Early Start Programme

Information

The Early Start Programme is a one-year preventative intervention scheme offered in selected schools in designated disadvantaged areas in Ireland. The objective of the preschool programme, which is managed, funded and evaluated by the Department of Education and Science, is to tackle educational disadvantage by targeting children who are at risk of not reaching their potential within the school system.

The Early Start Pre-School Programme was introduced in October 1994 in eight schools in disadvantaged areas, expanded the following year, and currently caters for approximately 1,700 pupils in 40 schools throughout the country. A list of the schools in the Early Start Programme is on the website of the Department of Education and Science.

The aims of Early Start are:

• To implement an educational programme that will enhance the overall development of young children and prevent school failure
• To counteract the effects of social disadvantage.

The desired outcomes of Early Start are:

• That the children involved in the Programme will develop confidence in their ability to learn
• That the children involved in the Programme will develop learning styles, which are led by motivated, organized and appropriately independent behaviour
• That the children involved in the Programme will develop their language, cognition and social/personal skills to the extent that they will be able to easily adapt to school life in the future
• That the "learning through play" approach used in the Programme will be positive and enjoyable for the children involved
• That the parents of participating children will become actively involved in their children's education.

How Early Start operates

Each Early Start centre, set up in vacant classrooms in existing schools, caters for approximately 60 children between 3 and 4 years of age. The centres' timetables permit two separate groups of pupils to attend morning and afternoon classes, thus increasing the potential of the centres. Two classes of 15 children may attend pre-school each morning from 9.00 to 11.30am and a similar number may attend in the afternoon from 12.00 to 2.30pm each day.

Each pre-school centre is run by two qualified primary school teachers, with proven expertise in infant teaching, and two qualified child care workers, who are appointed by the school's Board of Management. Teachers and child care workers in Early Start are members of staff and are under the general supervision of the Board of Management and the principal teacher.

Parental involvement is also a key element in the Early Start project, both in everyday management and in the organisation of activities. Working in conjunction with the school's Home School Community Liaison Co-ordinator, the Early Start staff encourage parents to take part in the centre's activities. A rota is agreed and parents take turns to spend time each week in the centre.

Post-primary students from local schools may also spend some time working in the centres as part of their Transition Year work experience and/or as part of their Youthreach, Vocational Preparation or Training Programmes.

The curriculum of the programme prioritises the four core areas of language, cognition and social and personal development. This is done by engaging the children in structured play activities, aimed at enhancing the children's development in the core areas. Within these play activities, teachers set specific learning objectives for each child. Play and positive adult-child interaction are the cornerstones of the Early Start activities.

After completing the Early Start programme, children proceed to the junior infant class of their primary school.

The Educational Research Centre, Drumcondra, has now formally evaluated the progress of the Early Start project thus far.

The evaluation has found that:

• Early Start has been successfully integrated into the Irish school system
• Parents are happy with the scheme
• Parents are involved in many of the activities provided by Early Start
• Children's performance on standardized tests did not indicate that there had been any significant effect on their cognitive and scholastic development
• Junior infant teachers judge children who have participated in Early Start to be superior to those who had not participated in cognitive and language abilities, their adaptation to classroom procedures and their general "readiness" for school.

As many aspects of Early Start are being evaluated by the Education Research Centre, the project remains in a pilot phase. Consequently, the exact future of the initiative is, as yet, unknown.

Childcare workers

If you wish to become a childcare worker in the Early Start Programme, you will require one of the following qualifications:

• A minimum of a one-year full time, post-Leaving Certificate Level 2 qualification validated by the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC), (referred to as the "The National Vocational Certificate: Community and Health Services - Childcare, Level 2"), or an equivalent qualification
• A fulltime course in childcare, pre-school care or social care, of longer duration, validated by FETAC or the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) or an equivalent qualification
• The National Nurseries Education Board (N.N.E.B.) Diploma in Nursery Nursing awarded by the Council for Awards in Children's Care and Education (CACHE)
• The FAS/City and Guilds Certificate Childcare 2 - Childcare Worker.

If you would like to make a case that your qualification is the equivalent to any of the above, the training institution that provides that qualification must apply to FETAC for equivalence recognition.

At the beginning of each school year, an induction programme is provided for those teachers who are newly assigned to Early Start. An in-service seminar for all teachers and childcare workers is generally held twice a year.

Rates

Grants available under the Early Start scheme

The following grants are provided by the Department of Education and Science for schools that wish to participate in the Early Start scheme:

• €5,713.82 per classroom 'start up' grant for the purchase of suitable equipment
• €2,539.48 per centre per annum for the purchase of materials/equipment
• €1,904.60 per centre per annum for the development of parental involvement
• €95.23 per pupil annual capitation grant to the school's Board of Management, which is to be used as funding support for day to day running costs of the centre.

Where to apply