This article is from page 16 of the 2007-11-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
AN extra 150 childcare places will have to be provided in County Clare during the next four years if the cur- rent level of childcare provision is to be maintained. However, a further 1,100 childcare places are required if the county if to achieve its proportion of the national targets. That was the message coming from the launch of the County Childcare Strategy 2007- 2010 last evening (Monday).
The strategy outlined the rapidly changing childcare contexts within the county, and identified the areas most in need of supported childcare.
There has been an increase of 4.8 per cent in the number of children and young people under 15 years of age between 2002-2006 and by 2006 they accounted for 23,973 out of the total population of the county of 110,950.
In 2006, there was a population in- crease of eight per cent in Clare and
figures from the recent census show 8,206 children are aged O to four years, 8,118 children are aged five to nine years and 7,649 are young peo- ple aged 10 to 14 years.
The strategy was complied by the Clare County Childcare Committee, which has been in operation since 2001 and was established with the key role of developing a co-ordinated approach to childcare in the county.
Reflective of the population increase and the high number of children in
Clare is a growing demand for child- care in the county and one of the committee’s key principles is to en- sure that there is a synergy between all the stakeholders represented and a collaborative response to the growing demand for childcare services.
There has also been an increase in childcare services throughout the county provided by both private and community childcare providers, many through funding under the Equal Op- portunities Childcare Programme (EOCP) and the National Childcare Investment Programme (NCIP).
The Clare County Childcare Com- mittee supports applicants both pri- vate and community through the NCIP process of developing funding proposals for the Office of the Min- ister for Children.
The strategy also pointed to areas in the county where there is under- provision of services. It discovered that there was a need for pre-devel- opment work with communities if childcare facilities are to be devel- oped in these areas.
The role of childcare committee has now become central to ensuring that funding is allocated to areas where AUSTIN MUO IM Ole NBUES ee
The group also launched a guide to setting up a childcare service.