10/01/2020
đ Announcement đ
10th January 2020
Dear Parents,
You may be aware of the crisis facing the Early Years Sector which is being reported in the media lately. The last term was a particularly difficult one for everyone working in early years in Ireland. We had to reregister with TUSLA under a new process which was very arduous, time consuming and costly and then the week before Christmas, Ironshore, an insurer, pulled out of the Irish market.
There is now only one childcare insurer in the country and premiums have doubled and even tripled in some cases. The recent payment given by the Minister made little difference, some providers received as little at âŹ100, nowhere near the average of âŹ1500 that we were told we would receive.
All of this has led to increased financial pressure, stress and administration demands on services, yet there has been no increase in capitation from the Government. To put it in perspective, when the ECCE grant was first introduced ten years ago the weekly standard capitation rate was âŹ64.50, it is currently âŹ69. An increase of âŹ4.50 in ten years which has not even kept up with inflation.
The average wage in the sector is currently âŹ12 an hour and we are not paid by the Government for holidays or for training days. We are also deducted money if a child shows a pattern of non attendance for sickness or lateness. If a child is out sick one day for four weeks in row the Government take back the funding, this does not happen in primary schools. Staff across the country are overworked and underpaid and many are leaving the sector on a daily basis.
All of these reasons, and many more, are making early years unsustainable and many schools and creches are being forced to close. For the first time in Early Years, different groups have formed an alliance and are determined to bring about change and are demanding that the Government ;
1. Develop an early years funding model that supports affordable and accessible childcare for parents, high quality for children and sustainability for providers
2. Introduce and provide adequate funding for, at the very least, a minimum wage in 2020 for early years educators.
3. Establish a single inspection process with a graded compliance system. We are currently inspected by Tusla, Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Education
Despite all these obstacles we love our job! We love working with children and are committed to providing high quality early years education. However, we have been faced with no option and need to stand up for children, parents and for hardworking and committed early years educators.
We Little VIP's preschool Dunkineely and Little V.I.Pâs Killybegs are taking part in the national early years protest march to the Dail on Wednesday 5th February 2020 at 11.30.
The Early Yearâs Alliance comprises of The Federation of Early Childhood Providers, The Association of Childhood Professionals, The National Childhood Network, The National Community Childcare Forum, Seau Suas and Big Start SIPTU.
We would ask all parents to support us and, where possible, continue to pay their fees for this day. It is likely that government will pull our funding for the day of the protest. We also ask that you come on the march with us to really show your support. Thousands of early years services from all over the country have committed to closing for the day and attending the march.
We fully our staffsâ wish to participate, so little vips preschool dunkineely and little vips Killybegs will be closed on 5th Feb 2020. We totally understand that is an inconvenience to you and regret it has come to this.
If you have questions at all or would like more information please donât hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards
Little Vip's
