Press release
AIM programme wins global award for innovative policy
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) has won a global award for innovative policy at this year’s Zero Project Awards, in recognition of the programme’s significant contribution to the inclusion of children with disabilities. The Zero Project focuses on the rights of persons with disabilities globally. AIM was one of 11 innovative policies selected from 465 policy submissions from around the globe.
AIM supports children with disabilities to access and fully participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) universal free pre-school programme. The programme of supports responds to the needs of the child and to the needs of the pre-school setting the child is participating in. AIM was launched in June 2016, with the first supports rolled out in time for the 2016/2017 pre-school year.
Since the launch of the scheme, over 12,100 children in over 3,300 services nationally have benefited directly from targeted supports. In addition, tens of thousands more children have benefited from the universal supports and inclusive culture that AIM has helped to foster within preschool services. In an independent review carried out in the second year of AIM’s operation, 78% of parents reported their child had benefited, and 76% of services said that AIM had made the culture at their preschool more inclusive.
AIM is a multi-agency initiative led by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and its innovation and success owes much to the active collaboration of many partner organisations. It brings together the Departments of Children and Youth Affairs, Health, and Education and Skills, along with Pobal, Childcare Committees Ireland, Early Childhood Ireland, the HSE, the NCSE, the NDA, Tusla and other agencies.
For more information on AIM, please visit www.aim.gov.ie.
ENDS
About AIM
The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) programme was launched in June 2016 by Minister Katherine Zappone. It provides essential supports to both children and their pre-schools to ensure all children can meaningfully participate in the ECCE free pre-school programme in a mainstream setting. Based on an ethos of inclusion of all children, its primary focus is the full participation of children with disabilities in the programme. AIM supports benefit not only children with disabilities but all children participating in the early learning and care service.
The supports available through AIM range from universal (sectoral support) to targeted (child focused) supports, and these are responsive to the needs of both the child and the early learning and care service. After three years in operation, it has already had a large impact on the lives of children and the quality of pre-school provision with over 12,100 children in over 3,300 services nationally, directly benefiting from targeted supports since the programme’s introduction in 2016.
The budget for the AIM programme was increased under Budget 2020, from €33 million to €43 million per year. This additional funding will go towards enabling up to 1,000 more children to benefit directly from targeted supports, as well as to strengthen universal supports through increasing the proportion of preschool services with an Inclusion Coordinator.
About the Zero Project Awards
The Zero Project focuses on the rights of persons with disabilities globally. It is a platform where the most innovative and effective solutions to problems that persons with disabilities face, are shared. Its mission is to support the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and to work for a world without barriers.
The annual Zero Project Report presents the Policies and Practices that have been selected as the most innovative in their approach to that year’s theme. It also evaluates how the UNCRPD is being implemented around the world.
Each year, the Zero Project finds and shares innovative practices and policies that help improve the lives of persons with disabilities through the Zero Project Awards. The chosen theme for the 2020 awards, for which AIM has won an award for innovative policy, is Education. The award was presented at the Zero Project’s annual conference at the UN in Vienna.