Types of Childcare Service

The Child Care Act 1991 provides for the regulation and inspection of childcare services which cater for pre-school children in Ireland. Under Irish law a ‘Pre-school Child is a child who is under six years of age and who is not attending a national school or a school providing education similar to a national school.’

Childcare Services for Pre-school Children
Sessional
A sessional pre-school service operates a planned programme of activities for pre-school children for up to 3.5hrs per session. Services may offer a morning and/or an afternoon session. Generally this type of service caters for children aged 3-5 years. Examples include Playgroup, Pre-school, Naoinra and Montessori. A School-Age Childcare Service may also be classified as a sessional service, but is not regulated and inspected by the HSE as it caters for children aged 6years and over or those attending national school.

Part-Time
A part-time pre-school service operates a planned programme of activities for pre-school children for 3.5hrs to 5hrs per session. Services may offer a morning and/or an afternoon session. Examples include Playgroup, Pre-school, Naoinra and Montessori. A School-Age Childcare Service may also be classified as a part-time service, but is not regulated and inspected by the HSE as it caters for children aged 6years and over or those attending national school.

Full Day
A full-day pre-school service operates a planned programme of activities for pre-school children for more than 5hrs per day. Generally this type of service caters for children aged 3mths to 12 years, only services caring for pre-school children (0-6yrs or children not attending national school) are regulated and inspected. A full-day service may include sessional and part-time services and School-Age Childcare Services for children attending national school. Examples include day nursery and crèche.

Childminders
Childminders provide care for children in the Childminders own home. A Childminding service may include sessional and part-time services and School-Age Childcare services for children attending national school. They are two types of Childminder:

Statutorily Required to Notify Childminders 
Not Required to Notify/ Voluntarily Notified Childminders

Drop-In
A pre-school drop-in service provides intermittent care for pre-school children, normally for not more than 2hrs at a time. Generally this type of service is offered in shopping centres, leisure centres as part of customer service.

For further information on the Notification of Childcare Services to the HSE please contact the HSE Mid-Western Area Pre-school Inspection and Information Service on 061 48 35 92 or www.hse.ie

Barnardos produce a booklet entitled ‘A Parent’s Guide to the Child Care (Pre-school Services) (No. 2) Regulations 2006’ which can be obtained directly from Barnardos on 01 45 30 355 or ncrc@barnardos.ie  `

Link to Child Care (Pre-school Services) (No. 2) Regulations 2006 (pdf)