Historical
Development
In Ireland pre-school did
not really exist until the 1980s and 1990s because most Irish women did not
work outside their home, one reason is no demand on it. The custom was, childcare
done by family members or local childminders known by the family. There was a
little focus on pre-school education until the late 1980s and 1990s. Newly married couples working in the public
service should leave their jobs and stay at home as mothers and wives. On 1957 the ban was lifted for primary school
teachers. It was 1973 the ban was lifted
for other women who works in public service.
The ECEC service provision was unregulated until 1997. No stipulations made with regards to
qualification to deliver services until the Child Care (Pre-school) Regulations
came into effect on 2006. Prior on this
Regulations, person with children of their own show appropriate experience in
caring for children and considered as one of the qualification. The community and voluntary sector provides
many services and only relied on volunteer staff. Salaries and conditions of employment were
low and poor even in private sector.
Generally, working in childcare viewed as undesirable career choice back
then.
Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention of the Rights of
the Child in the 1992, to bring consciousness to the public about the
rights of children.
The Department of Health
and Children published in 2000, the
National Children’s Strategy. It is a ten-year-plan for the improvement of
children living in Ireland. One of its goal is to give quality supports and
services to promote child development in different areas. It aims to full fill
this by providing childcare services and family-friendly employment measures.
One of its vision is “An Ireland where children are respected as
young citizens with a valued contribution to make and a voice of their own;
where all children are cherished and supported by family and the wider society;
where they enjoy a fulfilling childhood, and realise their potential… (DoH
2000:10)”
The
strategy provides the vision for the future which enhances the status of
children in Ireland for a quality of life and a statement of support to parents. It offers the means to listen, to think and
to act more effectively for children without discrimination. Their views must be taken into consideration,
when it comes to decision making and matters that affects them. It also
provides the right of the child for survival and development. With the help of
people surrounding them, they can actively shape their own lives, enjoy their
childhood and prepare them to be a good law-abiding citizen or shall we say a
responsible adult. (http://www.gillmacmillan.ie)
In
2006, the Department of Health and Children produced the Child Care or Pre-School Services No. 2 Regulations. This document set out pre-school regulations
and put a statutory basis in Ireland for ECEC service provision. All the requirements are clearly listed in
the regulations and must be met by organisations or individuals providing ECEC
services to children aged 0 to 6. It
covers many issues such as first aid, management, staff-child ratios, behaviour
management, fire safety measures, premises and facilities, heating,
ventilation, lighting, facilities for rest and play, etc. These regulations
give much work and expense on ECEC providers for the fulfilment of the
requirements. Many believe that these
regulations have done more, than any other initiative for the improvement of
ECEC services for children. They are
enforced by HSE inspector, for they are on a statutory footing.
Síolta (2006) The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood
Education, was published in 2006 by the Centre for Early Childhood
Development and Education or CECDE. It aims to define, assess and support the
improvement of quality across all aspects of practices in ECEC settings that
cater for children aged 0-6. Settings
covered includes full and part-time day care, childminding services which is
governed by CECDE and sessional services, like Montessori classroom and infant
classes. In Síolta infant classes in primary school are included. Pre-school
and primary school children were treated differently until the publication of
Síolta and Aistear in 2009. Whether the
child is in pre-school or primary school, it is understood that children aged
0-6 requires a development-based curriculum.
CECDE was disbanded in 2008 and the Early Years Education Policy Unit in
the Department of Education and Skills are now responsible for the
implementation of the latter.
Aistear (2009). The curriculum followed by
pre-school settings was largely undirected and unregulated, up until recent
years. This resulted in variation in the
quality of the curriculum provided by settings.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) in 2009
published Aistear, “The Early Childhood
Curriculum Framework”. Aistear aims
to develop the whole child, a contrast with the previous Primary School
Curriculum that based more on subjects.
The infant classes in primary schools must now follow the Aistear
curriculum. This is considered as a huge
departure for ECEC in Ireland. The
Scandinavian countries have been using this curriculum for years. It is now understood that introducing
children to formal, direct education at a very young age is unproductive and
suppress their natural enthusiasm and curiosity for learning.
In 2010 the Department of Children
and Youth Affairs introduced the Free
Pre-School Year Programme in Early Childhood Care and Education
(ECCE). This scheme provides early
childhood care and education for children of pre-school age. The participation of children in preschool
programme will be their first formal experience of early learning. It is the starting-point of their educational
and social development outside their home.
Those children who avail this programme are ready for school and a
formal learning and social environment.
The scheme expanded in September 2016 and from then on, children were
able to participate in the ECCE scheme for the age of 3 until they transfer to
primary school, on the condition that they are not older than 5 years and 6
months at the end of the pre-school year.
Total number of ECCE weeks a child can avail will depend on the child’s
birth date and age at which the child begins primary school. The children can enrol in pre-school at 3
different points (September, January and April) in the school year to access
the scheme.
Eligible
Range
To
avail of the ECCE programme from
|
Children
must have been born between the following dates (both dates inclusive)
|
April 2017 – June 2017
|
1st January 2012 – 31st
March 2014
|
September 2017 – June 2018
|
1st January 2013 – 31st
August 2014
|
January 2018 – June 2018
|
1st January 2013 – 31st
December 2014
|
(Source:
Flood and Hardy)
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