DCYA Press release: Minister Zappone Launches Annual Early Years Sec tor Profile 2018/2019
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. Katherine Zappone T.D. Launches Annual Early Years Sector Profile Report 2018 /2019
Published: 16 December 2019
From: Department of Children and Youth Affairs
Key findings at a glance:
- Nine in every ten children enrolled in early learning and care and school-age childcare settings (185,971 children in total) were in receipt of State subsidies provided through at least one of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs funding programmes.
- 2,388 settings were supported under the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), in respect of 5,513 children. Relative to the previous year, there was a 22% increase in the number of settings receiving support under AIM and an increase of 34% in the number of children supported.
- The average weekly fee for full day provision is €184.36. This represents an increase of €6.44 or 3.6% since last year. Fees charged by settings in affluent locations, on average are 33% higher than settings in disadvantages areas. Fees are also higher in urban areas than in rural areas (€191.33 and €165.76, respectively for full day provision per week), and in private settings than in community settings (€190.74 and €168.12, respectively for full day provision per week).
- The proportion of staff who hold a degree increased by 5% since 2016/17 – with one in four staff now holding a qualification at Level 7 or higher on the National Framework for Qualifications
- The average hourly wage of staff working in the sector is €12.55. This represents a 3% increase on the previous year’s average hourly wage of €12.17.
- The annual staff turnover rate is 23%, which is down from 25% the previous year. Staff turnover rates differ across counties, from 15% in Kilkenny to 36% in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
The Minister for the Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. Katherine Zappone today launched the Early Years Sector Profile Report 2018/2019.
This annual report – the seventeenth in the series – provides a detailed overview of the early learning and care and school age childcare sector in Ireland, including the numbers of children enrolled in early learning and care and school-age childcare settings and the numbers of children in receipt of State subsidies. It also includes up-to-date information on the number of places available to children, the fees charged to parents, and the qualifications and wages of staff working in the sector.
The Report, which plays a central role in informing policy development and in assessing the impact of policy change, is based on survey and administrative data and is undertaken by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. 3,821 early learning and care and school-age childcare settings participated in the survey in May 2019, yielding a response rate of 85%.
Speaking at today’s launch, Minister Zappone thanked all the early learning and care and school-age childcare providers who participated in the survey and reflected on some of the key findings.
The Minister said:
The Minister also highlighted areas of continued and emerging concern, including the increase in fees charged to parents, supply issues for certain cohorts of children in certain geographical areas and staff wages, which remain unacceptably low despite slight increases in fees since last year.
Concluding the Minister said:
Anna Shakespeare, Pobal CEO added:
The 2018/2019 Annual Early Years Sector Profile Report is available here.
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