Sir, – As reported in your newspaper, the recent Children’s School Lives study indicates that many children are overprepared from a literacy and numeracy perspective when they start junior infants (“Junior infants ‘overprepared’ starting school, study finds”, News, August 25th). While this might seem positive in some ways, it may also lead to pupils being bored and disruptive when they start primary school.
One of the most logical explanations for this overpreparedness is that school starting age has increased in recent years, and particularly so since a major change was made to the universal Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme, which means that September is now the only time that children can enter this scheme.
When ECCE was extended to a two-year subsidised programme in September 2016, children could enter it in the January, April or September after reaching the qualifying age of three years. However in September 2018, while the qualifying age was lowered to two years and eight months, the January and April starting points were removed. This means that a child with, for example, a February birthday can only start ECCE at three years and seven months, and can only avail of the second ECCE year if they delay starting school until they are five years and seven months. While many parents prefer to keep children in preschool or at home until they turn five, the ECCE scheme, as it is currently designed, basically discriminates against children with birthdays in the first half of the year for whom starting school aged four used to be the norm. As a parent of two children with April birthdays, I opted to send both to school aged four and forgo the second ECCE year. As such, I have missed out on over €2,000 in ECCE subsidy per child that parents of children with autumn birthdays have enjoyed.
At the other end of the school lifecycle most senior cycle students now take transition year (TY). Indeed in many schools TY is compulsory. So when these advanced junior infants reach their final year of secondary school many will already be adults, and they will be approaching 19.5 years when they sit their Leaving Certificate. The Leaving Certificate curriculum was essentially designed for 17- to 18 year-olds and I’m sure many 19 year olds would much rather be enjoying the freedoms of third level, or the workplace, than the constraints of school life.
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There is no doubt that the ECCE scheme has contributed to Irish children getting a good headstart on their early years education. However, from a resource perspective it is clearly duplicating some of the primary curriculum, which is wasteful. The scheme needs a rethink and all children should be entitled to fair treatment under ECCE, irrespective of when their birthday falls. – Yours, etc,
HELEN GALLAGHER,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Your paper reports that teachers are now concerned that junior infants are overprepared for school from an academic perspective.
You couldn’t make it up! Instead of being concerned about this, why aren’t they congratulating their fellow educators across the countries creches, pre-schools and Montessori’s for doing such a brilliant job? Well done to all those who have helped our children be over prepared for junior infants – keep up the fantastic work that you do. – Yours, etc,
SIOBHAN McDERMOTT,
Killester,
Dublin 5.