SCHEMES
MiniMinds operates the following government schemes.
NCS
The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help with your childcare costs. MiniMinds will offset any awards granted to help lower the cost of childcare for parents. There are two types of childcare subsidy for children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years of age:
A universal subsidy which is not means tested
An income-assessed subsidy which is means tested
You can apply online for the subsidy here using your MyGovID. See the Application Guide for assistance on how to apply.
To make a paper application, please contact the NCS Parent Support Centre on 01 906 8530. The Parent Support Centre will then send you an application form by post.
Your childcare provider, including childminders and school-age childcare services, must be registered with Tusla and have a National Childcare Scheme contract with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
The subsidy will be paid directly to your childcare provider. Your provider then will subtract your subsidy from your childcare bill.
You can use the Childcare Search Function to search the full list of NCS childcare service providers. You can also view the services’ fees for both NCS and ECCE on this page.
ECCE – Free Preschool
MiniMinds operates the ECCE scheme 38 weeks a year in line with local schools. MiniMinds ECCE session runs from 9:00am to 12:00pm Monday to Friday. Children who need additional hours can also use the NCS scheme for these hours.
The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme provides early childhood care and education for children of pre-school age. Children can start ECCE when they are 2 years and 8 months of age and continue until they transfer to primary school (provided that they are not older than 5 years and 6 months at the end of the pre-school year) - see rules.
The State pays participating playschools and day-care services a set amount per child to offer the ECCE service. In return, participating centres and playschools provide a pre-school service free of charge to all children within the qualifying age range. The service is for a set number of hours over a set period of weeks (see ‘How the ECCE scheme is provided’ below).
ECCE is not affected by the introduction of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS). You may get financial support from the NCS towards the cost of childcare for the hours spent outside of pre-school. You can read more on ncs.gov.ie.
AIM – Access and Inclusion Model
MiniMinds works closely with Better Start to implement AIM supports into our service. If your child is struggling to adapt to the ECCE environment sometimes, they may need a little extra support. Children do not need a diagnosis to receive AIM support, this is not a 1-1 model of care like SNA’s in primary schools.
AIM level 7 support provides additional funding to pre-schools who have a child requiring extra support. Providers can use this funding either to reduce the child-to-adult ratio in the pre-school room or to fund an extra staff member as a shared resource with other children in the ECCE setting. This is all centred on supporting the pre-school leader to ensure your child’s optimal participation. A simple reduction in the staff to child ratio can have hugely positive outcomes for children with disabilities as well as for the entire pre-school room. For more information read: Additional Assistance Information (PDF).
WE TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR CHILD!
We treat every child as our own, dedicating ourselves wholeheartedly to their success.