Publication of Reports of Education-focused Inspection in Early-Years
Settings participating in the
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme
The first reports of education-focused inspections in pre-schools
participating in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme
implemented by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs were published
by the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills today.
These inspections examine the quality of pre-schools’ provision for
children’s learning and report on the standards of young children’s
learning in the early years’ settings. They provide information to parents
about how well pre-schools are providing suitable learning experiences for
young children and how well children’s needs are being met by pre-school
staff. The clear, easy-to-read reports are available on the DES website,
www.education.ie and on the DCYA website, www.dcya.ie
Since mid-April 2016, when the inspections began, a total of 182
pre-schools have been inspected. The inspections are being carried out by
specialist early-years inspectors in the DES Inspectorate on behalf of the
Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Education
and Skills.
The early-years education-focused inspections are part of a range of steps
being taken by both Departments to improve quality and standards in the
early-years sector. As well as reporting on the quality of the provision in
the pre-schools, the early-years’ inspectors advise staff in the
pre-schools about how to improve their work with children. These
education-focused inspections complement the regulatory inspections carried
out by TUSLA, the regulatory body for early-years provision.
The inspections reflect the broad range of early-years settings delivering
the ECCE programme. The reports describe many positive features of the
pre-schools visited, including the strong commitment of pre-school staffs
to deliver high quality education experiences for children. The reports
also show the challenges facing the early-years sector, many of which need
to be addressed through investment and capacity building. Some of these
challenges include: inclusion of children from diverse backgrounds,
fostering positive partnerships with parents and enabling smooth
transitions from preschool to primary school.
Welcoming today’s announcement, the Minister for Education and Skills,
Richard Bruton TD said, “The Programme for Government commits to
prioritising early years’ investment to reap a host of positive outcomes,
including higher secondary school completion, employment rates and higher
lifetime earnings. These measures underpin a targeted investment approach
based on international best practice for young children. These inspections
are part of a range of steps being taken by government to improve quality
and standards in the early-years sector.”
Today’s announcement is a very positive development and one which parents
in particular will welcome. Improving the quality of early years provision
and providing accessible information to parents about schools and
pre-schools is a priority for me.”
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone TD said "the
Early Childhood Care and Education programme has transformed daily life for
thousands of families, thanks to the dedication, hard work and skills of
providers. I want to thank all who co-operated with the inspections which
will ensure that we maintain the high level of service available while at
the same time providing information to parents to allow them to make
informed decisions when choosing pre-school for their children."
“These inspections will certainly support the other steps that I and my
Department are taking to improve the opportunities for young learners at a
very crucial stage of their learning and development” she added.
Ends//
Background notes:
Education-focused Inspections (EYEIs) are conducted by early years
inspectors from the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills
in a diverse range of early years settings nationally. A guide to the
inspections, A Guide to Early-Years Education-focused Inspection (EYEI) in
Early-Years Settings Participating in the Early Childhood Care and
Education (ECCE) Programme (2016), is available on the DES and DCYA
websites.
The new inspections build on existing curriculum and quality assurance
frameworks for pre-schools, most notably, Aistear: the Early Childhood
Curriculum Framework, and Síolta: the National Quality Framework for Early
Childhood Education. During the inspections, the DES early-years inspectors
monitor the quality of the educational experiences provided for children in
pre-schools and give feedback and practical advice to practitioners about
how provision can be improved.
It is anticipated that over 500 education-focused inspections will be
completed by the DES Inspectorate in pre-schools by the end of 2016. The
first 44 reports arising from the inspections conducted in April and May
2016 are published today. They reflect the broad diversity of early-years
settings delivering the free pre-school programme. The reports of Early
Years Education-focused Inspection can be found on the Department’s website
www.education.ie and on the website of the Department of Children and Youth
Affairs www.dcya.ie
Funding of €0.8m was initially provided by the Department of Children and
Youth Affairs to the Department of Education and Skills to fund the
education-focused inspections in 2016.