Sir, – The articles on June 3rd by Carl O'Brien ("Free pre-school year fails to narrow gap between children of different social classes") and Joe Humphreys ("Parent mentoring scheme giving a new start to education") confirm the view that preschool education and parenting support programmes in Ireland need more investment.
The articles refer to recent Irish research that affirms what we already know – parents are the biggest influence in a child’s life and their life chances are closely related to their socio-economic circumstances.
We need an early childhood education sector that not only provides high-quality care and education to children attending services but that reaches out and supports parents across the spectrum of class, and particularly those who struggle because of poverty, difficult lives or troubled childhoods. This requires high levels of investment, skilled and qualified staff, with national responsibility for the provision of the service. Early Childhood Ireland’s pre-budget submission calls for increased investment to bring us from 0.4 per cent to 1 per cent of GDP in line with good international practice.
We know quality early childhood education will repay at least seven-fold. We also know that only quality counts. As our politicians battle over revised budgets, they must think to our shared future, which is invested in the present experiences of our youngest citizens. – Yours, etc,
TERESA HEENEY,
Chief Executive,
Early Childhood Ireland,
Hainault House,
Belgard Square South,
Tallaght,
Dublin 24.