To support timely payment of subsidies under the Scheme, Pobal has contacted all providers in contract to invite them to complete their programme readiness activities on the new Early Years Hive in advance of the Scheme launch.
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) encourages all providers to take this opportunity to complete these preparatory steps so that it can deliver the benefits of the new Scheme for parents and providers as quickly as possible.
Please see below an outline of the steps you need to take to be ready for NCS.
It is important that all the above steps are completed by 20 November so that you will be able to register ‘CHICKS’ from parents wishing to avail of the National Childcare Scheme.
What’s a CHICK?
Where a parent has applied online or by post to Pobal and has been awarded a subsidy, they will be given a detailed breakdown of their subsidy for the year along with a unique code, called a CHICK (Childcare Identifier Code Key). This code, along with the child’s name and date of birth, areall you will need to register a child with your service for a subsidy on the Scheme
