Prior to the 20 Free ECE hours begining, the Staff at Bizzy Buddyz attended work shops and web conferences to learn about Free ECE for our 3 and 4 year olds.
It was decided that Bizzy Buddyz would be able to offer this service to our families.
What are the facts?
This is what we know about the 20 Hours Free ECE:
- Free ECE commenced on 1st July 2007
- The Government will fund 20 Hours free ECE for all three and four-year-olds that attend an eligible Early Learning Centre from 1st July 2007.
- It is available to all three and four year olds attending a teacher-led licensed or chartered ECE service such as Bizzy Buddyz Home Based Care. However ECE services do not have to enter into the Free ECE scheme.
- All teacher-led licensed ECE centers and chartered homebased care services will be eligible to offer free ECE from 1st July, 2007. Bizzy Buddyz is a chartered homebased care service and is therefore eligible to offer free ECE.
- Each three and four year old is eligible for up to 20 Hours Free ECE per week in total. This includes all of the ECE services the child may attend, such as Preschool and Kindergarten. Parents can choose how they allocate their 20 hours free. For example a child attending three afternoon sessions at Kindergarten may allocate 9 Hours to Kindergarten and 11 Hours to Preschool.
- Each three and four year old is eligible for up to 6 Hours Free ECE per day in total. The
Kindergarten child may use 3 hours for their Kindergarten session leaving 3 hours that can be used at Preschool that same day. - Any centre that offers free ECE cannot ask parents to pay a compulsory charge for any of the 20 free hours that their child attends. Parents, however, can be asked to make a voluntary contribution. Parents can also be asked to pay optional charges for any services provided over and above the minimum required by the Early Childhood Regulations. An example of this would be providing lunches. Bizzy Buddyz will not ask parents to pay an optional charge.
- No compulsory fees can be charged for any free hours that a child attends an ECE service.
After much consideration Bizzy Buddyz decided to offer Free ECE to its families. Just ask for an attestation form and you can begin to use your 20 Hours Free ECE.
