The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) wish to advise all early years services of fraudulent advertising currently circulating on social media using Government of Ireland and Department of Education logos, offering free early learning and childcare training courses and free study aids such as Laptops. These advertisements are not from the Department, please do not to click on the links or enter any personal details if requested.

These adverts should not be confused with the Nurturing Skills Learner Fund (NSLF). The NSLF aims to support early years educators in obtaining early learning and care (ELC) qualifications at levels 7 and 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications, approved by the Qualifications Advisory Board (QAB). Those selected for the pilot will receive a contribution towards their tuition fees commencing in September 2024.

The list of eligible NSLF Institutions and Courses for the academic year 2024/2025 can be found on the Nurturing Skills Learner Fund Institutions and Courses 2024/2025.

If you are unsure of the authenticity of any information about childcare training courses claiming to be from the Department of Education or Government of Ireland, please be aware that the most trusted source of information on funding schemes is available on gov.ie website, all updates and information regarding NSLF and the application process are available, on the Nurturing Skills Learner Fund website at www.gov.ie/NurturingSkillsLearnerFund