Wages in the Early Years Sector
February 1, 2018
In the first edition of Advocacy in Action (December 2017), our feature article looked at the trend in the sector toward improving sustainability through an ECCE-only model of early years provision. ECI first identified this trend in our seminal report Doing the Sums: The Cost of Providing Childcare (September 2016), which has since been supported by Pobal’s latest Early Years Sector Profile 2016/2017. This month’s feature article revisits the Pobal report and compares its findings on wages in the sector with those in our own report.
Independent Review on the Cost of Providing Quality Childcare
December 12, 2017
Crowe Horwath are undertaking an independent review on the cost of providing quality childcare on behalf of DCYA. In response to their call for evidence, the initial information gathering part of the review, ECI submitted a variety of studies and reports, both our own and external, which we believe are essential reading to understand the complexities and challenges facing the early childhood care and education sector.
An Uncomfortable Truth: The risk of poverty working in Early Childhood Care and Education
October 24, 2017
Tuesday 17th October marked International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2017. Each year, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection supports small initiatives to promote awareness of the Day and issues of poverty and social exclusion. This year the Department funded Early Childhood Ireland (ECI) to produce three videos capturing the impact of poor pay and conditions in the early childhood care and education (ECE) sector on the lives of early years educators.
Majority of childcare providers will not increase fees in 2017
August 15, 2017
Media interest in childcare fees has increased ahead of the roll out of ‘More Affordable Childcare’. Our survey reveals that the majority of childcare providers will not increase fees in 2017.
Lobbying for the Early Years Sector
May 16, 2017
On Tuesday 9th May, ECI Policy Officer Amy McArdle attended the Children’s Rights Alliance AGM and Annual Conference, which included a political panel discussion on early years reform. The discussion was wide ranging and the prevalent issues were around quality, professionalisation and pay and conditions.
