- TheJournal.ie - Irish parents shell out for some of the highest childcare fees in Europe
*THE viewing of the Prime Time programme on Early Years Care and Education (ECCE) centres was truly shocking and in the aftermath, requires some serious reflection and action.
Irish parents pay some of the highest childcare fees in Europe.
ECCE provision in Ireland has been dominated by private provision and low levels of public investment. For example, Ireland spent about 0.4% of gross domestic product on ECCE in 2009 — well below the OECD average. This is despite the fact that in 2010, we had the highest number of births ever recorded and our preschool population has increased by nearly 18% since 2006.
In New Zealand and the Scandinavian countries, which are widely recognised as international best practice in early childhood services, investment exceeds 1% of GDP.
In Ireland, the primary policy focus until recently, has been on creating childcare spaces through the development of the physical infrastructure rather than supporting the quality of early years’ provision and pedagogy or addressing issues of access, affordability, and sustainability.
Parents in Ireland face childcare costs of between 20% and 41% of their income, which is among the highest in Europe, and yet the majority of staff within the sector are earning just above the minimum wage which does not adequately reflect the importance of ECCE experiences for children’s development. The sessional and seasonal nature of the ECCE scheme means it is not supportive of the childcare needs of working families or the employment needs of professional staff. Also, a 3% reduction in capitation grants and an increase in the staff to child ratio from 10:1 to 11:1 have led to concerns about the implications on the quality of the service.
While major quality initiatives including the preschool regulations, SÃolta and Aistear, and a significant policy initiative of a universal free preschool year have been established, little has been done to address the pay and conditions of staff working in the sector.
There are still no mandatory training requirements for ECCE staff and it is estimated that 30% are without any qualification. The scheme has introduced minimum qualification standards for preschool leaders only, yet more demands are being placed on ECCE practitioners without a corresponding increase in recognition or remuneration, neither of which are mentioned in the Workforce Development Plan.
A recent survey of Irish BA ECCE degree graduates found that many graduates were frustrated with their pay and working conditions and tended to pursue other career options. Graduates of ECCE degree programmes are trained to expert practitioner level, and are rated very highly by service providers in countries such as Canada and Australia, yet the current HSE preschool inspection scheme fails to recognise the contribution that these early childhood specialists could make to the sector.
The focus of the Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations 1996 on structural aspects of settings is reflected in the filling of the inspection posts by public health nurses and environmental health officers to date.
Since 2006, the preschool regulations have emphasised more of the dynamic elements of quality in regulation five: health, welfare and development of the child, but this is still very limited and the emphasis continues to be on environmental and physical standards.
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs plans to implement a registration system by 2014 whereby all ECCE services will be obliged to pre-register and show compliance with all statutory requirements, is long awaited, and the Prime Time documentary has highlighted the immediacy of the need for this. In moving the issue of quality forward, more emphasis must be placed on the interactions and relationships with children in ECCE centres and recognition given to the central role of ECCE degree graduates as inspectors of preschool services as they are the specialists in this area.
Recent statements indicate that the Government aspires to follow the Nordic model of ECCE provision. In order to move towards such a model, the first National Early Years Strategy, due to be published shortly, needs to address the scale of national investment in the early years and engage in workforce development responding to the concerns of ECCE professionals regarding the low status and salary issues. These are crucial in achieving quality provision in the sector and ensuring that all children benefit positively.
- Dr Deirdre Horgan, Dr Shirley Martin, and Dr Maura Cunneen, BA Early Years and Childhood Studies Team, University College Cork.
----------Irish parents pay some of the highest childcare fees in Europe.
( A new report from Eurostat ) shows that average monthly fees for early childhood education and care (ECEC) are highest in Ireland, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
Parents have to pay for ECEC for younger children in all European countries except Latvia, Lithuania and Romania.
Childcare qualifications
The report looks at ECEC across Europe, and found that Ireland is one of two countries (the other being Slovakia) where there is no minimum level of formal qualification for working with younger children.
In addition, there is no minimum qualification for heads of ECEC settings in Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and the UK.
Four education systems in Europe require neither a minimum qualification nor specific training for childminders: Belgium (German-speaking and Flemish communities), Ireland, Slovakia and Liechtenstein.
Joblessness
The report found that one in 10 households with children under six in Europe is jobless, but Ireland is one of three countries (including Bulgaria and the UK) which is well above the EU average when it comes to jobless households.
Of the countries which have set criteria to define children in need of additional support, only Denmark, Ireland and France have not implemented any central measures for disadvantaged children.
“Nevertheless, in Denmark and Ireland, local programmes and initiatives address specific priorities in a given area,” said the report.
Education
Usually, the length of free ECEC provision corresponds to a typical school day, except in Ireland and all parts of the United Kingdom, where free entitlements cover only 10-15 hours a week
Ireland is the only country where primary education starts prior to the beginning of compulsory schooling. Here, children start compulsory education when they are six years old, but from the age of four they can attend infant classes.
Regulations
When it come to regulations, in Ireland, Lithuania and Malta, one staff member cannot look after more than three children under the age of 1.
The report found that few countries regulate the mix of indoor and outdoor
activities.
activities.
The regulations that do exist in this area are sometimes very general, stipulating only that children should have access to outdoor activities on a daily basis. However, no further details are provided regarding the proportion or duration of these activities (eg as is the case in Ireland).
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