Ireland

The Early Years Professionals’ Survey 2019, conducted by SIPTU Big Start Campaign, was carried out to gather information on the attitudes of those employed in the early years sector in relation to their work and involvement in early years settings and changes they thought could be made to improve the sector. Using the 3,200 survey responses this report gives a picture of the attitudes, experiences and expectations of those working in Ireland's early years sector.

Resisting Neoliberalism: Professionalisation of Early Childhood Education and Care focuses on the professionalization of early childhood in Australia, Chile, England, Germany, Ireland and the United States.

Quality through Professionalisation: Local Evaluation of the Tallaght National Early Years Access Initiative is a report on the evaluation of the Quality through Professionalisation programme, one of 11 projects under the National Early Years Access Initiative. This three-year initiative aimed to improve the quality and outcomes of services in the early years sector. At the national level, the initiative focused on the establishment of an evidence base contributing to improvements in practice and influencing policy changes.

Report on the Working Conditions of the Early Years Education and Care Sector 2017 primarily focuses on the poor working conditions and below average pay scales of all those working in the early years sector in Ireland. Diving into several issues impacting services across all provinces, in both rural and urban areas, the report includes sections on:

A workforce development plan for the early childhood care and education sector in Ireland is the culmination of a significant process of research and consultation across the diverse range of stakeholders in the sector. The result is the identification of a number of agreed perspectives on the type of workforce needed to support the development of high quality Early Childhood Education and Care services in Ireland, as well as the main challenges associated with achieving these goals. 

Below you may download one of the 30 Workforce Profiles (country reports) on the current status quo regarding the qualification requirements for early childhood education and care professionals (pedagogues, teachers, educators), the composition of the workforce, the systems of initial professional education and continuing professional development, current reform initiatives and research projects and selected aspects of the working conditions of staff in each of the 30 participating countries.The initial Workforce Profiles in Systems of Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe w

Review of Occupational Role Profiles in Ireland in Early Childhood Education and Care presents a profile for the early childhood profession in Ireland.

The aim is to develop the Irish early childhood care and education sector into a genuine Competent System. A central requirement for achieving this goal is a shared orientation for all practitioners working with children from birth to eight years, regardless of occupational status, job title and level of formal qualification.

Summary:

This report from Early Childhood Ireland maps remuneration within the Irish ECCE Sector. The report presents data on how pay rates vary by role, qualifications and county. The report concluded with future steps including research on the professionalization with the sector.