I am writing something about professional standards for teaching and need the answer urgently. The Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers (The Teaching Council, 2012) specifies that "The Code applies to registered teachers at primary and post-primary levels as well as in the further education sector". (http://www.teachingcouncil.ie/en/Publications/Fitness-to-Teach/Code-of-Professional-Conduct-for-Teachers.pdf)
I wonder why this Code does not apply to teachers at early childhood level and where the professional standards for early childhood teachers are available.
Many thanks!
This website should help you!
https://www.earlychildhoodireland.ie/work/education-training/
Hello,
Have you tried the Ministry of Education or the Education Department?
Hope this helps.
Child Care Regulations (the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016
Siolta Is the quality framework and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment ncca.ie
Hi there, I am a native of Ireland and received my MA Early Childhood Education in UK. I have worked in the ECE sector for over 20 years. The MA in ECE is not widely available in Ireland and practitioners in Early Childhood Education are not given teaching status. Unfortunately Ireland lags behind UK and EU in the level of qualifications expected but progress was made in 2016 with the introduction of The Child Care Act 2016 stipulating a minimum QQI qualification at level 5. Funding from the government for services requires room leaders to have minimum of QQI Level 6. Degree level on the National Framework of Qualifications in Ireland is Level 7 for ordinary degree and Level 8 for honours. Therefore you can see the standard at level 5 is quite low. Many new entrants to working in the sector are attaining Degree Level which is a welcome development. The child care act can be found at https://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/childcare/20170216ChildcareRegs2016.pdf. refer to section Part 111 on Management and Staff subsection (4). The National Framework of Qualifications in Ireland can be seen in Images on Google.
Hope this is of help to you.
Hello Martina,
It is great to hear from someone from this sector of this country like you! Your information is very helpful.
I am comparing explicitly written professional standards for early childhood teachers across countries. Although the recent legislation (e.g., The Child Care Act 2016) does mean/imply/lead to a raised status/standards for early childhood education, in terms of the professional standards document(s), can I make a statement like "There is not an official written document that prescribes professional standards for early childhood teachers in Ireland"?
Thanks!
The Child Care Act is officially stating that the minimum standard of a person is Level 5 and a post of responsibility requires Level 6. It is no longer a recommendation it is a legal requirement so therefore it is a written document prescribing standards. So to answer your question: No. it would be untrue to say there is no official document, the Child Care Act amended in 2016 is the official document prescribing professional standards. It is now illegal to have anyone work in an early years setting without the minimum requirement.
Hope this explains the situation. Good luck with your research.
Martina
Thank you Martina. I agree. Professional standards do not have to be in a separate document and they can be embedded in a more comprehensive document like the Child Care Act.
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