Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 May 2023
556. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will confirm the budget allocation for the early years' workforce plan 'nurturing skills: the workplace plan for early learning and care and school age childcare 2022-2028'; if he will provide an update on same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22466/23]
View answerIn December 2021, I published "Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028". Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC).
Early years educators, school-age childcare practitioners and childminders play a key role in supporting children’s development and well-being, working in partnership with families. Recognising their central importance for the quality of provision, Nurturing Skills aims to support the professional development of the workforce and raise the profile of careers in the sector. Commitments in Nurturing Skills are organised under five pillars:
Establishing a career framework;
Raising qualification levels;
Developing a national Continuing Professional Development system;
Supporting recruitment, retention and diversity; and
Moving towards regulation of the workforce.
There is no single budget allocation for this plan; instead, a range of actions support the implementation of the plan, and a number of the commitments in Nurturing Skills will be achieved through wider actions. In particular, successful delivery of commitments under the five pillars will be supported by three "key enablers" that are identified in Nurturing Skills:
• Improvement in pay and conditions of employment;
• Coordination of the quality support infrastructure; and
• Ongoing engagement with the profession
There is now, through the independent Joint Labour Committee (JLC) process, a formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate pay rates for ELC and SAC services. This is an independent process from the Department and neither I, nor my Department officials, have any role in the proceedings of the JLC. With effect from 15th September 2022, two new Employment Regulation Orders for Early Years Services, which were negotiated through the JLC, came into effect, setting minimum hourly rates of pay for various roles in ELC and SAC services, including higher minimum rates of pay for graduate lead educators and graduate managers, in line with the commitments in Nurturing Skills to support the move to a graduate-led workforce.
