The Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE) programme is a government funded universal two-year pre-school programme available to all children within the eligible age range.
It provides children with their first formal experience of early learning prior to commencing primary school. The programme is provided for three hours per day, five days per week from September to June each year.
The ECCE programme provides a pre-school educational programme which adheres to the principles of Síolta, the national framework for early years care and education.