The ECCE scheme explained: free preschool in Ireland, in plain English

ECCE stands for Early Childhood Care and Education. It is a State-funded programme that gives children a free preschool place in a participating early years setting during the normal preschool year, from September to June.

The scheme is administered by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and settings register children through the Early Years Hive. Parents do not pay a fee for the ECCE hours themselves, although a setting may charge separately for extra hours or optional extras beyond the scheme.

ECCE is separate from the National Childcare Scheme (NCS), which subsidises wider childcare costs. Many families use both: ECCE for the preschool hours, NCS for the hours around them.

Children must have reached the minimum age set for the relevant programme year to start, and must be under the upper age limit at the end of it. Because the eligibility dates shift slightly year to year, check the current age rules on gov.ie or with your setting before you plan.

The standard ECCE offer is three hours a day, five days a week, over 38 weeks of the preschool year. Most eligible children can take up two programme years.

You apply through the preschool, not to the Department directly. You will normally need your child's PPS number and date of birth, and you will be asked to consent to the setting registering the place.

Every registered service is inspected by Tusla, and many are also inspected by the Department for education quality. That gives you a floor. What it doesn't tell you is whether this room suits your child.

On a visit, watch the adults rather than the displays. Do they get down to child height? Do they wait before jumping in? Is there time for children to finish what they started, or is the day sliced into constant transitions?

Ask how they plan. A setting working with Aistear, Ireland's early childhood curriculum framework, should be able to tell you what the children are interested in right now and how the room has changed because of it.

Separation is not a sign that something has gone wrong. It is a sign that your relationship matters. Short, honest goodbyes work better than long ones, and disappearing while your child is distracted almost always backfires.

Tell your child the truth in small pieces: who will be there, what happens first, and when you will come back — 'after snack and outside time' means far more than 'at half twelve'.

Expect a wobble two or three weeks in, when the newness wears off. It usually passes with consistency rather than change.

Our sessions for parents cover transitions, big feelings and how to read what your child's behaviour is telling you in the first term of preschool — all in one hour, with a booklet to keep.

If you work in a setting, the educator sessions cover curriculum planning through emergent interests and supporting children's mental health, both mapped to Aistear's themes.