Early Years Care And Education Policy In Ireland

In this essay, the development of Early Years care and education policy in Ireland will be discussed. Particular emphasis will be made on quality, curricula and professionalism of the developments. Some of the main reasons policy and provision weren’t up to standards is because in the early 1900’s eternal factors such as poor economy and a high level of unemployment meant there was no demand for childcare services in Ireland. External factors such as EU policy and children’s rights also affected the policy and provision of early childhood care and education.
In the 1990’s, the economic factors started to change – it was the start of the Celtic Tiger era and employment rates increased, especially in the rate of woman who became employed. The
(Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform,1999, p.22). This act was called 1996 Childcare (preschool services regulations). The act focused on aspects of settings including adult to child ratios, equipment, first aid and the number of children enrolled in a setting. However, there were no specific criteria for aspects of quality provision such as curriculum. The act introduced inspections which would eventually enhance pre-school provision and to ensure health and safety. These inspections were mostly done by public health nurses who were unexperienced in the childcare settings. It was also stated that the members of staff in these childcare centres had to have adequate experience or an appropriate childcare qualification. Before 1997, there were no specific qualification requirements for early childhood practitioners. Since the 1990’s there has been huge growth in the sector in Ireland and now there are more than 22,000 practitioners employed in Early Childhood Education settings (Duignan, 2012). In recent times, because of funding and changes in policy, it is said that all childcare staff must have at least a level five qualification. (Share et al, 2013, p. 32) In 1998, the government wanted to help families with childcare responsibilities so the 1998 Strengthening Families for life act was introduced. Its aim was to review life as a family in Ireland and to promote continuity and stability of family life. (Hayes, 2002) A key issue was to bring about a balance between work life and family life which would strengthen families and allow them to carry out daily functions without