Three-quarters of people believe early-years education should be available free of charge and more than half say graduates working in the sector should have the same terms and conditions as primary school teachers, a new survey by Early Childhood Ireland has found.
The research, carried out by Red C for the industry body, involved the polling of a representative sample of just over 1,000 people across the country. It found that 75 per cent believe early-years education should be available to every child without charge, with 66 per cent saying they feel education for children under five years of age is as important as for those over five.
Fifty-four per cent of those questioned said they believed graduates in the sector, many of whom have studied at third level for four years or more, should receive the same pay as primary school teachers.
Just under half – 49 per cent – say the Government should pay the wages of staff in the sector, as it does in primary and secondary education.
Ancient remains discovered in Co Derry bog ‘likely to belong to young woman’ who died violently
Garda fitness requirements relaxed as force struggles to increase numbers
They seek him here. They seek him there. The Wexford Pimpernel James Browne
House prices could increase due to relaxation of garden-room planning rules, say experts
At present a new graduate entering the early education sector can earn as little as €13.65 an hour, or about €27,700 a year, only fractionally above the €13.50 per hour minimum wage, despite their qualifications. A graduate lead educator could be on €16.28 per hour, or just over €33,000. These are minimum rates set for the sector and some employers pay more while some do not.
Pay for primary school teachers, however, starts at about €43,500, which is due to increase to about €44,500 next month and those working in the early education sector say the difference is one of the many factors contributing to substantial staff shortages at many of the roughly 4,500 services around the country.
“Guaranteeing parity of pay and conditions for early-years and school-age care graduates would not only offer educators deserved recognition but also address the critical staffing shortage we are experiencing in Ireland,” said Frances Byrne, director of policy at Early Childhood Ireland.
As things stand, she said, there are “thousands of children awaiting creche places and it’s clear we are nowhere near delivering the access that more than three-quarters of people believe every child should have”.
“So the government needs to do more than just reduce fees. Major progress in capacity planning at local and national levels is essential.”
The programme for government published last month by the Coalition includes a commitment to progressively reduce fee childcare and early-education child costs to €200 per month and explore the issue of a cap on fees for families as well as support for improvements to terms and conditions in the sector.
Though there have been calls previously for parity between graduate educators in the sector and primary school teachers the issue is not among the commitments made.
