Apologies in advance for the amount of detail within, however as this is a complex situation we feel explaining the full background and the circumstances involved is crucial. 

Cherry Blossom Montessori is a purpose built Early Years facility in Castleknock, Dublin 15. We were established in 2018 without any Government financial assistance in either start up grants or funding. It is a beautiful child led space incorporating both indoor & outdoor areas. 

After opening alone with only three children in September 2018 we quickly grew, and by April 2019 we were able to offer employment to another Early Years Educator who also held a Degree in Early Childhood Education. Together we completed the first year of Cherry Blossom Montessori, finishing up in June for the summer. 

We reopened in September 2019 and employed two Early Years Educators both from our local area, Dublin 15. It was quickly becoming evident that the funding was simply not adequate for the rising costs to run a quality Early Years service plus pay staff a professional wage and holidays. In the period 2018 to 2019 our insurance quote alone had almost quadrupled. 

Early Years Providers began communicating with each other through a newly formed Provider group which I helped to grow. The main aim of this group was discussing the growing concerns in the sector with each other. Previously there was no real network of communication for Providers. Many were lost and alone, with the most common feedback being Providers feeling continuously disrespected by the DCYA (now DCEDIY), the Government Department who provide funding for our services to facilitate their schemes for parents & caregivers across Ireland. 

The Early Years Providers group made the decision to hold a protest outside Leinster House to highlight the issues in the sector. Early Years Providers invited other representative groups from the Early Years sector to join their cause - employee and community representative groups, plus those who advocate for quality in the Early Years across Ireland. Providers engaged with their communities, closed their doors for the day and brought their staff & the families who use their service to Dublin city centre for a mass show of unity. 35,000 people marched together from O’Connell Street to Merrion Square, calling for change to this important sector of society in February 2020. 

This unprecedented unification of the Irish Early Years sector was unfortunately curtailed one month later due to the COVID-19 pandemic which closed all Early Years services. 

Upon reopening, our service was supported by EWSS to assist in covering staff costs during this difficult time, in line with Government policy across multiple business sectors. The Early Years sector was slightly different to most due to the specific nature of the sector, meaning services did not need to show a “loss” of 30%. However as the DCEDIY stopped all scheme payments, it was a loss of 100% earnings for ECCE-only services and many Providers joined their teams on PUP (Pandemic Unemployment Payment). Unfortunately those Providers who were sole traders were not entitled to PUP and many could not reopen after the pandemic. 

The Early Years sector is of course a profession that does not allow for social distancing by it’s very nature. Young children are comforted and hugged when needed. While wider society was still in lockdown, little concern was shown by Government for the welfare of unvaccinated Providers and staff in the sector. Early Years services were expected to resume their roles in the provision and care of Ireland’s young children in order to encourage parents to return to work and kick start the economy.

Cherry Blossom Montessori is an incredibly diverse setting with children from many different backgrounds, nationalities & ethnicities. Last year we had 24 different national flags on display to acknowledge all children attending our service. 

We have children attending who live with one or both parents, children from the Travelling Community, children living in hotels with refugee or asylum status, children who are homeless, children who are fostered & children with additional needs, some with quite complex needs. 

Even though our waiting lists are full and on the surface our service is thriving, the implementation of funding schemes by the Irish government unfortunately means our Preschool is now an unsustainable business. 

We first opened as a Montessori Preschool with two sessions of 3 hours each. We had a full preschool class in the morning and another full preschool class in the afternoon. Both classes facilitated 22 children, meaning we could offer the Government’s ECCE scheme (Early Childhood Care & Education) for 44 local children. Our goal was to help alleviate the chronic shortage of childcare provision in the area, particularly provision of the ECCE scheme which many parents request. 

After the pandemic a new model of funding was introduced by Minister Roderic O’Gorman, whom we voted for and were happy when he became the Minister for Children. Our department changed from the DCYA (Department of Children and Youth Affairs) to the DCEDIY (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth). Anyone still reading will note that the wide array of children from all backgrounds attending Cherry Blossom Montessori means we meet every criteria of this new amalgamated department. 

The new funding model (called “Core Funding”) negatively impacted any ECCE-only services like Cherry Blossom Montessori immediately in it’s first year by not providing any additional funding. Core Funding was introduced in 2021 with great fanfare as a huge investment from Government. Behind the scenes however, a crucial, existing funding stream in place for over a decade was quietly removed to use for Core Funding. This particular funding stream (called “Higher Capitation”) was an additional sum awarded to all services with an early years degree in place and who facilitated the ECCE scheme. Pre-2021, women across the country returned to third level education in huge numbers and spent thousands of euro of their own money to study and retain an Early Years degree as encouraged by the DCYA at the time. 

