Dear Service Provider,
You and your staff are invited to attend training on the Nurturing Skills Learner Fund (NSLF) Registrations, Employment Record and Student Applications training. The sessions will be held on 10 and 11 March 2025, as applications for the NSLF for the academic year 2025/2026 will open shortly.
As part of this training, we will be demonstrating the following:
- What is the Nurturing Skills Learner Fund
- Registering to the NSLF Portal
- Completing the Employment Record
- Student Applications
- Demonstration of the NSLF Portal
Please see below the links to register with Microsoft Teams:
NSLF Registrations, Employment Record and Student Applications Session 1
Monday 10 March from 10.30am to 12.00pm
NSLF Registrations, Employment Record and Student Applications Session 2
Tuesday 11 March from 2.30pm – 4:00pm
NSLF Registrations, Employment Record and Student Applications Session 3
Tuesday 11 March from 6:30pm – 8:00pm
A recording of one of the webinars will be made available on the Early Years Hive and the NSLF Student Portal along with the PowerPoint slides once the training has been completed.
We kindly ask that questions asked on the day are kept to the topic of the NSLF Student Application.
Please ensure all staff are made aware of this training and the relevant times and dates and to assist with this please note the following regarding eligibility
Eligibility
Those wishing to make an application must meet the following eligibility criteria for the NSLF:
- be working with children in a Tusla-registered Early Learning and Care (ELC) or School Age Childcare (SAC) service,
- the service in which the applicant is working in, must have a current signed Core Funding contract with DCEDIY.
- Applicants must have worked within an ELC or SAC service for the six months prior to their application.
- Applicants must have a current application/offer for 2025/26 entry to a Level 7/8 Degree course approved by the Qualification Advisory Board (QAB) that is eligible for NSLF.
- be a new entrant to an Approved Course for the academic year commencing 2025/2026 (Autumn 2025)
- not be an ELC educator or SAC practitioner currently undertaking the completion of an Approved Course or an equivalent degree; and
- not be an ELC educator or SAC practitioner who has already completed an Approved Course or equivalent degree.
For clarity purposes, at time of application an applicant must not hold (or be undertaking) an Approved Course at level 7 or level 8 in Early Learning and Care
Continuing Students
Continuing Students (existing students who successfully received NSLF funding for Academic Year 2024/2025 and wish to continue to receive funding for NSLF for Academic Year 2025/2026)
Pobal will contact continuing students directly in early summer asking individuals to verify their continuing eligibility for NSLF. Once eligibility is confirmed a new letter of Conditional Funding will issue to the student for the academic year 2025/2026.Training for continuing students will happen at a later stage and you will be notified.
Kind Regards,
The Early Years Team