Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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491. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will report on the latest figures available indicating the uptake of the free preschool year; and the way the quality of services provided under this scheme is measured. [29284/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme was introduced in January 2010 and provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children in the year before commencing primary school. In line with the Programme for Government, my Department has made a significant commitment to maintaining this universal programme.

Approximately 53,000 children, or 83% of the eligible cohort, availed of the programme in the first "short year". In 2010/2011, the first full year of the programme, in the region of 63,000 children, that is approximately 94% of the eligible cohort, availed of the free pre-school provision. In 2011/2012, approximately 66,000, or 94% of the eligible cohort, availed of the programme. In the current pre-school year, 2012/2013, approximately 68,000 children, or an estimated 95% of the eligible cohort, are participating in the free pre-school year.

Under the Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No 2) Regulations 2006, the inspection of pre-schools is the responsibility of the Health Service Executive (HSE). Recently the Pre-School Inspectorate for the sector, together with the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills, have carried out joint pilot inspections of a number of pre-school services. While that the findings have not yet been published I understand that the pilot inspections found good standards of personal care, the relationships around children and the physical and material environment for children’s development. The inspections also identified considerable scope for development in relation to planned programmes of activities and their implementation, as outlined in the Aistear and Siolta frameworks which promote all aspects of children’s development.

The findings will also inform officials of my Department and the Department of Education and Skills who have been examining options to incrementally develop a more comprehensive and broader-based inspection regime for pre-schools; moving away from a narrow focus on compliance, and leading to a greater focus on children's outcomes, including educational development and child wellbeing.