Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the way the required qualifications under the early childhood care and education scheme was arrived at; his plans to recognise any further qualifications as eligible under the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32921/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I have responsibility for the implementation of the new Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme which provides a free Pre-School year to eligible children and which will be introduced in January 2010.

In setting out the terms and conditions for childcare practitioners to be included in the new Early Childhood Care and Education scheme, a number of factors were taken into account including the Child Care regulations, the Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and the educational profile of the workforce.

The core obligations of the adult practitioner in a childcare setting are set out in Part II, Section 5 of the Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No 2) Regulations 2006 and state that, "A person carrying on a pre-school service shall ensure that each child's learning, development and well-being is facilitated within the daily life of the service through the provision of the appropriate opportunities, experiences, activities, interaction, materials and equipment, having regard to the age and stage of development of the child and the child's cultural context". While these Regulations do not include a formal requirement for adults to be qualified, the guidelines clearly recognise the relationship between qualifications of staff and meeting the requirements of the Regulations: "It is acknowledged that many childcare staff have a qualification or are working towards achieving one. In centre-based services, it is considered that the person in charge should aim to have at least fifty percent of childcare staff with a qualification appropriate to the care and development of children. The qualified staff should rotate between age groupings".

The de facto standard that exists for childcare practitioners is set out in Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education. Síolta is built upon a sound research basis and was developed following extensive consultation with the sector. Standard 11 governs professional practice and states that 'Practising in a professional manner requires that individuals have skills, knowledge, values and attitudes appropriate to their role and responsibility within the setting. In addition, it requires regular reflection upon practice and engagement in supported, ongoing professional development'

Within this standard, the recommended minimum educational requirement for adults to be included for the purposes of calculating ratios of adults to children is Level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework (NFQ) in Early Childhood Care and Education, or equivalent. This standard was subjected to extensive consultation as part of a National Consultation Programme, and achieved full endorsement from a wide range of stakeholders in the ECCE sector, including parents, practitioners and providers.

Finally, as part of background research carried out to inform the development of a Workforce Development Plan for the ECCE sector, the educational profile of the existing ECCE workforce was mapped. This analysis draws on data from the National Skills database and from a survey of the workforce. It shows a major shift towards higher levels in tandem with the State's investment in the sector through, first the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-2006 and its successor programme the National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-2010. In 1999, more than 40% of the workforce had less than secondary level education. By 2006, this had fallen to 23%, which is better than the national average. At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of people in the sector with third level qualifications which rose from 20% to 29% over the same period.

Given that 61% of staff in the ECCE sector had achieved a childcare related qualification at Level 5 or higher on the NFQ, the educational requirements for a pre-school leader to be included in the ECCE scheme was set at a minimum Level 5 or equivalent on the NFQ. This qualifies for the standard rate of capitation, with the higher rate of capitation set where pre-school leaders have acquired level 7 (Bachelors Degree) or above qualifications.

In introducing the ECCE scheme, I have taken a flexible approach for the initial period of implementation. During the first 2 full years of the scheme, the qualification requirement will be considered to be met where a person can demonstrate that he or she has achieved a certification for a recognised award in ECCE that includes significant content covering the core knowledge areas, i.e., child development, early learning, health and welfare and has at least 2 years experience of working in a position of responsibility with children in the 0-6 age range. I have taken this approach in recognition of the diversity of the workforce and the educational profile of the existing workforce.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 70: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of child care providers who have signed up for the Early Childhood Care and Education scheme; the number who have been approved; the number who have preliminary approval; when full approval will be granted; the number of places to date in 2009 that are going to be available on the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32922/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I have responsibility for the implementation of the new scheme to provide a free Pre-School year of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) which was announced in April by the Minister of Finance.

As part of the preparations for introducing the new scheme, my Office wrote to approximately 4,830 private and voluntary pre-school service providers in the State earlier this year, inviting them to participate in the initiative. To date, applications have been received from 4,182 services. I am informed that some 200 of the services written out to will not be applying to enter the scheme from January 2010 because they are already satisfactorily funded by other schemes funded by the Government, such as the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS).

To date, over 4,150 ECCE applicants have received provisional approval, and these services are in the process of submitting supporting documents concerning tax compliance and staff qualifications that will enable them to go to contract. Contracts will issue shortly to these providers and it is expected the contracting process will be completed for most applicants before the end of October 2009. From the applications received, participating pre-school services anticipate making over 95,000 ECCE places available to qualified children from January 2010.