Quality costs and the sector needs investment

Childcare workers need access to a training fund and help to develop skills, writes Irene Gunning

IN Ireland we have a mixed model of provision with services delivered through the private, community, and public sectors.

Today, every childcare service, with the exception of child-minding, is governed by the Child Care Act 1991 and the subsequent Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No 2) Regulations 2006. It must be remembered that the pre-school regulations are minimum standards and not indicators of quality.

Two other policy documents are relevant to the current discussion on quality: Síolta, the National Quality Framework, and Aistear, the early childhood curriculum framework. Both of these frameworks have been developed collaboratively with the sector but lack resources for roll-out across the country.

Quality is a system-wide, collective responsibility at the policy and practice levels. Services for children and families are dependent on systems that are robust, responsive and open.

Early Childhood Ireland wants a system of registration introduced. At present, services only need to notify the HSE of their intention to open. In contrast, a system of registration would require comprehensive inspection in advance of operation.

We are calling for a robust inspection system, with the inspectorate collectively retrained and augmented by specialists who have specific expertise/qualifications in early childhood. Systems of regulations, inspections and governance must be fair and equitable, interpreted and applied with consistency.

There are no mandated levels of training required to work within the childcare sector. In 2010 with the introduction of the early childhood care and education scheme (ECCE), services were required for the first time to have the leader in each room with a Fetac level 5 qualification and this provides them with a basic capitation rate.

Those services with a graduate (at level 7 or above) and all assistants in the room at level 5, are eligible to qualify for a higher capitation rate under the ECCE scheme. In centre-based services, it is considered that the person in charge should aim to have at least half of childcare staff with a qualification appropriate to the care and development of children.

EARLY Childhood Ireland has repeatedly called for mandated levels of training appropriate to the various roles. This would have the benefit of developing a career path for those working in the sector.

We have two national frameworks, Siolta which looks at and assesses for quality, and Aistear that guides the daily curriculum for children from birth to six years.

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— Sharon Farrington (@farrings) May 29, 2013

These frameworks are developed but due to lack of resources are not available across the country to services. Early Childhood Ireland has called on the Government to resource the roll-out of both frameworks so that services can work towards quality provision.

A recent survey from Early Childhood Ireland indicates an average hourly rate of €10.50 for those with a basic level 5 qualification.

We have submitted the following as part of our contribution to the early years strategy:

*Every registered service should provide a two-year universal, funded early childhood care and education (ECCE) programme, which is linked to quality criteria;

*Services that participate in government-funded schemes have a minimum of three continual professional development (CPD) days per academic year included in the allocation of days, with agreed targets for CPD set and agreed with the sector. This would mean aspects of CPD could be directed nationally and locally;

*Every service is graduate led (level 7/8 with specific child development and pedagogical strands);

*Each room is headed up by a practitioner with at least level 6;

*Higher capitation is graduated and tiered in a way that incentivises graduates and those with level 6. The matrix for all schemes must become more sophisticated, weighted against bands of qualifications;

*All services engage with Aistear and Síolta, or have access to preparatory support (pre-Síolta);

*Services have access to an early childhood specialist/Síolta;

*Speech and language support is delivered in the settings — HSE speech therapy resources should be redirected into services;

*Special needs assistants (SNAs) made available to services in much the same way that primary schools do;

*Child protection training and refresher courses are available for all early years services;

*Parent support is delivered through and in partnership with the preschool services;

*Community services are supported and have strong voluntary boards of management with clear governance models;

*Childminding is regulated;

*School-age childcare is regulated.

To do well by our children in the context of a national strategy, we must ensure quality services and supporting systems that are fit for purpose. The capacity, qualifications and infrastructure of the sector has developed significantly over the past decade-and-a-half. We must push on.

The reality is that quality costs and these key actions require investment. Those working in the sector must have access to a transformation training fund, see additional remuneration for increased qualifications, and continuing professional development must be stitched in to funding ECCE contracts to enable new thinking and an inquiry-based approach to practice.

*Irene Gunning is chief executive of Early Childhood Ireland, which represents 3,330 pr-eschool, creche, and afterschool providers.