EYES Update 10 June 2020

Despite COVID-19 (coronavirus), Early Childhood Ireland’s Early Years Employer Service (EYES) is here to support you and can be contacted Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, by phone on (01) 405 7103 or by email on eyes@earlychildhoodireland.ie. The EYES team is here to help with a range of issues related to the running of an early years and school aged service, including your questions on COVID-19 (coronavirus). If you can’t get us, please leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will call you back when they are available. 

Department of Children and Youth Affairs Guidance Page for Reopening

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs have helpfully put together a central page, or “one stop shop”, collating the necessary guidance and advice for the sector during the reopening process starting on 29 June. You can find these resources on the First 5 website. This page will be updated regularly as more information and guidance becomes available.

Tusla Guidance for Reopening

Along with guidance on reopening from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, Tusla have also published a number of guidance documents meant to support providers through the reopening process. This guidance can also be found on the First 5 website, and in particular the Guidance Document for Early Years Services: Covid-19 can be found here.

Return to Work Safely Protocol

To assist services in reopening safely, Early Childhood Ireland has adapted the government’s Reopening Safely Protocol into a template specifically for Early Years and School Aged Childcare services. This template guide offers practical advice on reopening, along Return To Work Forms for staff and children as well as checklists that should be completed when reopening your service. You can find this guide here.

Reopening HR Frequently Asked Questions

In addition to the Return to Work Safely Protocol, Early Childhood Ireland has compiled an FAQ based on relevant HR considerations and questions regarding the return of staff to the workplace. This FAQ covers contractual considerations, the WSCS, annual leave and other questions you may have regarding reopening. This FAQ is hosted on the First 5 site and can be found here.

As always, if there are any questions not covered in this FAQ, please get in touch with the EYES team.

Do you have a question for the Early Years Employer Service team?

Please submit your question below and see it featured in upcoming EYES updates in Early Times Weekly.

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