Policy Developments 1990-2004 - Centre for Early Childhood ...

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Section 4Policy Developments 1990-2004be supported by close cooperation and liaison between agencies and institutions.4. Services outside the remit of the current regulations must be supported to ensurethat all children are in receipt of a quality service.5. It is important to have standardised and current data on the opportunities availableto children to play in all areas.4.6 Department of Socialand Family Affairs (DSFA)In 1998, the DSCFA 5 published the Reportof the Commission on the Family -Strengthening Families for Life. Thiswas the culmination of a long processinitiated in 1995, which incorporated thecompletion of related pieces of research inthe intervening years to support thepublication. The Commission on the Familywas established in 1995 to “…makerecommendations to government onproposals which would strengthen thecapacity of families to carry out theirfunctions in a changing economic andsocial environment.” (DSCFA, 1998:2) TheReport viewed quality childcare as anintegral element of supporting families, andchildcare was raised as an issue in onethirdof the 536 submissions received:Quality childcare was oftenperceived to be vital to family life inthat it supports the development,education, care and welfare of thechild, as well as provides support tomothers who have to undertakeother commitments outside thehome. (DSCFA, 1998:61)Strengthening Families for Life cites thecurriculum and the training andqualifications of staff as being integralelements of quality and recognises that“…quality early education experiences arevaluable and important to all children,”citing benefits in relation to aspirations,motivation and commitment to schooling,as well as long-term benefits into adulthood(DSCFA, 1998:269). The Report is alsoforthright in its assertion that quality is noteasily achieved and that a supportinfrastructure is a prerequisite of success inattaining quality services:The Commission is of the view thatinspection alone will not secure highstandards. It would like to see theadoption of a supportive approachby the health boards alongside theinspection procedures. (DSCFA,1998:250)5 Up until 2002, this department was known as theDepartment of Social, Community and Family Affairs(DSCFA).Implications for the National Framework for Quality -DSCFADefining Quality:1. The use of an appropriate curriculum or programme is an important aspect inattaining quality within settings.2. The training and qualifications of staff are of paramount importance in ensuring aquality service for young children.36
Section 4Policy Developments 1990-2004Assessing Quality:1. Inspection alone will not ensure quality services. A system of supports to complementinspection must be implemented to ensure quality is achieved and maintained.Supporting Quality:1. The provision of quality childcare is an important element in the supports providedto families, including mothers working outside the home.4.7 InternationalPerspectivesEuropean structural funds began filteringinto the ECCE domain from the mid-1990s,largely framed within an equalityperspective regarding female participationwithin the workforce. This financedprojects such as the New Opportunities forWomen (NOW) Programme and thedissemination of this funding wasdependent on European guidelines.A number of international documentsproviding comparative reviews impingedirectly on policy regarding quality in theIrish context. In 1992, Balaguer et al.produced Quality in Services forYoung Children – A DiscussionPaper. The following aspects werehighlighted as important in the attainmentof quality:Policy;Legislation and standards;Financing and resourcing;Planning and monitoring;Advice and support;Staff training;Inspection of physical resources;Research and development;Integration and co-ordination ofservices (Balaguer et al., 1992).The report further acknowledges that theindividual context of each country was ofparamount importance in theinterpretation and application of suchaspects, yet all were significant in theattainment of quality.In 1996, the European CommissionNetwork on Childcare (1996) producedQuality Targets in Services forYoung Children, an outline of fortytargets which it aspired would be achievedby most countries within a ten-year period.Within this document, quality isunderstood as a relative and subjectiveconcept that cannot be defined succinctlybut instead:…should be seen as a dynamic andcontinuous process, involvingregular review and never reaching afinal, objective statement. (EuropeanCommission Network on Childcare,1996:7)It further states regarding the definition ofquality:That process needs to be dynamicand continuous. It should also bemulti-level, complex and democratic,because the process of definitionneeds to involve a wide range ofgroups with an interest in servicesfor young children… (EuropeanCommission Network on Childcare,1996:8)The importance of policy to support qualityimprovement is a recurrent theme of thepublication, stating that “…high qualityservices accessible to all children can onlybe achieved with a national policyframework.” (European CommissionNetwork on Childcare, 1996:10) Otherimportant elements in the achievement ofquality include:37
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