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Pobal Compliance Visits

Pobal is contracted, on behalf of the Department of Children, Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) to conduct compliance visits with each participating childcare service who operates one or more of the Childcare Funding Programmes: 

Compliance visits will involve checks on records held on site in respect of the following Early Years programmes: 

  • National Childcare Scheme (NCS) (checks likely to commence in 2021)
  • Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme
  • Training and Employment Childcare (TEC) Saver programmes
  • Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP) Saver programme
  • Community Childcare Subvention Universal (CCSU) Subsidy
  • Community Childcare Subvention Resettlement (CCSR) programme

The purpose of the Compliance Visit is to verify that:

  • The children who have been registered with the DCEDIY under one of the Childcare Funding Programmes are actually enrolled in and attending the service. 
  • The service is implementing the correct Fee Payment Policy. 
  • The Fee Payment Policy, Parent Letters (where applicable) and Calendars (where applicable) are displayed in the service and that a copy signed by the parent/guardian of each child is on file. 
  • records are maintained of optional extra charges, deposits, voluntary donation and/or fees for additional hours and in accordance with the Fee Payment Policy of the service.
  • The service can show the qualifications of all staff working directly with children.

Since the 2016/17 cycle, there have been some revisions to the Compliance function, which may have implications for services i.e.

  • Service outcomes are not categorised as one of four categories: Compliant, Minor Non-Compliant, Moderate non-compliant, or Major Non-Compliant. Services will still be required to sign-off on the compliance findings on the day of the visit with format categorisation notification forwarded in due course to the designated primary contact e-mail address on the PIP system.
  • Attendance records must now contain the following information: Child’s name; Date of attendance; Arrival time; Departure time. 
  • If a service receives a major non-compliant outcome, they can be subject to a 2nd visit with a view to establishing if the issue identified has been rectified. 

For more information on Pobal Compliance visits Pobal’s website

Pobal website

The website includes:

  • ECCE, CCSP and TEC Compliance Forms
  • An Overview of the Compliance Process
  • Frequently Asked Questions including what a Pobal Officer will look for when conducting compliance visits. 
  • A Compliance Checklist  

Please note: Temporary changes to administrative procedures from Funding Package for ELC & SAD Aug 24-Dec 31 2020

In response to COVID-19, the DCEDIY has introduced, on a temporary basis, added flexibility on attendance rules due to the likelihood in greater variability in patterns of usage (see below). This will assist providers to maximize income and reduce costs,

  • That NCS will allow for 2 hours variation in attendance against registration per week without triggering a report. This is not 2 extra hours per week in terms of registrations, it is a fluctuation against normal attendance patterns which is exceptional to the current environment. This means that as soon as they deem the emergency measure to no longer be required, providers will revert to actual attendance levels.
  •  Nor non NCS: A 30 minute variance tolerance per day per child e.g. If the child is being picked up at 4 hours 45 minutes attendance, this will enable the crèche retain the full-time rate. The purpose of this is to facilitate staggered drop-ins/pick-ups necessary to avoid clustering of parents/children at those times. This is expected to apply to non-ECCE services only.

Both these measures are exceptional and will last until end 2020. This situation would be reviewed at that time Record Keeping, attendance tracking reporting arrangements and compliance facilitation remains in place for the duration. 

DESK BASED CHECKS Announcement

PIP ANNOUNCEMENT 12TH November 2020/2021 Compliance Announcement - Desk based checks

On the direction of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) formerly DCYA, the Pobal Compliance team are commencing compliance activity on programme funding currently administered to Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) services.

Compliance checks will be undertaken in respect of some or all of the following Programmes i.e.

  • Community Childcare Subvention Plus Savers (CCSP including CCSU & CCSR)
  • Training and Employment Childcare Savers (TEC)
  • Free Pre-school Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme
  • For the 2020/2021 cycle, the ECCE programme is administered on the Hive on the Early Years Platform (EYP). The CCSP/CCSU/CCSR & TEC Saver programmes are administered through the Programme Implementation Platform (PIP). To assist in meeting compliance requirements, it is important that participating services on any of the above programmes familiarise themselves with the following:
  • Relevant programme funding agreements
  • Relevant rules documents
  • “How to Guides”
  • Quick Guides
  • Information contained in PIP announcements and resources on PIP and the Hive.

Compliance approach during COVID-19 pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the country, the compliance process has been temporarily revised to take account of the current public health situation and guidance available. As compliance activity recommences, the safety of children and ELC/SAC/Pobal staff in settings remains paramount.

Therefore, the following approach will apply to compliance activity until further notice:

  • On- site compliance visits to services will be postponed temporarily (However, Pobal reserve the right to conduct an on-site visit at its discretion, but in keeping with public health guidelines).
  • Compliance desk based checks will be undertaken by Pobal compliance staff to verify the accuracy of registrations on PIP and the Hive.
  • For each service, a sample of PIP Portal or the Hive Registration IDs will be selected for review.
  • Copies of original service attendance records will be reviewed as a priority.

Fingal County Childcare Committee

Omega House, Collinstown Cross, Swords Road, Swords, Co. Dublin, K67 X2N8
Phone: 01 4851727.      Email: info@fingalcountychildcare.ie

Company Number: 362439         Charity Number: CHY 19215

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If you have a query please contact us on 01 4851727 or info@fingalcountychildcare.ie   

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