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Voice for Children
Would you like to get involved in a project that gives the children in your service a voice in developing a strategy for childcare services?
This is a great project for the last term and it is a way of showing that you meet the principles of both Síolta and Aistear. IPPA and Start Strong would love to hear what the children have to say and to share their opinions with policy makers. The project can be something you spend 30 minutes/ a day/ or several days working on. See the attachment or www.ippa.ie for more information and photo permission letter.
For further information
Email cbrennan@ippa.ie or ph: Carmel brennan, IPPA at 01 4630027
Press Release
ECCE scheme
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Free Pre-school year scheme.
A large percentage of providers in Meath have submitted their electronic returns They are currently being processed in the Office for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (OMYCA) A number of services with both a 50 week service and a 38 week service combined their children in one return. Rather than hold up the returns and calculation of the next round of payments, it has been decided that the payment issuing to services in this position will be based on the 38 week model should you have any questions regarding this please contact the office on 046-9073010.
Meath County Childcare Committee & AIB Better Ireland Community Arts Project
In October 2008 Meath County Childcare Committee were awarded €10,000 under the AIB Better Ireland Awards. The winning project,
"A Sense of Self", is an artist-in-residency project that is targeted towards children of a variety of ages and abilities within the North Meath area.
The documents below provide a summary of the project and a report of the launch night.
Summary of Project (File Size: 910KB)
Launch Night (File Size: 27KB)
 A Sense of Self Launch NightView Photos of the Launch Night in our gallery
ECCE Providers Update
Information update on ECCE scheme for Providers (File Size: 178KB)
Preventing the spread of Swineflu
Stay Healthy: stop the spread of infection by:
- Avoiding close contact with people who appear unwell and have fever and cough
- Always carrying tissues
- Always covering your nose and mouth with clean tissues, when coughing or sneezing
- Always disposing of used tissues into a bin immediately
- Washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water or alcohol based hand cleaners regularly
- Cleaning surfaces regularly to get rid of germs
Guidance for crèches/preschool settings in preparing for and managing Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (Swine Flu) (File Size: 52KB)
New Resources for Childminders - "Childminders Support Pack" for Voluntary Notification
The new National Guidelines for Childminders, launched in December 2006, are intended to provide guidance for good practice to assist childminders working in their own home. The guidelines promote and encourage a professional approach to providing a childminding service. They highlight four nationally recognised core areas where certain requirements should be met by childminders, namely Suitability of the person, wellbeing of the child, physical environment and health and safety.
In order to further support childminders to comply with the national guidelines Meath County Childcare Committee in conjunction with county committees from the region have developed a "Childminders Support Pack"
The support pack which contains information, sample forms and policies, checklists, advice and a step by step guide was launched by Minister for Children Mr. Brendan Smith TD in the Kilmore Hotel. In his speech the minister praised the work of the County Childcare Committees and congratulated them on the production of such a useful user friendly pack. He also praised the work of the Childminding Advisory Officers who work directly with childminders and provide a range of services for childminders. He welcomed the fact that the pack was a collaborative action between ten counties which made better use of the funding available to the childminding initiative.
To download the new Childminders Support Pack and the sample forms please follow the link above to go to the publications section of our website.
To find out more about the National Guidelines for Childminders or to avail of the Support Pack for Voluntary Notification, contact Marina Cunningham, Childminder Advisory Officer.
 Childminding Advisory Workers and Minister Smith. Minister for children Mr. Brendan Smith.Launch of New Guidelines for Childminders by Minister Lenihan
The National Guidelines for Childminders will support Childminders and parents by providing answers
to their many questions. The publication is another important step in developing standards in the
childcare sector and is aimed at Childminders who care for small groups of children of mixed ages in
the Childminder's own home.
Childminders are the preferred choice of many parents offering parents a home-from-home environment
for their children. Childminders are a crucial part of our childcare sector: they provide an estimated
70% of childcare for parents in this country, who after all are best placed to make decisions about how
to care for their children.
Mr Lenihan went on to say that childminders offer a very personalised, practical and flexible
childcare service meeting the needs of both parents and children. He said the new Guidelines, which
are aimed at Childminders who care for small groups of children of mixed ages in the Childminder's own
home, would provide support for both Childminders and parents. The National Guidelines for Childminders
set down nationally recognized core requirements and guidelines on good practice to assist Childminders
in adopting and maintaining best practice and will also help parents to understand what they should be
looking for in terms of best practice in Childminding. The Guidelines specify the categories of
Childminders that are legally obliged to notify the HSE that they are providing a childminding
service as well as giving information on how to use the Voluntary Notification system operated
through the HSE in County Meath and the benefits it provides to Childminders.
If you wish to discuss the benefits of voluntary notification, you should contact Marina Cunningham,
Childminding Advisory Officer for County Meath on 046 9073010. To view a copy of the new
Childminding regulations please follow this link:
Guidelines for Childminders (File Size: 4.8MB)
Parent's Information Officer
Meath County Childcare Committee has a new Parents officer, Maria Lynch.
