In Policy in Action this week, we examine a recent Irish Times article addressing closures in Early Years settings (available here to publication subscribers). This article features our Director of Policy, Frances Byrne, and Early Years provider and long-time member Louise Kilbane. This piece is an excellent example of how our media and policy teams
Last week, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) published the End of Year Three Evaluation Report of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM). The independent evaluation, undertaken by the University of Derby, involved almost 2,000 stakeholders – parents, educators, providers and representative groups. The Report The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM)
Early Childhood Ireland has called on the Government to reduce the consistent poverty rate for children living in Ireland from 7.5 per cent to 2 per cent over five years. This ambitious target is one of many proposals that Early Childhood Ireland has made as part of a recent submission to the Public Consultation on
Last week, as part of our continuing advocacy work, our team engaged with local media throughout the country by issuing our first press release of the year. We reiterated our call for a coherent 5-year plan for the Early Years and School Age Care sector and outlined how Government can address some of the main
Introduction This month, Eurostat published new statistics available through a new indicator for measuring ‘Children in formal childcare or education by age group and duration’. These statistics measure the participation of children in Early Years and can be filtered by their age group and duration. The development of this indicator and collection of this data
At the end of September, Eurofound released a new report that looks at the trends and disparities in children’s access to Early Years care, education, healthcare, nutrition, and housing. Eurofound is a European Union (EU) agency that provides knowledge to assist the development of better social, employment, and work-related policies. Key Findings The report found
Although a giant leap towards quality for children in our Early Years (EY) and School Age Care (SAC) settings is needed, regrettably, no new target or plan was announced in Budget 2024, meaning continuing uncertainty for families and settings. In our Budget 2024 submission, Early Childhood Ireland called on the Government to publish a five-year
The Government is considering the introduction of a second tier of child benefit, which could pull over 40,000 children out of poverty The introduction of a means-tested second tier of child benefit is being examined by the Department of Social Protection, according to the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, in his address to the Seanad last
The OECD has recently released Education at a Glance 2023, the latest edition in its informative series on the state of education around the world. The series addresses a range of issues, providing key data for analysis by governments, academics and organisations seeking policy change for children and young people. It covers all levels of
From 30 August until 2 September, a group from Early Childhood Ireland attended the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) conference in Estoril, Portugal. The 31st iteration of the conference, it focussed on ‘Children’s Curiosity, Agency and Participation’ and the challenges for professional action and development. EECERA takes place annually and this year the
Funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan, 2018-2027 Company Registration No: 506235
Charity No CHY: 19987
Registered Charity No: 20078904
Funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan, 2018-2027 Company Registration No: 506235
Charity No CHY: 19987
Registered Charity No: 20078904
Funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan, 2018-2027 Company Registration No: 506235
Charity No CHY: 19987
Registered Charity No: 20078904
