The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has introduced a new childcare support scheme, the Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) scheme. The CETS scheme will support the childcare needs of participants in training and educational courses operated by FÁS and Vocational Education Committees (VECs).

The scheme is open to applications from:

·               childcare services which provide full daycare and / or afterschool care for children attending primary school, and

·               except where a service is solely engaged in the provision of afterschool care for children attending primary school, childcare services

        which are participants in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme and / or the Community Childcare Subvention
        Scheme (CCSS).

Services will be paid a capitation fee for each childcare place it is contracted for with this Office. Contracted childcare places must be made available for free to FÁS and VEC trainees who are eligible for free childcare support under the scheme. This Office will pay participating services for the agreed number and type of free childcare places and will advise FÁS and the VECs of where these are located. Local FÁS and VEC officers will then advise qualifying trainees of the location of free childcare places.

 

To read about the guidelines for CETS 2011/12, click here.