Resumption of DCEDIY compliance checks on the ECCE programme from 19 April

Further to the communication issued on 15 February 2021, when the DCEDIY announced that compliance checks would resume on a staggered basis, Pobal will now commence compliance checks on the ECCE programme from 19 April.

The ECCE compliance checks will be carried out remotely (desk-based) and in full compliance with public health advice. The ECCE checks will also contain checks on AIM funding. Services who are selected for ECCE compliance checks will be required to submit relevant documents to Pobal, who will then review them. This may involve additional correspondence where clarifications are sought.

Resumption of compliance on other DCEDIY funded schemes, including NCS, is expected to follow in the coming weeks and advance notice will be given.

Correspondence in relation to previous compliance checks, notably CCSP compliance checks which commenced in late 2020, will resume to allow completion of current compliance checks.

If your service is selected for compliance checks and you are experiencing difficulties in responding to Pobal’s compliance requests, we would urge you to contact Pobal at cvisit@pobal.ie for assistance, as soon as possible. Pobal, when contacted, can discuss possible options to help ease the administrative burden associated with compliance checks.

Department of Education (DE) arrangements for the inspection of ELC settings for April – June 2021

The DE Inspectorate has released a circular which provides information regarding the inspection, research and evaluation engagement with ELC settings until June 2021. It also provides an update to the DE’s previous circular issued to the ELC sector in June 2020.

Further, the circular details plans for the extension of DE education-focused inspections to 0-3 year olds. The Inspectorate at DE is currently working on the development of the 0-6 education-focused inspection model in line with the commitment in First 5 and this development work will continue in a sample of ELC settings in the period from 12 April 2021.

The DCEDIY looks forward to your cooperation with the above.