Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome. I am delighted to see her here again. She attends regularly. I am reminded of when she was a Member here. Her interest in this topic was evident then.
I wondered what I would speak about today. I have five children and 16 grandchildren and, therefore, have some experience from that point of view. My other experience is that, in my business approximately 40 years ago, we established playhouses in each of our supermarkets. We established a condition at that very early stage that the playhouses, which were for children up to seven and eight years of age, would never be just for entertainment; we were trying to develop the children. It worked very well over the years, to the extent that parents shopped with us not only because we looked after their children, but also because we developed them. We learned later from schoolteachers that they could identify the children who had been used to the playhouses from the age of two or three. Therefore, very early development is an important aspect.
When I was chairman of the committee on the applied leaving certificate, we learned that youngsters of 16 and 17 only suddenly blossomed when doing the applied leaving certificate examinations because, from a very early age, at four, five, six or seven, they had been at the back of the class because they were not academically minded. Since they were at the back of the class, they were ignored to a large extent. It seems their abilities and talents were not developed until a much later stage. It is a real reminder that the onus is on us as a nation to ensure we educate children at a much earlier age. That is why I welcome the debate today. We need to do much more in this area. In this regard, one should note that many states in the United States now believe investments in early learning programmes deliver better dividends than similar investments in university education. I was surprised by that but it is never mentioned. Although we talk about lifelong learning, could a strong signal be made to reflect the importance of this point? Could we count school years from birth rather than from the start of primary school to underline the importance of the preschool years in child development? It has been argued that this would encourage school readiness among parents and children. We must make it clear that the educational cycle does not begin at primary school but at birth. This would be a very interesting idea to consider, and I am interested in hearing the Minister's view on it.
My second point is very obvious but perhaps it is too readily ignored. Could a national campaign be launched to educate people in the basic principles of parenting in terms of our early years strategy? We teach skills such as driving but, although the skill of parenting is so important, we ignore it. Why? A programme could be along the lines of a public health campaign that would explain to parents the importance of the first three years of a child's life in setting up emotional and even academic foundations. Many still do not fully understand or accord enough weight to the fact that the child's experience in the family has a massive impact on his educational achievements. Do parents know how to respond to a baby's cues? Do they know how they should talk to the baby frequently? Do they know certain gestures have an effect on the mind of a child? I am not sure they do. I would be interested in hearing the Minister's views on this because it refers to a basic part of a child's development. There is a lot of potential in this area.
On preschool years, according to a major study every euro invested in preschool years for at-risk children reaps between €8 and €9 in return. Early years comprise such a crucial time, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Research published in the journal Child Development has shown that young children do better in socially mixed settings. For instance, when children with weak language skills are in preschool settings alongside children with stronger language skills, their language skills develop faster than those of children in settings where all the children have relatively weak language skills. We could do more to encourage the mixing of children from different backgrounds at preschool level.
Many parents may not be sending their children to preschool as they may be unemployed and cannot afford it, even though preschool years are crucial for children. How do we nudge parents to make their children attend? In Norway, where the majority of preschools are privately run, there are public subsidies and national regulations that set maximum fees. In 2011, the maximum fee charged to parents was €310 per month, or €70 per week. We need some more movement in this area. I would love to believe we could do something. Given that child care is so expensive in Ireland, could the State invest more in kindergartens?
Are preschool teachers' qualifications strict enough given the importance of early years education? Should we be improving the quality of preschool teachers? I would be interested in hearing whether the Government has any plans in this area.
With regard to learning how to learn, we must teach children how to learn. This may seem obvious but the ability does not come naturally. Many countries, including Finland, have set courses in learning how to learn. Student behaviour has changed radically over the past decade.
EUROSTAT recently reported that Ireland had the lowest level of foreign language tuition in Europe and that the study of at least one foreign language at primary school level had become compulsory in every European country except Ireland. We have an unusual set of circumstances in that we speak English as a first language in most cases and, therefore, do not get around to learning other languages. I sent my three boys and two girls to school in France for the short summer term at the age of 13. It is a little dangerous because the two girls fell in love with Frenchmen at the age of 13 and are now married to Frenchmen. We have a number of French grandchildren. It is great to be fortunate enough to be able to learn a language. We should do whatever we can in this regard.
I have called before for the use of the Michel Thomas method. In French, one does not pronounce the "s" in Thomas. The method is amazing and has led to proven results. Students do not have to learn grammar and are excited to learn according to the method. As when we went to the Gaeltacht, we did not learn grammar but how to speak. We chatted and it was just a joy to do that. The Guardianrecently described Michel Thomas's teaching of French in a school.

He astounded staff at a school in north London by teaching a group of teenagers deemed incapable of learning languages. In one week, they learned the amount of French it normally takes five years to acquire.

There is a danger of becoming stuck with rote learning and stodgy grammar.
My other point is on teaching entrepreneurship, even at a very early age. On Friday morning, I will be speaking about entrepreneurship to students in fifth class in a school where I live. It seems some schools are doing this very well. It should not only be in secondary school.
People forget that disadvantage and mental development are linked to food and nutrition. It is a crucial part of early development.
On improving the quality of early years education, it should be mandatory for schools to give swimming lessons and for the Government to fund them. It is ridiculous that, as an island nation, so many people are unable to swim or have difficulty in doing so. It is interesting that other European countries have made swimming lessons compulsory at a very early age.

The amount of effort they put in to teaching children how to swim at an early age shows it is worthy of inclusion in their education.

The Minister is very welcome. I am delighted to have this debate and I hope she will find it useful in making decisions.