Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 April 2016
87. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the criteria he uses to assess the eligibility of qualifications for inclusion on his Department's early years recognised qualifications, the early years qualifications he recognises for the purposes of meeting the requirements of the regulations and his Department's child care programme contracts. [8641/16]
View answerThe Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme introduced the first-ever requirement for minimum qualifications for staff working in the childcare sector. Prior to the introduction of the programme there was no requirement for staff working directly with children in pre-school services to hold any educational qualification.
New qualification requirements for childcare workers are also being introduced as part of the Early Years Quality Agenda. All staff caring for children in an early years service will be subject to a minimum qualification requirement, from the end of this year, of FETAC Level 5 or equivalent under the new Child Care Regulations to be made shortly. Pre-school leaders delivering the ECCE programme will require a FETAC Level 6 qualification or equivalent under the ECCE contract from the end of this year.
It is the responsibility of childcare providers and their staff to ensure that they hold the required or equivalent qualification. A list of recognised qualifications for the purpose of meeting the contractual requirements of the ECCE programme and in the Regulations is published on the Department's website at www.dcya.gov.ie.
The DCYA Early Years Recognised Qualifications list identifies qualifications which are acceptable for the purposes of meeting the requirements of the forthcoming regulations and DCYA Childcare Programmes Contracts. This list has been derived from two sources: advice from the Higher Capitation Advisory Board in 2011, and ongoing reviews of qualifications submitted to the DCYA. Applications for recognition are reviewed by a board with expertise in qualifications, early childhood care and education and early years policy, in association with the Department of Education and Skills.
In preparing the list of DCYA Early Years Recognised Qualifications, all decisions on the acceptability of these qualifications have been reviewed against a set of criteria including core knowledge and skills identified as essential for practice in Early Years settings, being:
- Child Development 0-6;
- Early Childhood Education - Theory and Practice;
- Child Health and Welfare 0-6 years.
The Department of Education and Skills is carrying out a comprehensive review of the education and training qualifications in early childhood education and care during 2016 and 2017 in consultation with the DCYA, education partners and the wider sector. The findings of the review may inform future decisions in relation to determining whether qualifications are suitable for professional practice in the ECCE sector and the Department reserves the right to review the recognition of any qualification on the published list.
Where a qualification is not published on the list of National Framework of Qualifications on the DCYA website, but the holder considers it to be an appropriate major award or the equivalent, they should apply to this Department through the Qualification Recognition process. If it is approved for recognition the details of the qualification will be added to the list of qualifications on the Department's web page.
