Level 7 redesign, the level of support allocated to a child is now determined following the submission of their AIM Level 4 application and the subsequent review of the child’s needs by Better Start. It is therefore important that an AIM Level 4 application is submitted as early as possible for any child intending to access AIM Level 7 supports for the 2026/2027 programme call. Please note, preliminary decisions on the level of support determined at the AIM Level 4 application stage will be issued from early July.

It is equally important that all information provided within the AIM Level 4 application is accurate, as this directly informs the level of support awarded. In addition, please ensure that the AIM application acknowledgement form is completed correctly to avoid any delays in processing. The AIM application acknowledgement form can be found here. Where an AIM Level 4 application has been referred back to you for further information or clarification, please update and resubmit it promptly to ensure processing can continue without delay.

As previously advised, where a child has an existing AIM Level 7 application under the 2025/2026 programme call and remains eligible for an additional year of support, no action is required at this time. Service providers are asked not to withdraw these applications in advance of the 2026/2027 programme call and can expect preliminary decisions to be issued from early July.

Summer Period:

As we enter the summer months, we would like to remind service providers to submit all AIM Level 7 Non-term applications at the earliest opportunity for the current programme call.

Contact Us   

If you have any queries regarding the AIM programme, please contact the Early Years Provider Centre (EYPC) by raising a request on Hive using the following categories:

• Programme: Select the relevant AIM level
• Request Type: Application
• Request Type Detail: How To

Regards,
The Early Years Team