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Recognition of an Early Years Qualification
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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Under the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services)(Amendment) Regulations 2021, all staff working directly with children in a pre-school service must hold at least a Level 5 major award in childcare on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), or equivalent as deemed by DCEDIY.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has published a list of qualifications that meet the regulatory requirements for working in the Early Years sector in Ireland.
If your qualification does not appear on the list you may apply for a letter of eligibility to practise. To be approved, your application must cover the following content:
- Child Development 0-6 years of age
- Early Childhood Education - Theory and Practice
- Child Health and Welfare 0-6 years of age
- Evidence that the qualification contains a supervised practicum/practice placement working in an early years setting setting).
- These studies must be at a minimum of Level 5 on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), or equivalent.
- A fully completed application form (below).
- A copy of the award certificate for your qualification.
- Full academic transcripts for your qualification.
- Evidence of supervised practicum as part of your studies with ages of children placement was completed with; and/or
- Evidence of professional practice. This could be a reference from an employer which must be relevant to early years with details of the ages and activities undertaken.
- DCEDIY may ask for further information or documents before making a decision
- Please clearly mark your documents with your Name and description of each attachment e.g. Application_First Name_ Surname, Certificate_First Name_Surname, Transcripts/Modules_First Name_Surname, References etc . We are dealing with a very large volume of applications and this will help in the process.
- Applications take several weeks to process and are dealt with strictly in order of receipt; DCEDIY cannot prioritise one application over another.
- Due to GDPR applications can only be accepted from the person who holds the qualification to be assessed and cannot be accepted from a third party (such as an employer or prospective employer).
- Information about the status of an application cannot be provided to a third party.
- Please sign and date the application form (unsigned forms cannot be accepted).
- Documents must be in English or Irish, any documents not originally in English or Irish must be accompanied with a certified translation to English or Irish.
- Applications without supporting documentation will not be accepted.
- DCEDIY cannot access external drives such as Google drive. Only PDF/JPEG documents can be accepted.
- DCEDIY will issue a Letter of Eligibility to Practice in respect of successful applications.
Application Form: Qualification Recognition for work in the Early Learning and Care sector in Ireland
Download
For more information on Early Years Recognised Qualifications see here.
