Fitzgerald plans preschool inspections

Preschool inspections similar to those operating in primary schools are to be introduced, Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has pledged.

As criticisms were raised about the current standards and training in preschool operations, the Minister promised to review the professional training system for early-education practitioners to ensure it could deliver accessible and affordable appropriate training.

Defending the current Government’s work, Ms Fitzgerald criticised previous administrations for failing to invest in quality assurance measures, including supports for the introduction of the free preschool year.

She told the Dáil that 2,789 childcare providers were subject to inspections by the HSE in 2011. That was an inspection of over 61 per cent in a single year.

Unpublished inspection reports have found “significant weaknesses” in the quality of tuition given to children in the three to four age group before they start primary education.

Ms Fitzgerald insisted there had been very significant developments in staff qualifications. One-third of staff had a qualification at degree level, while 76 per cent of staff had a qualification equal to or higher than Fetac level 5.

The Minister said developments in the development of the preschool workforce would be advanced through the work on the Early Years Strategy, the first such strategy, which “is at an advanced stage of preparation”.

Any further consideration of proposals for a second free preschool year “will take account of this ongoing work to deliver improvements in quality” in the provision of early schooling, which more than 68,000 children avail of at a cost of €175 million a year.