Her role is to provide support and information to parents on their childcare enquiries and options assisting them in all their childcare needs. If you are looking for childcare in Meath, please do not hesitate to contact Maria. She will provide you with links to childminders in your area, list of childcare services and parent and toddler groups locally, and support your family to access suitable childcare in Meath.
You can contact Maria directly on the office on 046-9073010 or 086 6017276.
Tax Relief for Childminders
In his budget speech on 7th December 2005, Minister Cowen announced plans to introduce an income tax exemption for childminders earning less than €15,000 per annum. This support was widely welcomed by childminders throughout the country, it is hoped that the exemption will make more childcare places available
To qualify for the Childminding Tax Relief you need to meet the following criteria
- The Exemption applies only if the total income in a tax year does not exceed €15,000.
- No deductions of any kind are allowed
- You must childmind no more than three children at any one time
- The exemption must be clamed on an annual tax return (each year)
- The childminder must Voluntary Notify their County Childcare Committee
- A claim for relief under this section does not affect mortgage interest relief nor capital gains tax relief if you sell your house
- This income will not affect your entitlement to home carer tax credit.
Even if you are PAYE worker elsewhere part-time, (for example morning in Tesco) you can still claim the childminding tax relief for minding children after school.
"Thank you for Sharing the Care"
"Thank You
For Sharing the Care" greeting cards available free of charge to parents / children
The "Thank You" card is aimed at supporting the caring relationship that takes place between the childminder the child and the parent. Childminders or Home based childcare is a unique childcare service usually in the childminders own home, where children feel welcome, safe, and secure and respected in the minder's home. Childminders develop relationships with children that can last from birth to early adolescence and beyond.
The Cards entitled "Thank you for Sharing the Care" are available free of charge to all parents and children, you can get your card by contacting Meath County Childcare Committee 1 New Bridge, Athlumney Road, Navan, Co Meath 046-9073010.
Meath County Childcare Committee Conference, "Challenges to Childcare Provision in Meath" 21st April 2007 Trim Castle Hotel, Co.Meath
On Saturday 21st April Meath County Childcare Committee hosted a conference for childcare providers in County Meath. Over 100 delegates participated on the day which was officially opened by Noel Dempsey TD Minister for Communications and Natural Resources. Minister Dempsey commended the County Childcare Committee on their work and outlined some of Fianna Fail's commitments to childcare if returned to government.
The conference was titled "Challenges to Childcare Provision in Meath" and some of these were outlined by Ms Teresa Heeney the Committee's Vice Chairperson.
Speakers on the day included child psychologist Mr Cormac Russell, who talked about the challenges of caring for children and gave practical solutions as he talked about supporting children and equipping them with the skills and knowledge they required to participate in society. Inspector Pat Burke from the Garda vetting unit spoke on how the vetting process works and what it will mean for the Childcare sector. There was also information on the new Pre-School regulations and a variety of workshops for delegates to participate in. Delegates came away equipped with practical solutions for their childcare service and the steps of how to implement them.
Minister for Communications and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey being presented with a picture of Newgrange by Theresa Heeney MCCC Board member.
Minister for Communications and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey and MCCC Board members.
Top: Carol Duffy, Pearse Ferguson, Theresa Heeney.
Bottom; Fiona Healy Co-ordinator MCCC Minister Noel Dempsey and Catherine Mc Glone.
Kay Note speakers at MCCC Childcare Conference
Left to right: Inspector Pat Burke-Garda Vetting Unit, Carol Duffy- IPPA and Cormac Russell-Child Psychologist.
Group of delegates at Meath County Childcare Committee's Childcare Conference 21st April, Trim Castle hotel.
Successful Regional High/Scope Seminar on Conflict Resolution with the Older Child.
Meath, Louth and Monaghan County Childcare Committee organised a High/Scope Conference in the Nuremore Hotel in Monaghan on the 13th March 2007. The speaker was Betsy Evans author of the book "You can't come to my birthday party".
The conference gave providers, childminders and parents an opportunity to learn about, discuss and respond to important issues regarding conflict resolution in the older child.
Besty Evan's is an excellent facilitator. She models what she teaches with an easygoing sense of humour.
The seminar discussed the topic of Conflict Resolution in the older child. Betsy Evans spoke on practical solutions to help the child to work through their conflicts and develop the skills and solutions to solve their own conflicts. She spoke about the role of the parent, childminder and provider in assisting the child to resolve their own conflicts and develop the life skills of mediation and facilitation.
Betsy Evan's presentation for the seminar was very good with the use of a good mixture of video footage, group work and questions from the floor.
There was a great attendance for the conference. The overall response from the conference was that day was very enjoyable and provided people with useful information that they felt would be easy to implement and assist them in their everyday activities. The conference was very practical and there were plenty of opportunities for questions and answers.
Thank You
Meath County Childcare Committee Board members and staff would like to thank you, the childcare providers of Meath for taking the time in assisting us with our recent telephone survey, the results will be used to give a clear picture of the current childcare provision in Meath.
It is proposed by the Office of the Minster of Children that this survey will become an annual event.
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