Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
487. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education her plans to increase the practical work experience element of education in the early childhood sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56542/23]
View answerStructured, supervised and assessed professional practice placement is an integral part of the of professional formation of Early Years Educators. The minimum qualification required to work in the early learning and care (ELC) sector is level 5 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). The qualifications offered to the ELC workforce are quality assured by both Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) and the Qualifications Advisory Board (QAB) using published award standards, both of which include a practice placement component.
The Professional Award-type Descriptors (PATD), published by QQI in 2019, set out the standards of knowledge, skill and competence that must be achieved before a major award can be made in ELC at NFQ Levels 5, 6, 7 or 8. The award standards note professional practice as integral to ELC programmes and set out the specific requirements for Levels 5 and 6. The programme must ensure that each (full-time) learner completes 150 hours of professional practice placement per annum in a minimum of two ELC settings covering children from birth to six years, with an appropriate balance between settings. Learners must pass the professional practice placement element of the programme before an award can be made.
The Professional Award Criteria and Guidelines (PACG) were published in 2019 by the Minister for Education and the then Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to support the development of professional degree programmes at Levels 7 and 8 on the NFQ. These guidelines underpin the quality assurance of programmes and enable course providers to design and deliver a programme, including professional practice placement, that develops the necessary values, knowledge(s) and practices in their graduates to enable them to practice as core professionals in the sector. To date, the QAB has approved 69 programmes as meeting the requirements of the PACG.
Under the PACG, practice placement is required to make up a minimum of 35% of the overall duration of the programme in appropriate settings and is a core element of QAB-approved programmes. Professional practice placement is encouraged to be undertaken in a range of various settings spanning the early childhood age range (birth to six years) and catering for a diverse range of children. Students must pass the professional practice placement element of the programme independent of all other elements in order to progress to the next year of the programme or to graduate. Professional practice placement experience should be supervised, incremental/ spiral in nature, be integral to each phase of the programme and allow students to integrate theory and practice and to apply knowledge in practice.