Business plans, staff wages, overheads etc. were all calculated on this crucial Higher Capitation funding stream before it was removed. There were no fees or other additional sources of income available to an ECCE-only Preschool. 

In addition, a 2nd funding stream (called “Programme Support Payment” or PSP) was also removed from our service at this time. PSP assisted in supporting “non-contact” hours for staff (ie. hours not with the children - school administration work, staff training, classroom and lesson planning etc.) 

The ECCE model began in January 2010 at €64.50 per week for 15 hours preschool provision per child. Currently, in January 2024, the ECCE funding stands at €69.00 per week. This is an increase of €4.50 in 14 years, with the last increase being 8 years ago in 2016.

The Higher Capitation funding stream which supported higher staff wages for those with third level academic qualifications has not been reinstated. This has instead been replaced with a ‘Graduate Uplift’ of €4.44 per hour but which restricts this funding to only one graduate per room, and then only if the Early Years service in question also signs up for Core Funding. 

As an ECCE only service, Cherry Blossom Montessori differed from services in the surrounding area who offered more hours of provision. The knock-on effect of the DCEDIY removing this Higher Capitation funding stream has been devastating to our business model at an already vulnerable time after the pandemic. 

While inflation soared, small Preschools in local communities around Ireland have severely struggled. Three protests were held over the summer of 2022 outside the Dáil with 600-700 early years service providers calling for support. Eventually the ECCE-only model was included with additional funding, as were all other service types for the first year. This was unfortunately too late for many small services who could not last the year without the additional support. 

The Minister & the DCEDIY promised only 1% of the sector would be negativity affected. This was, and still is, evidently not true as we continue to watch many small ECCE-only Preschools disappear across Ireland. In January 2024 alone, we are aware of 5 services who have closed their doors, with another 10 services giving notice to parents that they will shut for good in June 2024. 

Due to the nature of Core Funding, it was evident that Cherry Blossom Montessori could not remain as an ECCE only service anymore at €4.60 per hour. We surveyed the parents of children attending and asked which services would be most beneficial to support their needs. The results were clear - many parents wanted 4 to 5 hours of care per day, while those with older children indicated interest in an Afterschool service. We listened and invested again to expand Cherry Blossom Montessori and ensure the job security for our team of five women, all living in Dublin 15. 

After 18 months of tireless effort and significant financial costs with both Fingal County Council for approval of our new planning conditions & Tusla to change our service model, we prepared to reopen our doors in September 2023 offering 5 hours of care and an Afterschool service in addition to the previously offered morning ECCE scheme. 

The new NCS (National Childcare Scheme) is in place to support fees for parents. Individual “Chick codes” for each child provide an amount to be deducted from parental/caregiver fees. The sheer amount of administration involved in this NCS scheme is unprecedented, with the onus squarely on the Provider to perform this laborious administration for the DCEDIY outside of “working” hours. 

However, only days before reopening in August 2023, a post on social media was shared which alarmed us greatly. This post claimed that Early Years services changing model who were previously ECCE-only, were now only allowed to charge the ECCE scheme capitation rate of €4.60 per hour for any “new” service added. 

Having spent 18 months preparing and changing our entire business model to ensure the sustainability of Cherry Blossom Montessori, we knew that this interpretation was incorrect as it is not in the guidelines for Core Funding Year 1 or Year 2. 

We personally know several Early Years services across Ireland who have changed business model since 2021 and have not been capped at €4.60 per hour. 

We then engaged with those agencies connected to the DCEDIY that knew of our plans and offered support throughout. They were unable to confirm the social media post as it was not their understanding of the guidelines. Two other Government agencies gave differing answers, including Pobal - who are responsible for all payments to Early Years Service Providers offering government schemes. Pobal agreed with our view and this too was their understanding of the guidelines. 

We spoke directly to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (and our local Dublin 15 TD) Roderic O’ Gorman who then set up a meeting with ourselves and the DCEDIY. 

The DCEDIY told us the content of this social media post was in fact true, and in no uncertain terms that anyone doing differently would be “caught”. When pressed as to the exact reasoning behind this decision, those from the DCEDIY attending the call were unable to point to the section in the published guidelines that backed up their assertion. 

There was no reasonable explanation given by the DCEDIY, only that “Core Funding would cover costs”. 

