In 2025, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE) will open the Learner Fund Graduate Bursary to Early Learning and Care (ELC) educators who graduated in 2024 or 2025 from a Qualification Advisory Board approved course in Early Childhood Education and Care at level 7 or level 8 only.
Local City/County Childcare Committees (CCC) will process Learner Fund Graduate Bursary applications, before appraisal from DCDE.
Particular attention is drawn to the Rules below, which align the Learner Fund eligibility and selection criteria in line with those of the Nurturing Skills Learner Fund and ensures equity in assessment of application in both schemes.
Application Rules
-
- The scheme applies to those Early Years Educators who have completed a Qualifications
Advisory Board (QAB) approved ELC course at Level 7 or 8 qualification only. - Applicants must have graduated in 2024 or 2025 only.
- Applicants must, attime of application, be working in a Tusla registered Early Learning C Care
Service. Staff working in standalone School Age Childcare services are not eligible to apply. - The bursary amount will be €1,000.
- The qualification must be completed in full. The bursary will not be paid in respect of partially
completed awards. - The qualification for which the bursary is paid must be that which qualifies the person to work
in the Early Learning and Care sector and is at level 7 or level 8 and is on the QAB List of
approved courses. The list of QAB approved courses can be viewed atthe attached link list-ofapproved-programmes-for-adherence-to-the-professional-award-criteria-and-guide.pdf - Applicants may only apply once and cannot be granted the Learner Fund Bursary for a second
time ifthey have already received it before. - The applicant cannot have received any public funding in support oftheir completing the
award relating to this application. - Applicants may apply with a full transcript ofthe completed degree in lieu of a graduating
certificate. A full transcript can be obtained from the educational institution where you studied
and must show clearly that the student has been awarded the full degree. - Applicants must provide a Copy of Fees Statement from their Higher Education Institution
for the final year of study. - Applicants should apply with the name used in the certificate ortranscript.
- Photographic identification must be provided along with any supporting documents.
- Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.
- DCDE Decision is final and cannot be appealed.
- If demand for Learner Fund Graduate Bursary funding exceeds the available funding for
2025,then the selection of Applicants will be based on the following criteria in the following
prioritisation order (with I being the highestlevel of priority and IV being the lowestlevel of
priority):
I. the number of graduates in the applicant’s service, with priority for applicants from
services with no graduates
II. Equal Start Priority Index, with priority for applicants from services supporting the most
disadvantaged children (i.e. index 1 = first 9% of most disadvantaged services, 2 =
second 9% of most disadvantages service and then all remaining services),
III. the applicantis in a core funded partner service.
IV. if, after the above prioritisation has been applied and has not been decisive, random
selection will be applied.
- The scheme applies to those Early Years Educators who have completed a Qualifications
In the event of oversubscription DCDE will apply the above selection criteria.
Timeline for applications:
Applications will open on Monday 15th September and close at 5pm on Friday 17th October 2025