‘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' 3Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

Investment in Childcare €1.139 billion over a 10 year period from 2000 – Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

Bricks and Mortar 5Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

Investment Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 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 6Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

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 7Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

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). 8Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

Investment National Childcare Investment Programme 2006 – 2010 €575 million Shift in focus from supply to quality of provision 9Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

Outcome of the NCIP  Created an additional 24, 487 new childcare places nationally  Introduced the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme 10Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

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) 11Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

The Nordic countries spend between 1.2% and 1.7% of GDP Ireland’s investment is 0.2% 12Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

OECD (2010) 13Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

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Melhuish (2010) in Start Strong (2011) 15Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

Who is holding the baby…??? 16Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

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 Practitioner NFQ: 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 Practitioner NFQ: Level 7/8 (Ordinary Bachelors Degree) Full autonomy and responsibility for own actions and those of others. Responsibility for meeting required quality standards. Expert Practitioner NFQ: 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). 17Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

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). 18Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

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 19Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

Frequency of inspections Early Childhood Ireland, Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

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. 21Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

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.” 22Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

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. 23Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

Proposed action plan to redress issues in the sector 1Publication of on-line inspection reports from 1 st July, Strengthening the national inspection system 3Introducing new protocols on regulatory compliance and enforcement 4Increasing and widening the sanctions which can be taken for non- compliance 5Increasing the qualification requirements for all staff in pre-school services 6Introducing a registration system 7Introducing new national pre-school standards 8Supporting implementation of Síolta and Aistear frameworks 24Dr. Mary Moloney & Dr. Jennifer Pope

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