Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 April 2014
161. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if assistance will be given to a person (details supplied) in County Cork who is seeking to upskill but is being forced to recommence their qualifications from the beginning and is unable to do so due to financial hardship; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16959/14]
View answerPrior to the introduction of the free pre-school year under the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme in 2010 there was no qualification requirement for staff working directly with children in the childcare sector. The current requirement under the ECCE programme is that pre-school leaders must hold a major award in early childhood care and education at FETAC Level 5 or equivalent.
There is clear evidence that the level of qualification held by childcare staff has a significant impact on the quality of the service provided. Last year I announced a Pre-School Quality Agenda to address issues of quality in the pre-school sector and it was in this context that I decided to introduce a minimum qualification for all staff working directly with children across the childcare sector.
I am now introducing a requirement that all staff working directly with children in pre-school services must hold a major award in early childhood care and education at FETAC Level 5 or the equivalent, and that all pre-school leaders delivering the ECCE programme must hold a major award in early childhood care and education at FETAC Level 6 or the equivalent. These minimum qualification requirements will apply to existing pre-school services from September 2015. They will apply from September 2014 in respect of pre-school services registering with the Child and Family Agency from that date.
I have obtained a funding allocation of €3m over the years 2014/2015 in order to support childcare workers, both in the community and in the private sector, seeking to obtain the necessary qualifications. This funding will be administered by Pobal through the Learner Fund initiative, which I recently announced. Pobal will be assisted in the administration of the Fund by the local City and County Childcare Committees. The Fund will assist existing staff working directly with children in registered early years services to meet the new requirements and will be used to subsidise the cost for eligible learners to undertake accredited Level 5 and Level 6 courses provided by certain approved training providers. Training courses subsidised under this Fund are expected to commence in September 2014. Full details of the eligibility criteria and how to apply are available on the Pobal website. Information was also provided through the Childcare Committees and through voluntary childcare organisations, as well as on my Department's website.
In relation to the person referred to by the Deputy, she did not obtain an exit award at Level 5 or Level 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). The completion of Stage 1 of the BA in Montessori (which was offered through the College of Commerce in association with St Nicholas Montessori) does not equate to a Major Award at Level 6. I understand that St Nicholas Montessori have applied to the NFQ for validation of a Level 6 programme based on the first two stages, not just the first stage, of their BA programme.
Any work relating to the Recognition of Prior Learning is done in the context of an application onto a programme of study. It is unlikely that the study programme undertaken by the person in question has covered the core elements of Child Development 0 – 6 years, Early Childhood Learning Theory and Practice, or Child Health and Welfare 0 – 6 years, or included a significant supervised practicum in relevant early childhood care and education settings.
I would suggest that the person concerned check with Higher Education Institutions to see if there are any progression routes open to her to allow her to meet the minimum qualification criteria which will apply to her from September 2015.
