 |
Dear colleague,
2012 promises to be an important year for early care and education in Ireland. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has announced that during 2012 her Department will prepare Ireland's first National Early Years Strategy. It could be a crucial step fowards, and we applaud the Minister for her commitment.
Much of Start Strong's activity in the year ahead will involve working constructively with the Government to follow through on this commitment, pushing for a national strategy that is ambitious, and working to influence the shape and content of the National Children's Strategy.
We will be aided in our work by a major new report just published by the OECD. Starting Strong III, discussed in the newsletter below, offers policy makers a "toolbox" of measures to raise quality. It's an important resource both for Governments and for advocacy organisastions.
Other issues in this newsletter include economic arguments for investment in young children, and the need for data to monitor progress. |
|
Minister announces new Strategy
 On 25th January the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald TD, formally announced that preparation will begin during 2012 for Ireland's first National Early Years Strategy, for children aged 0-6 years. Start Strong warmly welcomed the Minister's commitment, which we have been actively campaigning for. (See our Children 2020 report, and our briefing note Planning for the Early Years.)
The Minister states that the Strategy "will cover all aspects of children's experiences in their early years including health, family support, care and education and will identify the structures and policies needed to improve early years experiences in Ireland". Read more |
|
OECD - Starting Strong III
 Following on from its two previous Starting Strong reports, which provided international comparisons of early care and education in developed countries, the OECD has just published a third report in the series. Starting Strong III focuses specifically on the Government policies needed to ensure quality in early care and education. It's an important report, rich in evidence and policy ideas. Read more |
|
Why invest in high quality?
 Supporting its Starting Strong III report, the OECD has published a short briefing paper that sets out three reasons why Governments should invest in high quality early childhood education and care.
With an international organisation such as the OECD standing behind this call for more investment, it will be an important tool for persuading the Government to prioritise young children. Read more |
|
Report Card 2012
 On 23 January, the Children's Rights Alliance published its Report Card 2012. Based on the idea of a school report card, this annual report assesses the Government's performance over the last year relative to the Government's commitments on children. This year's Report Card - the first assessment of the new Government - gives an overall grade of C+. Grades for specific areas - such as early care and education, and child poverty - vary widely. Read more |
|
Childminding in England
 The National Children's Bureau has just published research on "Childminding Practice in England".
All childminders in England must be registered, must work within the same standards and curriculum as centre-based providers, and must be inspected regularly. It's a direction that Start Strong wants to see Ireland move in, so the study's findings are of great interest.Read more |
|
New Government data strategy
 The Department of Children and Youth Affairs recently published a "National Strategy for Research and Data on Children's Lives, 2011-2016".
The Strategy includes several positive commitments relating to data on early care and education, but there are many gaps in our knowledge of what is really happening in early childhood services in Ireland. Further action will be needed if we are to equip our policy makers with relevant data and research. Read more |
|
The case for universal childcare
 A report just published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) - a think-tank in the UK - argues that there is a strong economic case for Government funding of universal childcare.
At a time of recession, the public finances are so stretched that it is hard to convince policy makers of the need for additional investment in anything. This report reminds us that there are many economic reasons why investment in young children should be an exception. Read more |
Start StrongAdvancing children's early care and education in Ireland
  www.startstrong.ie+353-1-7910-100
|
|
|
 | Supporters
|
 | The Economics of Children's Early Years
Start Strong's latest report presents the compelling economic case for Government investment in early care and education. Read it now
|
 | If I Had a Magic Wand
Our recent publication presents children's own views on early care and education services. Read it online |
|
|
