Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 November 2013
35. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide an update on the implementation of all strands of the preschool quality agenda; the timeline for completion; the additional resources needed for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47825/13]
View answerThe commitment to improve the quality of early childhood care and education has been a key priority for me since becoming Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. This is why my Department and I have been progressing work on Ireland's first-ever Early Years Strategy and working on a comprehensive Pre-School Quality Agenda. My comprehensive Pre-School Quality Agenda will seek to support and assure higher standards in pre-school services.
I have identified eight key areas which I consider to require urgent attention. These are:
- Publishing inspection reports on-line as soon as possible
- Strengthening the national inspection system
- Introducing new protocols on regulatory compliance and enforcement
- Increasing and widening the sanctions which can be taken for non-compliance
- Increasing the qualification requirements for all staff in pre-school services
- Introducing a registration system for all pre-school services
- Implementing the new National Quality Standards
- Supporting implementation of the Siolta Framework and Aistear Curriculum
Legislation to strengthen the current inspection regime and underpin the Pre-School Quality Agenda is expected to be enacted before the end of the year. This legislation will provide a statutory basis for registration of pre-school services and will introduce a range of new enforcement powers for Inspectors at pre-prosecution level. Under the proposed new system, all pre-school services will have to be registered in order to operate. Inspectors will be empowered to specify improvement conditions that a service must comply with; and the threat of removal of registration will be available. This system will, for the first time, provide for timely and effective regulation and enforcement of standards in pre-school services, backed up by statutory registration.
Work on the establishment of the new Children and Family Agency has provided an opportunity to address the absence of a coherent national approach to the regulation of childcare services. The HSE has been working towards developing the Pre-School Inspectorate as a nationally coordinated service. A practical outcome of this work has been the introduction of Standard Operating Procedures to address inconsistencies and provide clarity and transparency to early years services.
Over recent years, a number of areas of the country have had either no inspectors or an inadequate number of inspectors. The HSE is recruiting five new inspectors to cover existing gaps in Louth, Dublin South / East Wicklow, Cavan / Monaghan, and Sligo / Leitrim / West Cavan. In addition, I have received approval from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to increase the staffing numbers in the new Child and Family Agency to provide for extra posts to further strengthen the Inspectorate. Some additional funding for this was provided for in Budget 2014.
New National Quality Standards for pre-school services will be launched very shortly. These Standards will complement the existing Pre-School Regulations replacing previous explanatory notes; and will set out the quality outcomes and supporting criteria against which inspection under the pre-school regulations will be measured.
The level of qualifications held by staff dealing directly with children in pre-school childcare services is an important factor in determining the quality of pre-school provision that the facility can deliver. I believe, therefore that it is important to introduce qualification requirements for all staff working in pre-school services. This will be an important development as at present, staff working in childcare services other than under the ECCE programme are not subject to any minimum qualification requirement.
I have indicated my intention to increase the minimum requirement of Level 5 for pre-school leaders delivering the pre-school year to Level 6. It is also my intention to require all pre-school assistants and all other staff caring for children in a pre-school service to hold a minimum qualification at Level 5. These new requirements will apply from September 2014 for new services, and from September 2015 for existing services.
The implementation of the Síolta and Aistear Practice Frameworks, developed to support quality early childhood care and education in Ireland, is an important initiative in the development of quality childcare services. Both Frameworks are based upon extensive research evidence on best practice in early childhood education and care. The successful implementation of the Frameworks on a nation-wide level will require all childcare practitioners to have a thorough understanding of quality early years provision. I announced in Budget 2014 the introduction of a new mentoring service which will employ graduates in early childhood care and education who will work directly with services to improve quality and support the implementation of the Síolta Framework and Aistear Curriculum.
The HSE has begun the process of publishing retrospective pre-school inspection reports on-line, and this process will continue over the coming weeks and months. All new inspection reports from 1st July 2013 are being published on-line on completion. Pobal is hosting the publication of the pre-school inspection reports, and they are available on the Pobal website.
On foot of Budget 2014, I will be allocating €4.5m in Exchequer funding to support the implementation of the Pre-School Quality Agenda which will seek to support and assure higher standards in pre-school services. Of this funding, €1.5m is provided to support staff training to meet the new qualification requirements. €2.5m will be provided to support the new mentoring service.
