Admitting that access to the free pre-school year was ’inconsistent’ due to a lack of Special Needs assistants, the department has asserted that improving the situation is a priority.
While approximately 65,000 children are eligible for the current pre-school year, the lack of pre-school assistants trained to support these children mean that these potential pupils are unable to avail of the scheme.
Hoping to remedy the situation, the secretary general of Department of Children and Youth affairs is said to be working alongside counterparts in the Department of Health as well as the Department of Education and Skills.
Acknowledging that the case needs urgent attention, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs has released a statement, saying: “It recognises that the co-ordination and provision of appropriate supports for pre-school children with special needs is not satisfactory. Some cannot access pre-school services, and some, while attending a pre-school, are not achieving their potential due to lack of appropriate supports.”
Early Childhood Ireland welcomes the proposed intervention, but insists time is of the essence, with the ECI chief executive, Teresa Heeney, saying: “A solution cannot wait until a medical model is available where there are enough speech therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists etc are in place to ensure that all assessments are completed before a child enters a free preschool year.”
Elaborating on what needs to be done to swiftly address the worrying issue, she went on to say: “A social model needs to be developed, based on trust, where a childcare operator and a parent, together, can seek additional supports to make the preschool experience for all children in their Free preschool year meaningful and worthwhile.”
