Developing the Workforce in the Early Childhood

CDI

Childhood Development Initiative

A response to:

DEVELOPING THE WORKFORCE IN THE EARLY CHILDHOOD

CARE AND EDUCATION SECTOR

CONSULTATION DOCUMENT

Organisation: / Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (PEIP)
- ChildhoodDevelopment Initiative (CDI)
- Preparing for Life (PFL)
- youngballymun
Location: / Tallaght
Darndale
Ballymun

The Prevention and Early Intervention Programme, jointly funded by the Office of the Minster for Children and Youth Affairs and the Atlantic Philanthropies, includes programmes of work across three communities in Dublin – Ballymun, Darndale and Tallaght. Some of the areas which the projects are focussing on include: improving literacy, improving mental and physical health, increasing children’s readiness for school, increasing pro-social behaviour, and providing early childhood care and education.

The intention is that the learning from these projects can be benchmarked and evaluated, thus providing an important input to policy and service development. Learning will be captured both in terms of what works – the services and interventions that lead to better outcomes for children – and why it works in terms of the processes that contribute to successful outcomes. The latter includes learning about how services are best designed, offered, organised, and integrated, and the effect of community input to their commissioning and ongoing review. If these projects prove successful, the results may provide the basis for enhanced resource allocation processes and policy changes which will improve the outcomes for every child in Ireland.

Current role/interest in the ECCE sector:

Service providers with a focus on supporting school readiness through our work with early years providers in Ballymun, Darndale and Tallaght.
Education & training Provider with a focus on supporting the implementation of the Siolta Quality Assurance Framework in early years services in Ballymun, Darndale and Tallaght.
Prevention and early intervention strategy to measurably enhance outcomes for children and young people in Ballymun,Darndale and Tallaght.

We consent that our feedback on the development of the Workforce Development Plan for the ECCE sector may be published as part of the public consultation process.

Signed:youngballymun; Preparing for Life; Childhood Development Initiative

Please see Appendix 1 for further information on the Early Years Services being implemented across Ballymun, Darndale and Tallaght through the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme.

Changing Practice Environments:

Current and Future policy commitments regarding the development of early childhood care and education services in Ireland reinforce the need for developing the workforce
Do you agree/disagree?
Agree □ Disagree □
Additional Comments:

