State Provision for Children
Assessment Title: State Support: State Provision for Children – ASG1
1) Historical Development of the ECCE.
The development of the ECCE sector in Ireland has been gradual and in the past decade state contribution has considerable increased. The Early Childhood Care & Education Scheme is a Government funded enterprise that provides one free pre-school year to every child in Ireland between 3-5 years.
The main drive behind the development of the ECCE was the booming economy, this placed increased demands on the employment market and it became essential to encourage women to return to the workforce. Coupled with a heightened awareness of how critical early childhood experiences are, not just to children but also to the society in which they will grow up and become adults. Recognising this as a time for intervention to combat social exclusion, poverty and educational disadvantages, the connection between care and education was recognised and this brought about a wide range of policy proposals, Equality Agenda and Barcelona Targets; Ireland's ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, this became a vital initiative and has set the foundation for all subsequent developments in the ECCE sector. The regulations under the Childcare Act – Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations 1996 and Child Care (Pre-School Services) (Amendment) 1997 – were the first of their kind and were collectively welcomed by the ECCE sector, with all these viewpoints the momentum for developing services for young children and their families was underway. Since 1998 the following documents have been published, Strengthening Families for Life: Report of the Commission on the Family (Dept of Social and Family Affairs) 1998. The Report of National Forum for Early Childhood Education (Dept of Education and Science) 1998. The National Childcare Strategy Report of the Partnership 2000 Expert Working Group on
1) Historical Development of the ECCE.
The development of the ECCE sector in Ireland has been gradual and in the past decade state contribution has considerable increased. The Early Childhood Care & Education Scheme is a Government funded enterprise that provides one free pre-school year to every child in Ireland between 3-5 years.
The main drive behind the development of the ECCE was the booming economy, this placed increased demands on the employment market and it became essential to encourage women to return to the workforce. Coupled with a heightened awareness of how critical early childhood experiences are, not just to children but also to the society in which they will grow up and become adults. Recognising this as a time for intervention to combat social exclusion, poverty and educational disadvantages, the connection between care and education was recognised and this brought about a wide range of policy proposals, Equality Agenda and Barcelona Targets; Ireland's ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, this became a vital initiative and has set the foundation for all subsequent developments in the ECCE sector. The regulations under the Childcare Act – Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations 1996 and Child Care (Pre-School Services) (Amendment) 1997 – were the first of their kind and were collectively welcomed by the ECCE sector, with all these viewpoints the momentum for developing services for young children and their families was underway. Since 1998 the following documents have been published, Strengthening Families for Life: Report of the Commission on the Family (Dept of Social and Family Affairs) 1998. The Report of National Forum for Early Childhood Education (Dept of Education and Science) 1998. The National Childcare Strategy Report of the Partnership 2000 Expert Working Group on