The National Early Years Access Initiative (NEYAI)

Project Background

The National Early Years Access Initiative (NEYAI) is a collaborative partnership between The Atlantic Philanthropies, the Mount Street Club Trustees, Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (OMCYA), the Early Years Education Policy Unit, Department of Education and Skills, and Pobal. The Initiative will fund a maximum of 13 innovative local inter-agency demonstration projects over a period of three years. Each project must focus (either directly or indirectly) on children from birth to 6 years and their families and communities living in socio-economically disadvantaged communities.

Applicants must show clearly that improving outcomes for children (and their families and communities) is central to the project and that the project is innovative, tackling social exclusion in a new or different way and the project must have the capacity to demonstrate this innovation. The secondary target population is early years settings providing services to children (six years and under) and their families in socio-economically disadvantages areas; Children’s Services Committees (CSCs), City and County Childcare Committees (CCCs), educational establishments, voluntary organisations and local communities. In addition, all applicants are encouraged to ensure Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Aistear; the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework underpin all project areas.

CES was invited to contribute by the Steering Group of the initiative in April2010.Heino Schonfeld has since represented CES on the Steering Group. He is also Chair of the Appraisal and Development Working Group. The overall role of the Appraisal and Development Working Group is to advise and support the Steering Group in relation to the conceptualisation, implementation and recommendations of the appraisal process of the Initiative.

Project Outputs

Project Outline - download

Click here to access Pobal’s website – the administrators for this project

Contact

Heino Schonfeld, Deputy Director, Centre for Effective Services (lclancy@effectiveservices.org)