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

Section 4Policy Developments 1990-2004Implications for the National Framework for Quality– Department of An TaoiseachDefining Quality:1. The provision of childcare services in order to achieve equality for women, bothwithin the home and in the labour market, is cited as an important aspect.2. The provision of quality services within areas of disadvantage is seen as having adouble benefit – in relation to the development of the child and the opportunitiesafforded to parents in relation to training, education and employment.Assessing Quality:1. Inspection of services must be comprehensive and holistic, focusing on all aspects ofall settings to ensure the optimum developmental opportunities for children.2. The design and layout of premises is a key feature in attaining quality withinservices.Supporting Quality:1. There is a multiplicity of government departments and agencies involved in thedelivery of ECCE services in Ireland. To ensure quality, it is imperative that there iscooperation and coordination between the various departments to prevent possibleduplication or voids in services.2. The training and qualifications of childcare workers is a core characteristic ofquality in ECCE services and there is greater need for standardisation andrecognised accreditation in this regard.3. The inclusion of quality ECCE on the political agenda (Partnership Agreements,NDP etc.) has proven an impetus in the prioritising of funding in this regard andongoing government commitment.4.3 Department of Justice,Equality and Law Reform(DJELR)The DJELR has played an increasinglyprominent role within ECCE in recentyears, primarily emerging from an equalityperspective for women in relation toemployment. While known as theDepartment of Equality and Law Reform(DELR), a Task Force on theTravelling Community was establishedand made its report in 1995 (DELR, 1995).A number of recommendations were madeconcerning preschool provision forTravellers. The Task Force called on theDepartment of Education to provideguidelines on a vast array of aspects ofpreschool provisions, including enrolments,procedures for dealing with children at riskand those with special needs and parentalinvolvement (DELR, 1995:33). The needfor guidelines on practice or curriculum ishighlighted as one aspect that needs to beaddressed as in their absence, there is“…widespread variation from one locationto the next and also has implications forthe overall quality of service provided tothe children…” (DELR, 1995:171) Thenecessity for legal registration was alsonoted in the era prior to theimplementation of the PreschoolRegulations, to govern aspects such ashealth, safety and welfare. The need forenhanced services is also asserted as “Goodquality, effective preschool provision iscostly but research indicates that the15