Presentation to Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children 18th June 2015 Marian Quinn, Chairperson
I would like to thank the Committee for this opportunity to present the reality of being an Early Childhood Professional in Ireland today.
The ACP is a professional body representing practitioners in early years and school age care and education. We are a voluntary organisation and all our council members give freely of their time so that we can fight for the profession that we value so much but which is at the bottom of the pile when it comes to recognition, respect and remuneration.
When childcare was first provided outside of the family it was generally by the woman who lived down the road and took in a few children to supplement the family income as she raised her own children. There were no requirements in terms of qualifications, regulations, inspections, observations, curriculum planning, continuous professional development, community involvement, etc. This woman kept the child happy, safe and fed and her job was done.
The vista of early childhood education and care is completely different in 2015. The practitioner is now a professional person whose role extends beyond their care work with the children. Professional responsibilities include supporting the child and family during this critical stage of development and as such childcare has extended to include early childhood educator, administrator, curriculum planner, researcher, cleaner, counsellor, communicator, parent coach, nurse, facilitator… and the list goes on. “ECEC is increasingly expected to fulfil societal expectations regarding active citizenship and democracy, offering a strong foundation for lifelong learning, contributing to reducing child poverty, realising equal opportunities, and strengthening creativity and innovation in young children.” (CoRe, 2011) The amazing thing is that all these professional services and societal contributions are provided by very capable multi-taskers who earn little more than minimum wage!
The early childhood workforce is at breaking point and can no longer afford to deliver this level of service for the pay they receive. This and successive governments are taking advantage of good people who are committed to supporting the young children and families of this country. It is exploitation pure and simple and it has to stop. As one Early Childhood Professional stated
“We're tired both physically and mentally after another ecce year where yet again we have given 110% to the children in our care. We are worried about how we will manage for another 9 weeks of absolutely no income while continuing to pay our overheads… Above all we are asking if the government as our employers (because in reality that is who they are) do not care enough to invest in our sector then why do we bother to continue carrying this burden.”
Yet another professional said I wonder why I bother; I am often on the verge of tears with exhaustion and frustration. Then I think of how much I love my job and the incredible enjoyment and fulfilment I get from working with young children. The government, both past and present, are taking advantage of my commitment and of the commitment of hundreds of other early years workers. I feel a fool to keep going.”
Many have to take on a second job and increasing numbers are making the difficult decision to leave the profession that they love but cannot afford to remain in.
Car loans, mortgages, pensions and medical insurance are unaffordable. Employers struggle to take a wage themselves after they pay all the costs that are associated with delivering high quality early childhood education and care. Wage bills account for 60-80% of these costs even though many are on little more than minimum wage.
The young children of this county have a right to high quality early childhood education and care. Their families have the right to societal support in rearing these children and the professionals providing this high quality early childhood education and care and support have the right to be recognised, respected and remunerated for their professional role.
In the Workforce Development Plan for the Early Childhood Care and Education Sector in Ireland (DES, 2010) the then Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Barry Andrews, said that “The development of the ECCE workforce has been identified as a key ‘pillar of quality’ alongside … sustained financial investment in service provision” He also stated that “The challenges are undoubted but the rewards are also clear; a better prepared, skilled workforce in our early childhood care and education settings will improve the quality of centre based early childhood experiences of our children and impact positively on the lives of the children and their families.” The document highlighted that “National and international research has established that the skills and qualifications of adults working with young children is a critical factor in determining the quality of young children’s early childhood care and education experiences.” Unfortunately all this rhetoric was followed by “While issues such as the status and the terms and conditions of employment of people working in the sector are very much to the fore, they are outside the scope of this policy document.” Yet another Irish policy document with no teeth and this in line with the assessment of Ireland in the CoRe Report (2011) “In the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Malta, the history of early childhood provision and professionalisation reads like a collection of unfinished stories, of fragmented and un-coordinated initiatives.”
