Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 May 2022
152. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when details of the nurturing skills package for the early childhood care and education sector will be released. [25320/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 7 December 2021, I launched 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.
Nurturing Skills sets out actions to achieve workforce commitments in First 5, the Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families, including:
Achieving a graduate-led workforce in ELC by 2028, with new financial supports to assist Early Years Educators to study while continuing to work in the sector;
Supporting School-Age Childcare Practitioners to meet new qualification requirements that will be introduced incrementally over the coming years;
Development of a career framework and strengthening career pathways, including new supports for leadership development;
Building a national infrastructure for Continuing Professional Development for the sector; and
Supporting staff recruitment, retention and diversity in the workforce.
A comprehensive implementation plan was developed as part of the drafting of Nurturing Skills which covers the first phase of implementation from 2022-2024. A Monitoring Committee is being established with the task of monitoring the implementation of this plan.
In Budget 2022, I announced a new Core Funding stream which will provide an additional €69m of funding in 2022 and is equivalent to more than €207 million in a full year. Core Funding is expected, among other objectives, to support the delivery of Nurturing Skills through supporting the employment of graduate staff and through supporting an Employment Regulation Order that may arise from the Joint Labour Committee for Early Years Services, improving workforce recruitment and retention through improvement in pay and conditions.
