The 2021/2022 Annual Early Years Sector Profile Survey has opened (April 4 2022).

This comprehensive survey of all Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) settings in the country is the primary data source on this sector. It is developed and published by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY).

The survey, which has been running for over 19 years, plays a central role in informing Government policy development, assessing the impact of policy change and provides a comprehensive national analysis of over 4,500 Early Learning and Care and School-age Childcare services throughout Ireland. 

The data collected will be used to produce in-depth analysis of the sector across a range of areas. These include:

• Service detail and provision
• Capacity and attendance
• Staffing (numbers, qualifications, staffing retention, level of turnover etc.)
• Costs of providing the ELC and SAC services.

This year, the Sector Profile survey is more important than ever as spring 2022 represents a unique point in time for the sector with the end of pandemic measures and the imminent introduction of a major new funding stream, Core Funding. It will also provide a baseline to assess the impact of Core Funding against.

Due to the importance of collecting this information on the sector at this point in time, the completion of the survey will be a necessary requirement in order to access Core Funding later this year. 

The survey will remain open until Friday 22nd April 2022 and can be accessed through the Early Years Hive at this link.

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