Current concerns for Early Childhood Professionals Approximately 25,000 people in formal workforce. (This excludes estimated 19,000 childminders). In 2013, ECI found that practitioners earned an average of €10 per hour. o This equates to an annual salary of €18,200 (35hours per week for 52 weeks). This yields an unsustainable income and matters are made worse when one considers that a huge portion of the workforce are seasonal, sessional workers who are only paid for their contact time with the children and not for many other elements of their job description e.g. planning, documenting, meeting with parents, engaging with external professionals, etc. o In reality this average figure hides the fact that many are on little more than minimum wage (head in the burning furnace and feet in the freezing fridge giving an average temperature of warm!) and certainly far below the living wage of €11.45. No money for pensions, health insurance, car loans, mortgages, supporting their family, etc. Requirement to upskill but no possibility of increased pay. Excluded from Learner Fund if trying to gain a L7+ qualification despite CoRe Report (2011) recommendation that we have 60% graduate-led workforce by 2020. In most cases there is no possibility of paid time for engaging in mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) – first aid, manual handling, child protection, food safety. No paid time for team meetings, supervision, on the job supports, development of Community of Practice, etc. Required to use Síolta and Aistear despite lack of national roll out. Inspection system that is not fit for purpose and demonstrates little or no respect for the profession. Policy and funding divide between ‘care’ and ‘education’ resulting in two tier system for the professionals in terms of pay and qualifications Lack of support for inclusion of all children regardless of additional needs – professionals are experiencing increased workloads and increased stress due to lack of sufficient personnel and resources Working in a vacuum while waiting for an overdue National Early Years Strategy, new regulations and standards, ever impending registration system, impending DES Inspectorate, etc. Lack of job security as a result of various government departments refusing to develop and implement policies that prevent new services opening at will and displacing or disadvantaging existing high quality services. Uncertainty due to shifting deadlines e.g. recent postponement of minimum qualifications deadline. Professional childminders are excluded from regulatory frameworks and most funding schemes.
Impact of low pay and poor working conditions Low morale, increased stress, burnout. o “Research points out that the ability of staff to attend to the needs of children is influenced not only by their level of education and training but also by external factors, such as their work environment, salary and work benefits.” (OECD)
Difficulty attracting, training and retaining suitably qualified workforce Pulling back – reduced interest/ability to engage in CPD and extracurricular activities. o “ What seems just as important [as the level of education] in ensuring quality care and positive outcomes is that practitioners stay up to date in their knowledge of pedagogical developments.” (Eurofound, 2014);
Recommendations: 1. Review the Quality Agenda and put focus on what really matters. “Higher wages and better working conditions affect people’s job satisfaction, work motivation and, indirectly, the quality of their teaching, caring and interactions with children (Huntsman, 2008; Moon and Burbank, 2004).” (OECD) 2. Recognise and accept that early childhood education and care (b-6years) is a public service and needs to be publicly funded. Incrementally increase the level of investment so that provision is heavily subsidised for parents. 3. Increase the salaries of the workforce. “In order to enhance the status and quality of early childhood work, governments may wish to consider introducing equal working conditions (salaries, benefits and professional development opportunities) for equivalent qualifications across the early childhood and primary education fields. Care should be taken that in-service training is linked to career progression and to obtaining further qualification.” (OECD, 2006). a. Negotiate sectorally agreed pay scales that are linked to capitation payments. b. Increase investment to facilitate contracts that cover all aspects of the job. b.i. One additional hour for every three hours of contact with children to facilitate documentation, planning, parent meetings, staff meetings, CoPs, etc. “Time for staff to plan, document, analyse and reflect – individually and collectively – on their work with children is seen to improve quality.” (OECD) b.ii. Minimum of five paid CPD days per annum. b.iii. Increase ECCE Scheme contracts to cover 52weeks. 4. Increase investment to facilitate lower staff-child ratios where services are supporting the inclusion of children with additional needs – diagnosed and undiagnosed. 5. Extend Learner Fund to provide access to L7/8 training. ‘Research from many countries supports the view that quality in the early childhood field requires adequate training and fair working conditions. Research shows the link between strong training and support of staff and the quality of ECEC services. In particular, staff who have more formal education and more specialised early- childhood training provide more stimulating, warm and supportive interactions with children’ (OECD, 2006). 6. Increase investment to fund national roll out of Aistear and Síolta – training and resources. 7. As a stop gap measure, significantly reduce the level of PRSI and exempt all centres from rates so that they will have additional funds to increase wages or improve working conditions. 8. Recognise professional childminders as providing a home-based equivalent to centre-based provision and regulate and support accordingly. 9. Develop standards and regulations for Out of School Care and Recreation, carry out a detailed cost analysis of provision and ring fence an appropriate budget, that is cognizant of professional pay and conditions, so that we can ensure that this area won’t find itself in the same mess that we currently have in early childhood education and care. Learn from past mistakes!
We hope that the Committee will work with us to prevent further exploitation of this very generous, caring and dedicated workforce. Thank you for listening.