Report urges early education overhaul

RADICAL changes are needed to address serious shortcomings in the education and care of Ireland’s youngest citizens, a Government advisory body has warned.

The National Economic and Social Forum (NESF) is demanding early childhood care and education be made “a high political priority” and says investment in the area will yield future dividends.

Their report provides a cost-based analysis that shows for every euro invested in early childhood care and education, a return of €7.10 can be expected. “Early childhood care and education matters. The returns are unquestionable. Early childhood care and education provision for all children clearly deserves to be an issue of high political priority,” the report says.

In particular, the authors want paid maternity leave to be increased to 26 weeks and for parents to have the option to stay at home for a year after their child is born. They also insist State-funded quality care and education should be provided for all children in the year before they go to school. The Government’s response has been to kick the issues raised in the report to touch, saying the NESF’s findings will provide a “welcome input into policy development in the future of this area”. It added the NESF’s recommendations will be considered by the High Level Group on Early Childhood Care and Education, currently preparing a multi-annual strategy for consideration by the Cabinet Committee on Children.

The NESF points out that children under six years make up almost 10% of the population and the number of women working outside the home has jumped by 60% in the last 10 years. Ireland continues to rate among the lowest investors in early childhood care and education policy. Public investment is less than 0.2% of economic growth, compared to the EU average of 0.5%. Ireland’s investment is also in stark contrast to Denmark’s 0.8% and France’s 0.7%.

The NESF wants responsibility to rest with one Government department and calls for a single accreditation body to police the sector.

The NESF report also wants adult/child staffing ratios be reduced to 2:20 initially.