The well-being, health and safety of children, their families and those working in the sector is a priority. The First5 website provides guidance for parents, childminders and service providers on the reopening, operating and use of early learning and care (ELC), school-age childcare (SAC) services and childminding services.
Guidance is based on the latest public health advice available from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) in the HSE, which has been approved by the Expert Advisory Group of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). The public health advice is subject to ongoing review / updating by the HPSC. If the public health advice changes, the guidance documents on this web-page may change accordingly. Every ELC and SAC setting is different and service providers will need to use their professional judgement in determining how best to comply with the public health advice while ensuring high quality practice to support children’s well-being, learning and development.
More resources and practice examples will be added to this website over the coming weeks. You are therefore advised to check for updates.
