Assessment Title: State Support: State Provision for Children – ASG1 1)Historical Development of the ECCE.
The development of the ECCE sector in Ireland has been gradual and in the past decade state contribution has considerable increased. The Early Childhood Care & Education Scheme is a Government funded enterprise that provides one free pre-school year to every child in Ireland between 3-5 years. The main drive behind the development of the ECCE was the booming economy, this placed increased demands on the employment market and it became essential to encourage women to return to the workforce.Coupled with a heightened awareness of how critical early childhood experiences are, not just to children but also to the society in which they will grow up and become adults.
Recognising this as a time for intervention to combat social exclusion, poverty and educational disadvantages, the connection between care and education was recognised and this brought about a wide range of policy proposals, Equality Agenda and Barcelona Targets; Ireland's ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, this became a vital initiative and has set the foundation for all subsequent developments in the ECCE sector.The regulations under the Childcare Act – Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations 1996 and Child Care (Pre-School Services) (Amendment) 1997 – were the first of their kind and were collectively welcomed by the ECCE sector, with all these viewpoints the momentum for developing services for young children and their families was underway. Since 1998 the following documents have been published, Strengthening Families for Life: Report of the Commission on the Family (Dept of Social and Family Affairs) 1998. The Report of National Forum for Early Childhood Education (Dept of Education and Science) 1998.The National Childcare Strategy Report of the Partnership 2000 Expert Working Group on Childcare (Dept of Justice, Equality and Law Reform) 1999.
The Ready to Learn, White Paper on Early Childhood Education (Dept of Education and Science) 1999. Our Children Their Lives, the National Children’s Strategy (Dept of Health and Children) 2000. These reports and white papers have served to bring Early Childhood Care and Education into the mainstream of policy making. 2) Current ECCE Provision. The State pays a capitation fee to participating playschools and daycare services.In return, they provide a pre-school service free of charge to all children within the qualifying age range for a set number of hours over a set period of weeks.
The ECCE programme is designed to give children access to a free pre-school year of appropriate programme-based activities in the year before they start primary school. Participation in a pre-school programme provides children with their first formal experience of early learning, the starting-point of their educational and social development outside the home.Children who avail of pre-school are more likely to be ready for school and a formal learning and social environment. In general, each eligible child is entitled to one free pre-school year.
Certain children with special needs may avail of a pro-rata provision over two years, provided they fulfill certain conditions. The Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) Scheme is a scheme for community based childcare services to provide quality childcare at reduced rates to disadvantaged parents.The CCS Scheme operates as part of the National Childcare Investment Programme, which is administered by the Childcare Directorate of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Childcare services participating in the scheme are required to provide a quality service and administer the CCS tiered fee system, with maximum and minimum fees set at appropriate levels.
By doing this, childcare services will be subsidised to enable reduced fees to be charged to certain groups of parents.All monies received under the subvention scheme goes directly to the childcare service. Where children attending community childcare services are not in their pre-school year or are too young to access the ECCE Scheme, eligible parents will be able to access the CCS Scheme in participating community childcare settings and this will not affect the child’s entitlement to a free pre-school place in the subsequent year. Thirty three City and County Childcare Committees (CCCs) were established in 2001, to encourage the development of childcare locally.City and County Childcare Committees are the first point of contact for the public in applying for grant assistance under the National Childcare Investment Programme.
They offer a wide variety of services locally including; advice on setting up a childcare business; childcare information sessions; training courses for those considering a career in childcare; and advice and support on applying for a National Childcare Investment Programme grant. City and County Childcare Committees also offer services to parents, such as providing information on local childcare facilities and information on parent networks. ) Health and Welfare. The Public Health Nurse Service is a Community based service aimed at promoting and protecting the health of children in Ireland.
They provide services in schools, in day care, community centres and in people's homes. They liaise with family doctors, hospitals and other health service providers to ensure that the needs of children are met by the overall health service. They visit new-born infants and their mothers in their homes within 6 weeks of the birth and provide developmental checks as the child grows.Child Benefit is paid to parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age, or under 18 years of age if the child is in full-time education, training or has a disability. Other provisions are Children’s allowance, Income support, Medical card and immunisations which are free of charge.
4) Equal Opportunity Legislation The Equal Status Act is based on the principle that everyone has an equal right to participate in our society. People should not be denied access to services, facilities or amenities because of race, age, religion, disability or membership of a traveller community – everyone should be seen s being of equal worth and should be treated on merits and not on the basis of a prejudice or stereotype. Childcare Act 1991 This Act provides the legislative basis for dealing with children in need of care, protection, and the promotion of the child’s welfare. It also places a specific duty on the Health Service Executive to identify children who are not receiving adequate care and protection and, in promoting their welfare, to provide child care and family support services.This Act underpins the basic tenet that the welfare of the child is of paramount importance. The Education For Persons With Special Educational Needs Act 2004 was passed to ensure that persons with special educational needs can be educated where possible in a inclusive environment, that they can have the same rights to education as persons who do not have special educational needs and to ensure that such persons are equipped by the education system with the skills they need to participate in society and to live independent and fulfilled lives.
White Papers on Early Education, Aims to support the development and educational achievement of children through high quality early education, with a particular focus on the disadvantaged and children with special needs. Its mission is to enable individuals to develop to their full potential as persons and to participate fully as citizens in Ireland’s social and economic development. 5) Maintaining a Quality ECCE EnvironmentThe learning environment for children requires careful consideration; it should be well maintained, safe, hygienic, accessible and adaptable and take into consideration what is developmentally appropriate, motivating and appealing to children. As all children’s needs, interests and backgrounds are so different it is important that the setting supports and reflects the diversity. The environment should facilitate challenge, exploration and risk-taking.
Siolta focuses on all facets of quality within ECCE settings including learning and development, it outlines 12 principles, 16 standards and 75 components, this is the vision, vision into practice and indicators of quality. Aistear outlines the content of children’s learning and development using the four themes of Well-being, Identity and Belonging, Communicating, and Exploring and Thinking. This provides challenging, positive and enjoyable learning experiences for the children. Both frameworks complement and support each other and help practitioners to maintain quality through the ECCE environments.