The 3 named communities: Childhood Development Initiative (CDI);Preparing for Life (PFL); and youngballymunagree that current and future policy commitments regarding the development of early childhood care and education services in Ireland reinforce the need for developing the workforce
It is crucially important that consultation takes place with the early year’s sector when future policy is being developed. An effective consultation process took place in relation to the development of Síolta-The national Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and we feel that this is a model that could be replicated when future policy is being developed
Policy developments should be linked to Síolta and Aistear and relevant legislation such as the Pre-School Regulations, 2006.
Developing the workforce in early years services is crucial for providing children with quality experiences
The 3 pillars of support towards quality i.e. the qualified adult, Aistear and Síolta are three interlinking areas and the integration of these will support development of the workforce in terms of setting standards and informing training and capacity building strategies
Historically there has been a diversity of service provision within Ireland and this should continue to be valued and recognised with appropriate policy developments taking this into consideration, so that diversity of choice and experience remains available to children and families. Recent work with both Siolta and Aistear respect this diversity.
It is important to put primacy on the child, quality service provision and the development of the child in that context in any development plan rather than early years provision as, for example a strategy to equality of opportunity in the workforce or any other economic objective, vital though such objectives are
In the 3 PEIP siteswe recognise care and education as inextricably linked; workforce development strategies need to emphasise the achieving of high standards of both care and education. Síolta, for example, is very much based on the principle that care and education go hand in hand.
Policy development needs to invest in early childhood care and education in a way which builds on strengths and existing service provision in a supportive way and supports consistency of quality standards in a range of services
We welcome the ECCE ‘pre-school year’ and feel that this is a positive step in ensuring equality of access/participation for children in all socio-economic areas. However we wish to put on record that children of all ages in early years settings require quality services; as funding requirements for the implementation of the pre-school year very appropriately require a certain standard of qualification on the part of staff we think it is vital to monitor the impact this may have on levels of staff qualifications working with other age groups in a service; staff development and capacity-building across the sector has historically been under-resourced and as a result there may be a possibility that qualified staff working with younger age groups may be exchanged with less qualified staff in the service. The pre-school regulations (2006) set out the minimum qualifications of staff working in early years services and recommend that fifty per cent of childcare staff should have a qualification appropriate to the care and development of children and that qualified staff should rotate between age groups
It is important that the 2006 regulations as the legally binding requirement on service providers are implemented and that appropriate resources are put in place to allow service providers to meet the requirements of the pre-school year provision without detracting from the quality of service with younger children
We welcome the discussion paper as a real contribution to the future sustainability of early year’s services. We would emphasise the importance of prioritizing investment in services to children from poorer socio-economic backgrounds where children and young people have historically had poor learning and school outcomes. The EOCP(2000-2006) and the NCIP (2006-2010) initiatives represent an investment by the state in ECCE services driven by an equality of opportunity agenda for working parents.This now needs to be revised to prioritise a focus on learning and life outcomes for children; particularly those that research shows are not likely to secure positive outcomes from education and schooling.
The period from birth to six years should be viewed as a continuum in a child’s life and the workforce development strategy should consider transitions within this period such as home to early year’s services and early year’s services to school and ensure that training for positive transition with appropriate supports isin place. Attention should be given to implementation of Síolta within Junior and Senior Infants classes and the opportunities this presents for multi-disciplinary teams in Junior and Senior Infants from both early years and education backgrounds working together
It is expected that by the end of 2010, the need for major capital investment in childcare may largely have been met. Research should be carried out to see if this is the case and to ensure sustainability of services, particularly in areas of high socio-economic need and disadvantage. Current figures for example with youngballymun from the HSE Public Health Nurse team suggesting 35 births per month across Ballymun gives rise to concern that adequate provision to meet the early childhood and pre-school needs of children are not in place.It is our hope that some capital provision, again prioritising the areas of highest socio-economic need, would be made, even in these constricted economic circumstances.
The emergence of a professional association for the sector is positive but awareness needs to be raised in relation to the association across the sector ensuring that the diversity of the sector is reflected in the association and that appropriate guidelines on the structure/management of the association are in place; some of the most minimally resources services may need some supports to allow staff to be represented and active in such an association
Linking childcare and education provision as a direct response to supporting workforce participation has deflected attention and resources away fromthe right of the child to access quality services to supportits holistic development. The workforce development paper provides a welcome opportunity to redress that imbalance. The rationale for the provision of early education should be based on the child’s rights and needs with the meeting the needs of the workforce as an ancillary matter, not at all insignificant but not with primacy either
In a low income household the cost of childcare is a barrier to families accessing quality provision and it is important that there is an equality of accessibility to ECCE for all children not just those of working parents
Research (see introduction above) conducted on behalf of both youngballymunand PFL indicates that children are starting school without the skills and know-how to manage the school environment. If early childhood care and education was more accessible for all children, this may reduce the number of children entering the primary school system before they are developmentally ready
It is important within the new ECCE ‘pre-school year’ scheme that the regulatory function is explicit and that there is a holistic understanding of quality provision for children across all the developmental sites
In order to professionalise the sector stricter regulation in relation to settings with CE staff need to be imposed. CE staff working in childcare should be provided with training plans, be enrolled in childcare training courses as a matter of urgency once they commence and have the status of ‘student’ in a centre until they achieve a full award. This will ensure appropriate upskilling of people on CE. Compliance visits should be paid to settings with CE schemes and within an agreed period only compliant settings should be allowed to avail of CE places.

The demand for education and training:

In developing a Workforce Development Plan, the current profile of the ECCE workforce presents a number of challenges that relate to both pre-service and in-service education:

To ensure that all new entrants to the workforce are appropriately qualified for their role and level of responsibility
To afford unqualified practitioners the opportunity to achieve a Level 5 award
To facilitate those holding Level 5 awards to progress to higher levels

Do you agree/disagree?
Agree □ Disagree □
Additional Comments:

It is valuable to have a diversity within the workforce and new policy developments should aim to be inclusive of all practitioners with provision of a range of opportunities for further professional development based on this diversity of needs
It is important to have a range of continuing professional development courses for practitioners and service managers
The reliance of some services on unqualified staff needs to be given attention so that training places are available within services as an addition to the qualified staff complement that meets regulations and quality requirements rather than as at present in many cases as integral to the day-to-day delivery of the service
Clear progression pathways need to be mapped out for the ECCE workforce who is progressing through the different levels of the Award Levels, between different providers and particularly FETAC and HETAC levels. Content of these courses such as language, etc should be consistent to maximize the transition between training for participants
Attention needs to be given to preparation of individuals to entry into training and appropriate supports to facilitate training access e.g. childcare facilities, funding, literacy supports
Síolta offers a practical tool for practitioners/services with clarity in relation to the depth of the practitioner role which could be very relevant in this context

Teacher training should encompass areas relevant to early childhood care and education with emphasis on play and its role in child development; ideally the boundaries between ECCE and primary school teachingtransitions into Junior and Senior Infant teacher training would be more varied and flexible to accommodate the non-traditional learner and also giving experienced practitioners in ECCE the opportunity to move across to infant class teaching
There should be a range of opportunities for practitioners who have achieved a level 7 award to undergo further study/training in areas relevant to early years including specialized areas such as pedagogy, and other areas of specific expertise
Opportunities for training should be diverse for example, full time and part time options as well as evening and weekend options to facilitate access
Grants and supports should be considered particularly to support staffs who return to part-time training as fees are exorbitant and part-time students don’t have access to any grant schemes.
Consideration could be given to developing a modular system for qualified practitioners where people could undergo units of training in a range of areas which could lead to a recognized award – current practice in the North of Ireland could be relevant in this regard.
A wider range of post graduate and masters opportunities needs to be available to the ECCE sector reflecting the range of specialisms integral to the whole area of child development, care and education.

