Early childhood education

Information

Early childhood education generally means education before the start of formal schooling or before the age at which children are generally required to attend school. It covers the period from birth to 6 years. Legislation on school attendance requires children to be at school (or receiving an education) from the age of 6. In practice, almost all 5-year-olds and about half of the 4-year-olds actually attend primary schools.

Early childhood education services include infant classes in primary schools and a range of childcare and preschool services. 

The Department of Education and Science's involvement in early childhood education focuses mainly on interventions for children who are disadvantaged or have special needs. The Early Years Education Policy Unit of the Department of Education and Science and the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs work on policy issues affecting early childhood care and education.

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme

The new Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme provides for a year of free early care and education for children of pre-school age. It starts in January 2010. In general, the provision will amount to 3 hours per day, 5 days a week over a 38-week year for children enrolled in participating playschools. Children enrolled in childcare services will receive 2 hours and 15 minutes per day over a 50-week period.

The ECCE scheme is administered by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

Department of Education and Science's involvement in early education

Infant classes in primary school

There is a special grant allocation to national schools to help buy equipment and materials for infant classes in primary schools. The amount depends on the numbers involved, up to a maximum of €1,904.61.

Early Start

The Early Start Programme aims to tackle educational disadvantage by targeting children who are at risk of not reaching their potential within the education system. It is a one-year preventative intervention scheme offered to pre-school children (3 to 4 years old) in some schools in disadvantaged areas.

Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools

The Department has a range of programmes including Early Start to address educational disadvantage under the Delivering Equality of Schools (DEIS) action plan.  As part of DEIS the Department is developing supports for early childhood education to complement childcare services in disadvantaged communities.

Pre-school provision for Travellers

There are 45 pre-schools for Traveller children which prepare them for primary school. The State provides 98% of the tuition costs for a maximum of 3 hours' tuition per day for the regular school year. Transport costs, where necessary, are also almost fully funded by the State, while additional support is provided for the purchase of equipment. Some Traveller children also attend Early Start, community childcare or private preschools.

Children under 4 with special needs

The Visiting Teacher Service of the Department of Education and Science provides a service to young children with visual and/or hearing impairment, from the age of 2 years.

There are a small number of special pre-school class units for children with autistic spectrum disorders attached to primary schools.

Local Health Offices and/or voluntary bodies provide services for young children with severe or profound disabilities. The services are provided in Child Education and Development Centres and are generally run by a clinical director and staffed by nurses with an intellectual disability qualification, with teaching inputs supplied typically by Montessori-trained teachers. Play therapists are also employed in some of these centres.

Pre-school children do not have a specific right to education. However, they are entitled to certain health services which are related to education. The Health Service Executive is responsible for providing psychological services and speech and language therapy services for pre-school children with disabilities who are assessed as needing these services. Assessments of children under the age of 5 are carried out under the assessment of need provisions of the Disability Act 2005.

Childcare

Training and qualifications for childcare workers

There is a range of training courses leading to qualifications in childcare mainly accredited by the Higher Educational and Training Awards Council (HETAC) and the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) within the National Framework of Qualifications. The Early Years Education Policy Unit of the Office of the Minister for Children is developing a strategy to provide 17,000 childcare training places by 2010.

However at present, there are no minimum standards concerning the educational component of services or the training and qualifications of staff. The Report of the Partnership 2000 Expert Working Group on Childcare recommended, among other things, that the childcare sector should aim to achieve the European Commission Network on Childcare target of a minimum of 60% of staff working directly with children in collective services having at least 3 years training.

Regulation of childcare services

Under the Child Care Act 1991, the Health Service Executive is responsible for the welfare and development of children attending pre-school childcare services. Pre-school services can mean pre-schools, playgroups, day nurseries, crèches, day care facilities or other similar services that cater for pre-school children. You can read more about the regulation of pre-school childcare services here.

Government policy on early childhood education

The White Paper on Early Childhood Education 'Ready to Learn' is concerned with children from birth to 6 years. It sets out the core objective of early childhood education as "supporting the development and educational achievement of children through high quality early education, with particular focus on the target groups of the disadvantaged and those with special needs".
It sets out a number of guiding principles:

• Quality will underpin all aspects of early education provision.
• The State will build on existing provision and use the existing regulatory framework, where possible.
• Implementation will be undertaken on a gradual, phased basis to allow all the participants in the system to prepare adequately for the challenges that lie ahead.
• Progress will be achieved through a process of consultation, dialogue and partnership.

The White Paper proposes early support for families of children with special needs; such parents should have access to an early education expert, initially as an advisor to parents, then as a teacher.

Early education providers who receive State funding for developmental/educational places will be required to meet set standards. Other providers who satisfy the required standards can obtain special recognition through the awarding of a Quality in Education (QE) mark. The QE mark will apply to educational standards concerning curriculum, methodologies, staff qualifications and training. The existing childcare regulations will continue to apply.

The Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE) was established in St. Patrick's College in Drumcondra in 2002 and closed in 2008 when Government funding for the centre ceased. In 2006 it published Síolta: the National Framework for Quality in Early Childhood Education which includes standards for quality early childhood education. The aim of the CECDE was to develop and co-ordinate early childhood education in accordance with the objectives contained in the White Paper on Early Childhood Education 'Ready to Learn' and to advise the Department of Education and Science of policy issues in the area.

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has developed Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework,  which was launched in autumn 2009.