Dear Service Provider,
The new National Childcare Scheme (NCS) programme year opens on 18 August 2025.
You will need to activate the NCS 2025/2026 funding agreement before the current year’s agreement ends on 17 August 2025. This is to ensure continued participation in the scheme, as claims on NCS CHICKs will be registered across both programme years.
The funding agreement is available on the All Programme Applications page. You can find a guide on activating an NCS funding agreement in the Help & Support section of the Early Years Hive HERE.
Please note that failure to submit this funding agreement may result in a loss of funding.
As noted in the NCS Policy Guidelines funding cannot be backdated, so please submit this application as soon as possible.
Important updates to Funding Agreement affecting late-evening, and weekend, NCS subsidies
The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) is undergoing changes to the hours of provision that are eligible for subsidies.
As per the 2025/2026 Funding Agreement, school-age childcare provided after 7pm on a working day (Monday to Friday) will no longer be eligible for NCS subsidies. Furthermore, subsidies will no longer apply to school-age childcare provided at any time during the weekend (Saturday and Sunday).
Exceptions may be granted in limited circumstances at the discretion of the Department. Service providers can contact their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) for further information. Service providers affected by this change should engage directly with their local CCC for advice and support.
Tusla Registration and NCS subsidies
Finally, as we begin the summer holidays, we wish to remind providers that it is required to provide your Tusla registration number(s) for each care type offered i.e. early learning and care and/or school age childcare.
If a child within your service is transitioning from ECCE to Junior Infants, please remember that they will not be regarded as a School-Aged child until they have commenced school.
When registering a child, there will be an automatic system check to ensure that you hold the relevant Tusla certification for the education stage of the child. You will be unable to proceed with the registration until the correct Tusla certificate is uploaded.
Regards,
The Early Years Team
The Early Years Team