A report has been published that examines the impact of the Early Years Education Policy on the working conditions of professionals in the early childhood care and education sector. The report looks at policy-related issues, working conditions, areas of concern as viewed by early years professionals, and investment in other EU countries.

Some of the recommendations made include:

• Introduce working terms and conditions on a par with the rest of the education system.
• Commission the development of a nationally agreed pay scale for the early years workforce linked to the Occupational Role Profiles that recognises qualifications, experience and length of service.
• Introduce a system of Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL).
• Reduce worker/child ratios from 1:11 to 1:9 – this would assist in early identification of problems and pay off in long run for the state.

Full Report here