Core Funding increased 3c per child per hour in Sept 2023 and is due to increase 4c per hour in Sept 2024. This is simply not sustainable. 

Cherry Blossom Montessori changed from an ECCE-only service in order to set our own fees for our Part Time service which offers 5 hours care & our Afterschool service which caters to three local schools in Castleknock. 

In a 2022 poll of Early Years Providers, the existing fee charged was an average of €5 - €7 for an additional 30 minutes per day in order to ensure business sustainability. 

Essentially, the DCEDIY is trying to cap us at ECCE scheme rates for all non-ECCE services being offered. 

This is completely unreasonable and the subjective manner in which the DCEDIY have chosen to interpret their own non statutory guidelines retrospectively at the last minute is grossly unfair. 

Additionally, children attending Part Time must be supervised in an adult-to-child ratio of 1:8, as opposed to the adult-to-child ratio of 1:11 for ECCE. 

Applying this logic, this means that not only will the fee per child be stuck at €4.60, but also that the amount of children in Part Time care, and therefore the fee charged (8 x €4.60), will actually be less than if we had never changed from ECCE in the first place (11 x €4.60). 

This change in service type also potentially means Cherry Blossom Montessori being liable for thousands of euro in additional commercial rates yearly. ECCE-only “educational” services are commercial rates exempt. 

Legal advice has clearly stated that we have followed the Core Funding guidelines correctly and we should not be in this predicament.

Family and friends, and also many parents availing of our service, have advised us to fully privatise. Numerous families attending have stated they will pay for our wonderful service for their children. 

While we are fortunate to be in a more affluent area, it was not the reason we invested our time, effort and money and opened an Early Years service in our community. This is why we will continue to fight for Cherry Blossom Montessori to be available to all children in Castleknock. 

A recent additional element of Core Funding is that our Limited Company annual report & annually submitted financial statements to Revenue are no longer sufficient for the DCEDIY. 

Instead, a costly Charter of Accounts (outside the tax year and spanning the school term, to be completed by an accountant) is now mandatory under threat of funding being stopped. 

Having spoken to a GP, Pharmacist, Optician & Dentist who all provide a service to facilitate schemes on behalf of the Government we have been informed this level of scrutiny is not required in any of their sectors. 

This is hugely concerning in a predominantly female sector which supports local communities across the country and will surely force even more to close in the coming months. 

Ireland currently invests 0.2% of GDP in Childcare. The average state expenditure on Childcare in other European countries is 0.8% of GDP, while UNICEF recommend 1%. 

We do not accept that our beautiful little Preschool must lose our most vulnerable families simply because this Government have promised a 50% reduction in the cost of childcare to the electorate. 

These practices are discriminatory. Stating that we as a privately owned business can only charge 57% of our own fee, rather than actually investing properly into the NCS to bring down costs for parents/caregivers, is disingenuous. 

It also goes against the message that the DCEDIY proclaims in lowering fees for parents & caregivers. This will in fact have the exact opposite effect and will most definitely increase fees significantly and also ensure choice is eroded as we will no longer be able to offer ECCE-only places as part of the service. This will force parents to avail of five hours per day for five days per week. 

We will not be able to accommodate those families who don’t need five days but want to “split” the week with another family. We will not be able to accommodate “settling in” periods or allowing what is best for the children. The practices of the DCEDIY means the priority is filling seats all day, every day to ensure sustainability. 

Cherry Blossom Montessori now has a team of nine, including one male colleague, who all live in Dublin 15. Six out of nine were raised in Dublin 15 and attended local schools. We also have three teachers from India, China & Hungary. This is our own little community and we are fighting to be inclusive to all. 

Minister O’Gorman can stop the discrimination that is happening to Cherry Blossom Montessori if he chooses to do so. 

Having stated our case clearly with the above, we would wish that everyone could please sign our petition to draw the Minister’s attention to section 5.1.12 of the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement Programme Year 2023/2024 

• 5.1.12. Decisions on whether the Fee Management conditions have been contravened will be determined through the fee review process, outlined by the Department. Final decisions will be made by the Minister. 

To reiterate, we are not looking for preferential treatment but rather respect from the DCEDIY who call us their “Partner”. 

If the DCEDIY wish to change or interpret guidelines differently they need to legally change the guidelines from a specified date rather than retrospectively. This is the only fair way to treat a “Partner” who invests their own money, time and energy into their community. 

Please sign this petition to present to Minister O'Gorman so that Cherry Blossom Montessori can remain open to all children living in Castleknock who wish to attend. 

Thank you

Fiona & Marc Bowe