Childcare providers meet to debate extending free preschool scheme

By JACQUELINE HOGGE CHILDCARE providers are to be canvassed on the necessary requirements to support a second year of free preschool education at a special meeting in Galway this week. The session at the Harbour Hotel in the city on Thursday (tomorrow) at 7 pm, is one of four being held throughout the country to assess proposals to extend the early childhood education programme to two years. Rita Melia from Athenry is head of membership with Early Childhood Ireland, the representative body for childcare professionals that is organising the series of consultation meetings. â€Å“There is a lot of talk at the moment about extending the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme to a second year and Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald is committed to it but we want to ensure the proper building blocks are in place to support this,â€Â she said.[private] Under the ECCE scheme, children qualify for three hours of free pre-school care per day in the year before they begin primary school. The objective of the programme, which was introduced in 2010, is to make early learning in a formal setting available to eligible children. In recent weeks, several government ministers have commented on the possibility of extending the programme to a second year, subject to measures being implemented to support a longer running scheme. â€Å“Consulting with our members is the best way of finding out what is needed on the ground as they are best placed to advise on what the necessary requirements are,â€Â said Rita. Investment needed â€Å“The government needs to invest in this and to ensure that funding is adequate to deliver quality, and quality costs. â€Å“The question of whether the sector is ready for a second preschool year is being asked and we see the key building blocks for the discussion as qualifications, capacity, curriculum and capitation. â€Å“We need to see if there is capacity within the sector for a second year and whether or not the sector needs to be upskilled in order to support this. â€Å“In the three years since it has been introduced, there has been a 97 per cent uptake on the ECCE, which proves how successful it has been. â€Å“Ireland has the highest birth rate in Europe, a trend that is set to continue for the foreseeable so as we go forward more and more children are going to need access to early childhood education programmes.â€Â While tomorrowâ€â„¢s meeting is aimed primarily at childcare providers, Rita says a further phase of consultation will involve parents to gauge their opinion on the matter. â€Å“This first phase of consultation will look at the thoughts of our members, we wonâ€â„¢t be providing any answers at tomorrowâ€â„¢s meeting, but we will be looking for feedback and input from the experts in this field,â€Â she said. â€Å“The feedback weâ€â„¢ve had from the meetings we have already held in Dublin and Donegal suggest parents need to be involved in the process and of course this partnership with parents is crucial, given they are the primary educators of their children. â€Å“When discussing the cost of childcare in Ireland, weâ€â„¢ve got to shift the focus onto how the childcare bill should be paid for and how the onus is firmly on the State for more investment to support families and children. â€Å“We need real and affordable choices for families and we are asking our members to contact their local representatives on this issue prior to the next budget, so that the sector can be heard and the necessary funding for this second year of pre school education be secured.â€Â[/private]