The Department of Education & Skills and the Department of Children & Youth Affairs today launched a consultation on Education-focused Inspections, in early years settings participating in the government’s Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme. Key groups and individuals working in the early years sector were briefed on the consultation by senior officials from both departments at a meeting in Dublin today.

The Early Years Education-focused Inspections will be carried out in ECCE pre-schools by Early Years Inspectors in the Department of Education and Skills Inspectorate. The inspections will monitor the quality of the educational experiences provided for children.

They will provide practical advice and recommendations about how provision for children’s learning and development in such settings can be improved.

The education-focused inspections will complement the regulatory inspections carried out by TUSLA, and are one of a range of measures being taken to improve the quality of early years education and care.
The consultation will give people working in the early years sector an opportunity to comment on the way these inspections are to be carried out.

The planned education-focused inspections will be, unannounced, one-day inspections. The Early Years Inspectors from the Department of Education & Skills will evaluate the quality of the educational provision in the pre-schools, and they will give feedback and advice to practitioners.

Each inspection will result in a written report on the quality of educational provision in the setting, and all education-focused inspection reports will be published on the website of the Department of Education & Skills. The reports will also be hosted on the website of the Department of Children & Youth Affairs.

The education-focused inspections will be piloted in Autumn 2015 in a number of early years settings participating in the ECCE scheme. Early years settings participating in the pilot, and the early years sector more generally, will be invited to give their views on the new form of inspection as it is being developed.

Commenting on the consultation, Minister for Education & Skills, Jan O’Sullivan said: “In 2015, we will spend €600,000 on the immediate recruitment of the first ever team of early childhood education inspectors. This consultation will give us the opportunity to make sure that this team will work with the early childhood sector to promote good educational practice.”

Also speaking in advance of the launch, Minister for Children & Youth Affairs, James Reilly said: “The introduction of education-focused inspections is an essential element of improving the quality of early-years education, alongside the introduction of the 'Better Start' support service which will send mentors into childcare facilities to help them improve the quality of care and education.”

Speaking at the launch, representatives of both the Department of Children & Youth Affairs and the Department of Education & Skills welcomed the opportunity for all involved in early years provision to work together to provide the best for children in their early years.

Source: Press Release, Education.ie

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