Getting the best start. 6 Key Recommendations for Quality Early Childhood Education

Transcription

1 Getting the best start 6 Key Recommendations for Quality Early Childhood Education

2 Early Childhood Ireland presents this 2015 prebudget submission at what we believe to be a turning point for the early childhood education sector. It is a time to push forward, taking the next vital steps to investing more in early education services and their staff to provide best outcomes for children. Early Childhood Ireland, following consultation with our members (3,400 members employing 16,500 staff and providing services for 101,000 children and their families every day) is offering our prebudget submission as a roadmap to quality early childhood care and education for all children. Each recommendation within this submission supports the broad goals of the Report of the Expert Advisory Group on the Early Years Strategy and the more recent Better Outcomes: Brighter Futures Framework and challenges Government to move beyond the rhetoric and provide the investment that will be required. We propose a system that: Builds the supply side, assuring quality in every service that is funded by government, instilling confidence in parents and facilitating their participation in the workforce. Provides realistic levels of capitation to enable services be sustainable and of a high quality. Allows capitation for all children (birth 6 years) thus supporting parents with the cost of childcare and simultaneously building quality in the services. Trains and retains well qualified staff on fair salaries and annual contracts which include non-contact time and CPD days. Treats all children equally, providing access to supports when optimally required for greatest impact. Today, on behalf of our members and the families they support in every community in Ireland, we spell out that required investment. The bottom line is that we are asking the Government in 2015 to invest 3,760 for each child in a registered setting with recommendations 1 to 5 adding to an additional investment of 351 million, with an additional 36 million coming from the Dept of Education for special needs (Recommendation 6). While this is a lot of money, we would ask you to consider the reality of 2009 with the removal of the Early Childhood Supplement from the sector which took out 300 million. When considered in the context of getting the sector back to pre 2009 levels, this 351m amount is realistic.

3 3 Key Resounding Messages from our Consultation Process Only quality counts, but quality costs let s build on investment The sector is characterised by examples of poor sustainability, which jeopardises previous investment and mitigates against quality. Sustainability and quality are constrained by the current levels of capitation; increased overheads including rates and rents; inability to pay and retain highly qualified staff and growing administrative demands. Get the current free preschool year right before introducing another The sector believes that a 2nd free preschool year should only be introduced when the issues of concern regarding the current One Year are addressed, including capitation levels, quality supports and non-contact time. Invest in special needs education in preschool Members make a strong demand for access to Special Needs Assistants for children accessing the free preschool year so that children can derive the maximum benefit from their early childhood education service. 6 Recommendations for Quality Early Childhood Education Recommendation 1 Increased Capitation for Free Preschool Year 22m Recommendation 2 Support for Parents on the Cost of Childcare 244m Recommendation 3 Graduate Staffing Fund 32m Recommendation 4 Extension of Free Pre school year to 48 weeks 50m Recommendation 5 Extension of the Learner Fund 3m Additional Commitment from DCYA 351m Recommendation 6 Introduction of SNA s for children attending pre school 36m services (from Dept of Education and Science budget) Finally, this pre budget submission asks challenging questions of government, is there a real commitment to follow through and resource aspirations outlined in our policy frameworks, is there a real commitment to quality early childhood care and education and is there a real commitment to parents in their role? We in Early Childhood Ireland are arguing today for increased investment in services, to consolidate and build on previous funding and to ensure that through a well-trained, resourced workforce, all our children are indeed getting the best start in life.

4 Recommendation 1: Increase basic capitation rates by per child per week (from to 73) with projected cost in 2015: 22m Early Childhood Ireland recommends that the capitation level for each child initially increases by to 73 per week in Year 1, with a further 10 per week increase in capitation in 2016 and 2017, bringing capitation to 93 per child per week. Sustainability is the dominant, pressing issue in the sector and is a significant threat to quality provision. Capitation must fully cover salaries, rent, rates, utilities, food, equipment, administration, finance/auditing, health and safety equipment and training. Current rates are inadequate to cover the basic operating costs of the majority of services and this must be addressed urgently. Recommendation 2: Provide standard capitation of 73 for all children (including infants and toddlers) in registered settings, thereby providing much needed support for parents to help address the costs of childcare. Projected cost in 2015: 244m Evidence from the Pobal (2013) survey indicates that the least qualified staff work with the youngest children. Early Childhood Ireland is asking the government to take this vital, bold step for our youngest children, the benefits of which would go directly to parents, reducing the cost of childcare. The deduction of capitation from parental fees could be monitored through existing structures and processes (CCCs; HSE Inspections; Pobal Inspections). This move would also ensure quality provision at the most critical time in the child s development in line with our European partners. Projected cost is estimated using a capitation level of 73, on a 48 week scheme for 69,500 children. Average 31.6 children per facility / 4,356 facilities, minus 68,000 ECCE numbers) [Pobal, 2013] Recommendation 3: Introduce a Graduate Staffing Fund providing a 7,000 grant to every service employing a graduate, which must be used as a direct salary supplement. The goal is to move towards parity of pay with Primary Teachers (commences at 30,702). Projected cost in 2015: 32m Qualifications within the sector have risen incrementally but pay and conditions have not. This creates a very real problem of retaining staff within the sector as not only are wages low but many employees are tied to contracts which only run over the Free pre school year 38 week schedule. Recommendation 4: Extend the Free Pre school Year to 48 Weeks Capitation in relation to the current Free Pre school year should be paid over a 48 week period in line with the Primary school system. The 10 additional weeks would provide support for non-contact time a minimum of 2 hours per week, which equates to 5 additional weeks over the year; 3 CPD days and holiday time. Projected Cost in 2015: 50m Early Childhood Ireland advocates for a system which allows for services to mirror the timeframe of primary schools, operating for 38 weeks of the year and for staff to have contracts of employment covering an initial 48 weeks. This development is essential to create viable careers in early childhood, to retain qualified staff and to build on existing investment in training. Within the existing model, funding only covers direct contact time with children (3 hours per day) with no funded time for all of the additional activities including planning, assessment and consultation that are required of a quality service.

5 This recommendation provides for the introduction of funded non-contact time which, is required to plan and evaluate curriculum, to engage with the national frameworks (Aistear and Siolta), to work with parents, to participate in staff meetings and to complete required documentation. Additional time built into the system is required to provide for ongoing training and continuing professional development (CPD) which currently is undertaken in staff s own time. Providing for CPD days will support the government to drive the quality agenda and information via HSE Inspection system will identify areas of weakness for CPD. Recommendation 5: Make the Learner Fund available to all existing staff and include Level 6, 7 and 8. Projected Cost in 2015: 3m. Extend the new qualification requirements to include those working with Under 3s. A Learner Fund was introduced in November 2013 to provide a subsidy for existing staff in the sector to achieve awards at Levels 5 and 6 in line with new qualification requirements. Investment in this initiative continues in 2014 but is limited to those working with children participating in the free pre-school year. This limited approach misses a vital opportunity to develop an integrated system of care and education for all children (those funded through CCS/CETS and parental fees). We recommend that the fund supports staff working with infants and toddlers along with the growing number of staff wishing to pursue higher qualifications at Levels 7 and 8. Recommendation 6: Introduce Specific Staffing Supports for Special Needs/Disadvan- tage. Introduce a funding strand, incorporated into the current schemes, to provide specific staffing supports, which would enable services directly employ SNA s or access other specialists (for example, Speech and Language hours or extra supports for children coming from disadvantage situations) on a needs basis. Projected cost in 2015 : 36m This recommendation uses an SNA hourly rate of 12.50, calculated for a 48 week ECCE timeframe for 4,000 children. Linked to this we are asking for increased and timely access to Assessments so that children can fully benefit from government investment in early childhood care and education. The latest Pobal survey (2013) indicates that 45% of all services had at least one child with a diagnosed special need and almost 4,000 children with disabilities were reported in these services. Where services have children with additional needs participating, a number of issues arise: Absence of SNAs to support children maximise opportunities presented by early education /free preschool year. Access to SNAs has traditionally been ad hoc across the country with hours available to individual children dependent on the HSE region and the time of year (available budget). Early Childhood Ireland members cannot access SNAs for children with additional needs in their services and our survey (2012) indicates that parents and services try to bear this cost. Assessment times Parents have enormous difficulties in sourcing timely assessments sufficiently early in the pre-school year. Typically assessments are prioritised within the system to meet primary school submission dates. Therefore, children with additional needs lose the full benefit of one free preschool year which impacts on their development and successful transition to primary school. These children are among the most vulnerable in our society and the absence of SNAs impacts very significantly on their life experience. This issue must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

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