Sectoral standards for awards in ECCE:

It is considered that the 2002 Model Framework which has been validated against developments in the sector will, together with the National Framework of Qualifications and with Síolta and Aistear , the Framework for Early Learning, inform the development of sectoral standards for all awards in early childhood care and education. The setting of these sectoral standards is a necessary prerequisite to the effective implementation of the Workforce Development Plan
Do you agree/disagree?
Agree □ Disagree □
Additional Comments:

The model framework and the NFQ are important documents in terms of informing the development of sectoral standards. Awareness needs to be raised around these documents in the sector and links and bridges between them made explicit for practitioners
Training and supports for service to engage with and implement Síolta and Aistear need to be offered to the early years sector
Siolta coordinators and others in similar roles can be given in-service briefing and training on how to most effectively integrate the frameworks in their day-to-day mentoring and support role with service providers
The model framework providesexcellent guidelines in terms of occupational profiles of various early years’ roles and each of the occupational profiles contains a holistic mix of knowledge, skill and competencies. ECCE workforce development policy and implementation strategies need to continue to recognize the immense value in training opportunities which balance theory with the application in real-time practice to maximize the learning, to build good implementation skills and to develop reflective practice
The quality and consistency of training provided under FETAC can vary depending on tutors and or the centre one attends. Quality control systems need to be established to ensure consistency. Trainers should be accredited to the appropriate level before they are allowed to deliver training.
It needs to be made clear that single FETAC modules do not constitute a full award, minor and major awards and related terminology should be obvious when participants join a course. FETAC trainers should have responsibility to ensure all course participants understand what module/award they are pursuing and what progression routes are available on completion of their current training.
The Siolta Framework should be incorporated as a module in all accredited childcare courses.
Every effort should be made nationally to support existing services to reach a minimum standard in relation to staff qualifications.

Access and effective participation in education and training programmes:

Access and effective participation in education and training programmes continues to be important for the development of the Workforce Development Plan. Specifically, the delivery of courses in ECCE will need to address issues such as flexible delivery, RPL and the engagement and retention of learners.
Do you agree/disagree?
Agree □ Disagree □
Additional Comments:

The content and delivery of courses in ECCE should reflect the diversity and differing needs of the workforce to ensure that training is accessible to practitioners and encourages participation of all individuals; this is particularly important for those in the workforce for whom ‘first chance’ education has not worked well and for whom the education and training in or through the ECCE workplace represents a vital ‘second chance’; furthermore for children such adult training and education models the importance of learning and learning as a lifelong activity so there is a wider community value as well
The content of current training programmes should be reviewed and training on Síolta and Aistear integrated into current programmes so that awareness of these working documents and their relevance to practice is provided at an early stage of experience/training
The particular support needs of adult learners who have been out of the education system for some time should be given due attention and appropriate strategies put in place – a diverse workforce in terms of age is likely to benefit to children in ECCE setting and to the coherence of staff teams
Preparatory training stages (all of which can be accredited)can support practitioners to enter more formal training structures as long as the progression pathways are clearly mapped and encouraged
Attention should be given to the role of mentors in the workforce development strategy; the practice of being mentored by one who has been through a similar process and faced similar challenges can make the training process more efficient with higher level outcomes in a shorter time frame; it is quite feasible that such mentors with a minor budget could be activated in an area or regional basis
Focus should be on continuous assessment/practical based work and evidence of knowledge and skills in the practice setting – the NVQ process in the North of Ireland has these practices very well established
Reflective practice and building these vital skills should be an integral aim of any ECCE training course
Courses should be geographically accessible for practitioners
The PEIP communitiesvalue the chapter on learner engagement and recognition of need to engage creatively with practitioners who may have different needs. We very much endorse this thinking and believe attention should be given as to how best to engage practitioners in training, with a range of affordable and diverse options
A system for the recognition of skills and knowledge gained from prior learning and practice should be established for practitioners who are established in the ECCE sector but have not undergone formal training
Agreement on a national credit system is vital
The identification of the workplace as a key setting where learning can take place and opportunities to maximize this is extremely important but as a trainee rather than a core member of staff and with appropriate mentoring structured into the in-service training programme
For services where an existing member of staff is undergoing training during operating hours resources need to be available to ensure that the quality of provision for children is maintained
Significant grants and subsidy systems should be an integral part of the professional development of the ECCE workforce enabling the required standards to be achieved in a shorter rather than protracted timeframe
Provision should be made in the sector for non-contact time to be built into the working week so that staff teams have time to reflect, plan and utilising this time for staff meetings, planning etc. should be a requirement.
Recognition of prior learning is a concern. The possibility of participation in Siolta should be taken into consideration.
For staff in management positions the possibility of accessing intensive courses at weekends/evenings should be provided to facilitate access to degree level qualification.

Supply of education and training places: