Parents fear cuts in their children’s pre-school hours, due to a serious recruitment crisis in the sector

Parents in Dunshaughlin could face major cuts in their children’s pre-school hours, due to a serious recruitment crisis in the sector.

Parents of children attending Naíonra na Rithe in Dunshaughlin have voiced their concern that their children’s hours will be substantially cut, as the facility is finding it impossible to replace a staff member leaving next months.

Owner Caitlín Ní Chinnéide says she has found it impossible to replace the staff member, who is leaving which means she will have to reduce her morning session from 22 children to 11.

“How do I do that? I cannot just drop 11 children. On the other hand, how do I tell parents, their child can attend one week on and one week off or just a couple of days a week.”

She points out she is not the only childcare provider facing this struggle, as there is a national crisis in recruiting childcare staff.

Meanwhile parents are also extremely worried at the prospect of losing hours.

Amy Greer Murphy says she is concerned that from February there is a risk that the Naíonra will not be able to take all of our children, and may risk closure altogether.

“We feel this is a serious issue for Dunshaughlin - at a time when our population is growing hugely, education and care services do not match that growth.”

Parents of the children are supporting Caitlín and gathered at the Naíonra on Friday to call one the Government to act to ease the crisis in the childcare sector.

In a letter, they express concern at the situation where the Naíonra may be forced to operate at a seriously reduced capacity, or risk closure altogether.

“The Naíonra has been a hugely important resource for families who want their young children to be immersed in the Irish language and traditional culture. Unfortunately, for many years, finding and retaining staff to assist at the has been incredibly challenging,” they say.

“This issue impacts the wellbeing and education of our young children. The uncertainty around attending or not attending pre-school can be greatly upsetting for a small child and, although not the main issue, makes it very difficult for working parents to plan their childcare arrangements.

“For many years, early years education in this country has been under-funded and under-staffed. While great improvements have been made in the last few years, such as the creation of a Union for Early Years Educators and pay deals for workers, it has not been enough. Early Years struggles to attract and retain educators, and this is very evident in our small town of Dunshaughlin, where children may not have a class to attend in a few weeks. At a time when the population of Dunshaughlin continues to grow, this issue will only become more evident in the years to come,” they warn.

Caitlín points out that there is a recruitment crisis in childcare nationally.

“We are in the eye of a childcare/early years staffing crisis in Dunshaughlin. This has been going on for decades and, given the expected population growth in the town, is set to get worse. As local childcare providers / early years educators, we want to meet, urgently, with our local TDs - Helen McEntee, Thomas Byrne, Gillian Toole and Darren O'Rourke. Childcare was a major issue in the recent General Election. A new government will be formed soon. We want our local TDs to hear first hand our concerns and we want to hear from them how they intend to address those concerns.”

She points out that childcare workers are trained to a minimum FETAC Level 5, but many have Level 6, honours degrees and masters degrees, but providers cannot retain staff on the frontline, where they are most needed.

“Pay and conditions are an important factor here. It is almost impossible for a childcare worker to secure a mortgage, for example.

“Despite my own extensive experience and qualifications. I am restricted on the number of children I can have. The ratio is 11:1. Compare this to a recently graduated primary school teacher who could have in excess of 30 children in their classroom. In the context of the decades-long staffing challenges in the childcare/early years sector, this does not make sense.

“We are not allowed to employ retired professionals/or professionals who are available within the group or the community to provide cover/temporary relief because they do not have FETAC Level 5.

“There should be consideration for the mental health of providers, staff, parents, and children.

“There must be serious consideration given to the pressure providers face when they are unable to find staff.

She says there should be a sensible application of the ratio rules taking account of circumstances on a case by case basis.

“There should be a sensible application of the FETAC Level 5 requirement. Where a service is finding it impossible to recruit staff with a FETAC Level 5, they should be allowed recruit suitably qualified and committed people, for example local parents, retired teachers and local professionals

“The decades-long staffing crisis in the childcare/early years sector must be addressed.

“Central to this are the related issues of recognition, pay and conditions. Early Years Education should be on par with primary and secondary education.

“Pay and conditions should be commensurate with the important work we do. There should be opportunity for career progression and advancement - in terms of training, education and responsibility. “There should be a pay scale and increments to reflect this.”

Sinead Jones, owner of the Here We Grow preschool in Dunshaughlin says there is a major staffing crisis in the sector “as not many people are training to become childcare workers due to the low rates of pay despite the high qualifications required.”

“I have struggled to recruit staff because of this. I have been working in the sector for twenty years and since the ECCE scheme came into effect 15 years ago we have not had an increase in our rate of €4.60 per hour per child from the government despite a massive rise in costs over the years.

“The recruitment challenges are crippling the sector leaving myself and many other services in the community unable to meet the increased demands for places especially in Dunshaughlin with so many new family homes being built. I am constantly turning parents down as I have an extensive waiting list.

“My staff are brilliant and highly qualified.

“However, they and I feel undervalued by the government. I think it is disgraceful the level of low state spending in the sector and we are so far behind other European countries. More investment is needed in order to provide a sustainable sector that works for parents, staff and most importantly the children,” she says.

Rónán Mac Giolla Ruaidh, principal of Gaelscoil na Cille in which the Naíonra is based says he has seen the struggles faced by the sector in recruiting staff. “There are a huge amount of new houses coming to Dunshaughlin, if this continues, we won't have the childcare we need in the community.”

Katie Ní Riain of Gaeloideachas, the national support organisation for Irish-medium education says she hears of the challenges that Naíonra staff face day in, day out.

“We have gone beyond the point of crisis in the Early Years sector when it comes to recruitment, retention, teacher/educator salary and the sustainability of these services. These challenges are particularly worse for those working in Naíonraí – as they have additional needs as they operate through the medium of Irish.”