Under attendance and reporting absences for NCS and ECCE (Ireland) Schemes

Reporting absences and under-attendance for NCS (National Childcare Scheme) and ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) is essential for compliance and ensures funding remains accurate and transparent. Here are the reporting requirements and considerations for each scheme:

With the NCS and ECCE, childcare providers are responsible for accurately tracking each child’s attendance and reporting any discrepancies to ensure subsidies align with actual hours.

Key Requirements

1. Daily Attendance Tracking: Providers must track and record each child’s attendance daily to confirm they’re using the agreed hours of subsidised care.
   
   
   

This report is available under Reporting > Funding.

2. Absences:

• Short-Term Absences: Generally, short-term absences (like sickness or holidays up to a few days) are acceptable without affecting funding. However, providers should still record them to be compliant.
• Extended Absences: If a child is absent for more than four consecutive weeks, the provider must notify the relevant NCS adminstrator/authority and provide details. This may impact the subsidy unless there’s an approved reason such as medical needs.
  

    a) Under-Attendance:

• Report Under-Attendance: If a child consistently attends fewer hours than the subsidy provides (e.g., 10 hours instead of the 20 approved hours), providers should report this.
• Funding Adjustment: Frequent under-attendance may result in a funding adjustment, as subsidies are meant to match actual hours of care used.

This report is available under Reporting > Funding.

Both schemes require providers to maintain accurate, up-to-date records and submit regular reports for attendance, absence, and under-attendance. Non-compliance with these reporting requirements can lead to audits, funding adjustments, or, in some cases, penalties, as these programs are designed to support consistent care and early childhood education funding access.

For additional support or for help with setting up the NCS or ECCE schemes, please email [email protected] or refer to the other NCS, ECCE related articles in this section.