National Early Years Access Initiative Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce in County Donegal

Overview  Application Process  Management Structure  NEYAI Vision  National Policy Objectives  Rationale for the Donegal Proposal  The Professional Pedagogy Project  Profile of Participants and Eligibility  National Evaluation  Timeframes

Application Process The Professional Pedagogy Project Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce In July 2010 agencies nationally were invited to an information meeting in the Department of Education and Skills in Dublin. 3 representatives from Donegal Agencies were in attendance. Interested parties would be required to put together a local consortium partner group, identify a lead partner and submit an Expression of Interest and project outline by 6 th September The expression of interest process was competitive with a scoring criteria applied. This would determine which projects would go through to the full application stage.

Application Process The Professional Pedagogy Project Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce 21 st July 2010 DCCC facilitated a meeting inviting all those agencies with an interest in being part of an initiative for Donegal to attend. 16 different agency representatives from across the county attended. 4 agency representatives - Donegal VEC, Inishowen Development Partnership, FAS and Children’s Services Committee Donegal expressed a commitment to be part of the consortium and voted that DCCC was best placed to be the lead partner.

Application Process The Professional Pedagogy Project Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce A project proposal was developed and the Expression of Interest was submitted by the 6 th September deadline. We were informed in October that this was successful and we were now down to a shortlist of 25 projects and asked to proceed to full application stage. The full application was submitted for 26th November 2010 deadline –a most comprehensive and detailed application.

Application Process The Professional Pedagogy Project Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce Informed on 22 nd February 2011 that the Donegal application was successful in being awarded €320,000 for the proposal. The pre-contract stage would take a further 3 months of providing further information, detailed project plans, budgets, staffing docs etc. before the contract was forwarded in May The NEYAI was officially launched in Dept Ed. on 20 th June The Donegal NEYAI PPP was launched in Letterkenny in Sep 2011.

Management Structure NEYAI Steering Group (EYPU, CES, HSE, DES, AP) Pobal National Evaluation Team Donegal County Childcare (Lead Partner) NEYAI Consortium (VEC, FAS, IDP, CSC) NEYAI Strategic Planning Group Donegal Project Coordinator PPP TEAM

Supporting Government Policy Objectives for ECCE The Professional Pedagogy Project  Síolta  Aistear  Workforce Development Plan  National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce

What is the vision for the NEYAI? The Professional Pedagogy Project  Evidence-based policy making  EPPI Studies, EPPNI and Perry Pre-School Projects  Improve services for approximately 360, year old children in Ireland  A sustainable legacy for the future  €5.25M  Robust, focussed evaluation. Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce

WDP Síolta Aistear National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy Implement National ECCE Policy Pedagogical Practice Practical Engagement with National Frameworks Build Educator Capacity Rationale for the Donegal Proposal Identified Need Donegal ECCE Sector

1: Implement ECCE Policy The Professional Pedagogy Project  Síolta, Aistear, WDP – cornerstones for future growth and development of ECCE Sector  A strategic, resourced implementation plan Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce Workforce Development Plan Síolta: the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework

2. Build Educator Capacity The Professional Pedagogy Project  Lighting a fire or filling a bucket?  ‘How’ to teach young children  Contemporary teaching techniques  Gaps in training Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce

Overall Conceptual Framework The Professional Pedagogy Project Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce Build Educator Capacity Build Educator Capacity Improved outcomes for children Improved Parental Involvement

The Professional Pedagogy Project  Training Programme  Mentoring and Support  Cluster Sessions  Information Sessions for Parents  On line Discussion Forum  Ongoing Consultation with Children Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce

Key Focal Points for Training and Mentoring The Professional Pedagogy Project Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce  Child Development and Learning  The Early Childhood Curriculum and Play  Pedagogical Techniques and Strategies  Planning and Reflecting on Professional Practice  Extending Learning through Assessment  Effective Transitions from Pre-School to Primary School

Accreditation The Professional Pedagogy Project  PPP will be put forward for Accreditation through LYIT – HETAC 6/7 Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce

Profile of Participants The Professional Pedagogy Project  3 Delivery Areas – Inis Eoghain, Letterkenny, Donegal Area.  11 early childhood services  Approximately 80 educators  Approximately 300 children and their parents Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce

Eligibility and Selection The Professional Pedagogy Project 1.FDC, Sessional, ECCE Childminder 2.Pre-School Unit as part of service 3.Whole Service Approach 4.Whole Staff Team Approach 5.Core Training – Minimum Level 5 6.Commitment – past record of CPD Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce

National Evaluation The Professional Pedagogy Project  Rigorous National Evaluation of all 11 projects  Treatment Group vs. Comparison Group  A sample group of 70 children and their parents from Donegal – 35 randomly drawn from sample  Core evaluation questions Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce

Baseline Measures Child Questionnaire – completed by Educator Physical health Social and emotional competence Language and communication Dispositions and attitudes Parent Questionnaire – completed by Parent Parent supports Relationship with childcare service General lifestyle Educator Questionnaire – completed by Educator Professional qualifications Relationship to job – satisfaction, commitment, support Engagement with children, parents

National Evaluation Timeframe The Professional Pedagogy Project  October/November 2011: Staff and Early Childhood Service Baseline Evaluation (prior to training taking place)  September 2012: Parent and Child Baseline Evaluation (Prior to commencing Pre-School)  June 2013: Staff, Parent and Child Follow-up Evaluation (End Pre-School Year)  October 2013: Parent and Child Transition Evaluation (Primary School) Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce

Supports and Outcomes Training, Mentoring, Peer Support Leading to increased professional capacity Educator Parent support workshops, improved relationship with educators Leading to improved parenting skills Parent Support from skilful educator Leading to improved learning outcomes and life chances Child

NEYAI PPP Opportunities Individual Transferrable skills and experience ECCE Service Needs-led supports National Evidence based policy making Local Project Leaders