‘ breach of trust’: where does responsibility lie for quality early childhood care and education...
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‘Breach of trust’: where does responsibility lie for quality Early Childhood Care and Education?
Dr. Mary Moloney &
Dr. Jennifer Pope
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RTE crèche documentary exposes 'emotional abuse'
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Investment in Childcare
€1.139 billion over a 10 year period from 2000 –
2010
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Bricks and Mortar
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InvestmentEqual Opportunities ChildcareProgramme 2000 – 2006
€564.7 million
Supply side measure…
‘a facilitator of labour force participation’ (Office of the Minister for Children, 2007, p. xii).
Created 33,582 new childcare
places of which 14,799 were
fulltime
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Investment in staffing
2, 848 staff working in the community childcare sector supported via EOCP interventions
1,280 full-time staff 1,568 part-time staff
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Value for money review 2007
• Conclusion: ‘while the EOCP was undoubtedly effective at
the generation of childcare infrastructure and hence the facilitation of increased participation in employment, education and training opportunities, only limited progress has been made in terms of ensuring quality childcare provision’ (OMC, 2007, p. 118).
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InvestmentNational Childcare Investment Programme 2006 – 2010
€575 million
Shift in focus from supply to quality of provision
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Outcome of the NCIP
Created an additional 24, 487 new childcare places nationally
Introduced the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme
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While the economic boom ‘saw a scramble to put services in place in response to demand [there had been] a wholly inadequate approach to quality and sustainability’ (Minister Frances Fitzgerald, T.D)
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• The Nordic countries spend between 1.2% and 1.7% of GDP
• Ireland’s investment is 0.2%
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% Public Spending on Children & Families in Ireland
Early Childhood (Birth to 5)
Middle Childhood (6 to 11)
Later years (12 to 17)
OECD (2010)
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Melhuish (2010) in Start Strong (2011)
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Who is holding the baby…???
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Occupational Profiles Occupational Profile from the Model Framework
Accountability
Intermediate practitioner NFQ: Level 5
Responsibility for own actions under direction. Some responsibility for quality of services within prescribed guidelines.
Experienced PractitionerNFQ: Level 5
Operate with full autonomy with broad guidance/evaluation. Responsibility for quality of services in accordance with specified standards. Limited responsibility for work of others.
Advanced PractitionerNFQ: Level 7/8 (Ordinary Bachelors Degree)
Full autonomy and responsibility for own actions and those of others. Responsibility for meeting required quality standards.
Expert PractitionerNFQ: Level 8/9 (Honours Bachelors Degree)
Complete autonomy in professional activities. Responsibility for achieving personal and group outcomes. Accountability for all decision making (Des, 2010).
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Free pre-school year in ECCE
Of 4,162 settings contracted to deliver the FPSY in 2011, 85.4% (3, 553 settings) met the basic capitation criteria
Only 14.6% (609 settings) meeting the higher criteria (DCYA, 2012).
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Compliance with Childcare regulations
75% of pre-schools and crèches in breach of the childcare regulations 34% in breach of five or more regulations 48% in breach of regulation 8: adult/child ratios and staff
background checks 29% in breach of regulation 19: overcrowding and upkeep of
premises 41% in breach of regulation 27: provision of a safe
environment One in seven crèches nationally were in breach of regulation 5
concerning the welfare of children
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Frequency of inspections
Early Childhood Ireland, 2013
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Concerns
Inconsistency (ECI, 2013, Moloney, 2011): What one inspector approves on one year
another inspector will say we are non-compliant the following year.
Culture of Fear (ECI, 2013, Moloney, 2011)Inspections need to be a support to each setting
rather than something to be feared.
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Qualifications of Inspectors
Send me an educator to evaluate me as an educator … Not a nurse. I have a degree in early childhood education and a primary teaching degree … I wouldn’t walk into a hospital to assess a nurse!”
“Inspections are being carried out by health nurses and environmental health officers, not including early childhood specialists or similar. We need inspectors to have qualification in ECCE - thus emphasis would be placed on what is important to the holistic development of the child.”
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A file full of the best paper work with all the boxes
ticked may look great but is useless and doesn’t mean the children are receiving loving good quality care.
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Proposed action plan to redress issues in the sector
1 Publication of on-line inspection reports from 1st July, 2013
2 Strengthening the national inspection system
3 Introducing new protocols on regulatory compliance and enforcement
4 Increasing and widening the sanctions which can be taken for non-compliance
5 Increasing the qualification requirements for all staff in pre-school services
6 Introducing a registration system
7 Introducing new national pre-school standards
8 Supporting implementation of Síolta and Aistear frameworks
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