This month saw the publication of Right from the Start, the report of the Minister's Expert Advisory Group on the National Early Years Strategy. This newsletter includes a summary of the report's key messages.
The recommendations in Right from the Start are excellent, but they will only mean something if they become Government policy and are implemented. We invite you to an information seminar we are organising on the report and on next steps for the Early Years Strategy - details below.
October also saw the Budget - and this newsletter offers analysis of its positives and negatives for young children - and further debate on the Child and Family Agency Bill, which continues to exclude childminders from regulation.
This newsletter includes summaries of two recent international reviews of lessons for policymakers on early care and education. The conclusions of both reviews fit well with the recommendations of the Expert Advisory Group. We also highlight new research from the Growing Up in Ireland study.
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Expert Advisory Group - report
 The Expert Advisory Group on the National Early Years Strategy, appointed by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, published its report on 10th October, called Right from the Start. Start Strong, which was a member of the Expert Advisory Group, has warmly welcomed the Group's report, and is calling on the Government to implement its recommendations in full. Read more |
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Right from the Start - building towards a National Early Years Strategy
 Start Strong will be hosting an information seminar - "Right from the Start: Building Towards a National Early Years Strategy" - on Thursday 21st November. More details on the seminar, including how to register to attend, are available here |
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Budget 2014 - analysis
 While Budget 2014 avoided cuts to early care and education services, there was no significant increase in the level of investment.
Investment in maternity leave has actually been reduced. Far from increasing the duration of paid leave in a child's first year, as Start Strong and others have recommended, the standardisation of Maternity Benefit in Budget 2014 is likely to push women to return to work earlier. Read more |
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Childminders excluded in Child and Family Agency Bill
 In order to establish the Child and Family Agency in 2014, the Child and Family Agency Bill has continued its progress through the Oireachtas , and last week was at Committee stage.
Start Strong supports the Agency's establishment, and welcomes many of the amendments to the Child Care Act that the Government is introducing within the Bill, including the introduction of a registration system for pre-school services.
However, the Government's wording explicitly excludes childminders from the new registration system, continuing the existing situation where the vast majority of childminders are excluded from regulation. Start Strong is continuing to campaign for the regulation of paid, non-relative childminders, which is also a recommendation of the Minister's Expert Advisory Group on the Early Years Strategy. Read our policy brief on the regulation of childminding
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Development from birth to 3 years - GUI report
 In September researchers on the Growing Up in Ireland study published a report of key findings on children's development from birth to 3 years old.
The study shows that the large majority of 3 year olds in Ireland are in good health and reaching their developmental milestones. But it also points to worrying trends, including the emergence by the age of 3 of a "social gradient" in child outcomes, with children from disadvantaged backgrounds already faring worse. Read more
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From evidence to policy - a UK review
 A new publication from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in the UK attempts to draw together a large body of evidence on what makes for effective, high quality early care and education, to draw lessons for policy-makers.
The report includes policy recommendations on staff qualifications, ratios, the inspection system, governance arrangements for services and parental leave. Read more
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Evidence on pre-school education - a US review
 A panel of 10 prominent US researchers on early childhood development have published a report that summarises the evidence on pre-school education - on its benefits and on factors that affect its impact.
Significantly, the researchers conclude - on the basis of all the research evidence available - that the benefits of high quality pre-school outweigh the costs including when programmes are rolled out on a universal basis. Read more
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Start StrongAdvancing children's early care and education in Ireland
  www.startstrong.ie+353-1-662-4018
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