asked the Minister for Education if he will make arrangements for the registration of pre-school playgroups and for the introduction of guidelines for the management and supervision of such groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Pre-School Playgroups.
25.
I do not consider the establishment or registration of pre-school playgroups to be a responsibility of the Minister for Education. The second part of the question — introducing guidelines for the management and supervision of such pre-school groups — accordingly does not arise.
I regret the Minister's refusal to acknowledge the role the Department of Education can play in the registration of pre-school playgroups. Is he aware that these playgroups can play a vital part in the education of young children, especially in underprivileged areas of our towns and cities? Does the Minister not intend to have any system of registration of playschools or to lay down any guidelines for pre-school playgroups? It is disgraceful if that is the case.
I would like to call the attention of the Deputy and the House to the fact that Ireland is virtually unique in accepting four year olds in our primary schools, where they have fully qualified primary teachers available. Parents need have no worry about their qualifications. Unlike any of the European countries, we take them at four years of age. There is a section on this in the White Paper, if the Deputy reads it, where I indicated that there are two schools of philosophy about the actual content of the education course at that age for pupils. Some continental countries are very much for a structured course and others are for the learning through play idea. Our teachers are fully au fait with those methods and are using a mixture of them from four years on in our primary schools.
Is the Minister aware that there is a substantial demand for the services of pre-school playgroups? Is he now going to ignore this demand to the extent that he is not prepared to set down standards and guidelines to ensure that the registration of such pre-school playgroups will meet the minimum requirements of the Department?
Unlike the Deputy's belief in the matter, any examination my Department made, or I made when in Opposition, indicated that pre-school groups were not from the under-privileged areas. On the contrary. There is available in Irish schools, unlike practically every other school system in Europe, a fully qualified teaching body to teach four year olds and upwards in a mixture of the two philosophies of education.
The Minister's reply is extremely retrograde from the point of view of education.