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Dear colleague,
In the wake of a tough Budget, but one that reinforced the position of the Free Pre-School Year, our conference on 13 December brought together more than 200 participants to discuss the future of children's early care and education in Ireland.
We hope that all who took part found it a stimulating event. We believe the conference succeeded in highlighting many of the key issues that need to be addressed in next year's National Children's Strategy. We will be using the coming months to build on all that we heard on the day and to develop strategies for achieving policy change.
We will keep you updated on our activities in future e-newsletters. In the meantime, please encourage your colleagues to sign up for our e-newsletter, and continue the policy debates by taking part in our new blog, 0-6.ie (more on this below).
We are also pleased to inform you that we have received positive news from our funders, which will allow us to continue our advocacy in the coming years. With our warmest season's greetings,
Ciairin, Lorraine and Toby
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Start Strong conference - report
 On 13 December, Start Strong held a conference titled "The Next Six Years: The First Six Years". The focus of the conference was the National Children's Strategy and children's early years. We were delighted at the interest shown in the conference, with more than 200 participants, and a high level of energy and engagement throughout the day. Read more |
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The economics of children's early years
 To coincide with our conference, Start Strong has just published a new report on "The Economics of Children's Early Years - Early Care and Education in Ireland: Costs and Benefits".
The report gives an overview of recent research on the economics of children's early care and education, and shows the compelling economic case for Government investment in children's early years. Read more |
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Budget analysis
 Start Strong was relieved to see the Government's commitment to maintaining the Free Pre-School Year as universal and free, demonstrated in Budget 2012. Continued funding for the scheme is especially welcome in the context of a Budget that involved widespread cuts. Many of those cuts, however, will have a negative impact on young children and their families, especially families with low incomes. Our Budget Analysis examines the impact of Budget 2012 for young children and their families. Read more |
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Launch of 0-6.ie blog
 Our conference was just a beginning. We want the debates on the National Children's Strategy and children's early years to carry on. That's why we've just launched a new blog - 0-6.ie - as a forum for debate on Government policies for children from 0 to 6 years old.
Links to recent blog posts will also be featured in our e-newsletter. Read more |
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Growing Up in Ireland - 3 year olds
 At the Growing Up in Ireland conference on 1st December, the researchers presented initial findings on 3 year olds - the latest in a series of findings from this fascinating and important longitudinal study of children in Ireland today.
Many issues have been examined in this latest wave of the study, including the children's health, their family life and their early care and education, as well as the financial and economic circumstances of their families. Read more |
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Changing families
 Two major studies funded by the Family Support Agency were published in December on the changing character of families in Ireland.
While both reports are broad in scope, among the conclusions of both reports is the need for stronger work-life balance policies, in particular for policies that make it easier for fathers to have more flexible working arrangements. Read more |
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Children in Europe magazine - issue 21
 Children in Europe is a biannual magazine published in 15 languages by a European network of national magazines on children's early years (ages 0-10). This autumn's edition of the magazine focuses on the issue of "competence" in children's early care and education.Sub-titled "Empowering Children, Parents and the Workforce?", this edition includes articles on the professional competence of practitioners, staff-teams and institutions, as well as the competence of parents and children themselves. Read more |
Start StrongAdvancing children's early care and education in Ireland
  www.startstrong.ie+353-1-7910-100
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 | If I Had a Magic Wand
Our recent publication presents children's own views on early care and education services. Read it online |
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