Tusla

Early Years Regulations

The key pieces of legislation, including the Regulations relating to Early Years (pre-school) Services, are listed below  

Child Care Act 1991, Section 58 as amended by Part 12 of the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013 (No 40 of 2013)

This Act established the role and function of Tusla’s Early Years Inspectorate and set out the legal basis for the regulation, registration and inspection of all Early Years Services
Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 221/2016)

These regulations set out the specific requirements that Early Years (pre-school) services must legally adhere to. Inspections of services measure compliance against these regulations.
Child Care Regulations (The Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Amendments) Regulations 2016. (S.I. No. 632/2016)

This specifically clarified the employment status of people employed under the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) in Early Years Services
Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 195/2022)

This enabled a streamlined process for the renewal of registration of Early Years (pre-school) Services  and introduced a requirement for certificates of registration to be issued and displayed

To support services to comply with regulatory requirements the Early Years Inspectorate has developed some useful documents and tools.

Quality and Regulatory Framework
Quality and Regulatory Framework (QRF)

The Quality and Regulatory Framework (QRF) sets out the core regulatory requirements in a transparent way, bringing together evidence-based, national and international research and best practice in Early Years.

There are separate QRFs for Full Day, Sessional, Childminding and Drop-in Services

EYI Question and Answer Document
Question & Answer document 

The Question & Answer document was developed to designed to support compliance and improvement in the sector by supporting understanding of regulatory requirements in relation to; the registration of a new service, the inspection process, proposed changes to registration status, notification of incidents, fee payments, management of concerns & feedback and the publication of inspection reports.

There are also numerous resources designed to support services on the Early Years Provider Resources section of our website

                                   Early Years Provider Resources

To read more, please click here.

Early Years Provider Resources

          

Changes in Circumstances & Cessations

Change in Circumstance

Registered providers are required to notify the Early Years Inspectorate in writing whenever they propose to make a change to their current registration in accordance with Regulation 8 of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 (S.1. 221 of 2016) & Regulation 7 Child Care Act 1991(Early Years Services) (Registration of School Age Services) Regulations 2018.

These proposals for change are assessed by the inspectorate to ensure that the proposed changes are lawful and will not pose a risk to children.

Timeframes for change in circumstance applications are set out in  Regulation 8 of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 (S.1. 221 of 2016) and Regulation 7 of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services (Registration of School Age Services) Regulations 2018

  • At least 60 days advance notification for changes to Full day care, Part time, Sessional, Childminding, Drop-In, and Overnight services.
  • At least 60 days in advance for a school age service.
  • 7 calendar days notification for changes to a Temporary service.

Guidance on required timeframes for submitting new applications and change in circumstances requests.

Notification for proposed change in circumstances and supplementary information forms must be emailed to cic.eyi@tusla.ie

 

Notification for proposed change in circumstances

Irish Version

For school age service change in circumstance information, please go to the School Age Change in Circumstance and cessations page

Cessations

Registered providers are required to notify the Early Years Inspectorate in writing of the cessation of service not later than 28 days after the cessation of the service (This requirement does not apply to temporary services).  The closure form is required to be completed where a person ceases to carry on a preschool service.

The cessation of service form must be emailed to cic.eyi@tusla.ie.

  

Cessation of Service (Closure) Form   
  

Scor Seirbhíse – Fógra faoi Athrú ar Chúinsí

For school age service change in circumstance information, please go to the School Age Change in Circumstance and cessations page

I am a School Age Provider

The information in this section is designed to support Registered Providers of School Age Services, people who work in School Age Services in any capacity and people who are involved in boards of management and committees.

The section includes a information on re-registration of School Age services.Soon the section will also information and resources on topics such Change in Circumstances applications, notifiable incidents and Feedback and Concerns.

This section also includes the register of School Age services and will include access to all published inspection reports.

Select Option Below

Regulations and Legislation

Inspections 

Registration Renewal

Register of services

Change of Circumstance and Cessations