Childcare providers

It is expected that a substantial proportion of Cohort 24 at age 3 will be in some form

of non-parental childcare. Childcare, and associated challenges, was a recurring

theme in the recent consultations with both the advisory panels and parents. While

parents spoke mainly about the logistics of securing and affording childcare (although

they also had concerns about high staff turnover in centres), the advisory panels were

mainly concerned with the child’s experiences within the centre or in the

childminder’s home. Childcare and early education are a key pillar of the First 5

whole-of-Government strategy for the early years, with several major initiatives such

as the national childcare scheme (for subsidising the cost of care), and a new

registration and inspection requirement for home-based childminders, being

implemented as a result.

Potentially some 3-year-olds will be spending more of their waking hours within a

childcare facility than at home with their parents, which means that much of their

food consumption, activities and interactions with other people take place in that

environment. Hence capturing some information directly from the care provider on,

for example, diet, screen-time, types of play, learning activities and interactions with

other children and staff, would be a useful addition to compiling a detailed picture of

the child’s lived experience.

It could also be informative to record some structural details of the care environment

such as the number of staff and children, staff qualifications, and the facilities

available – information which the child’s parent may not know in detail. Government

policy has targeted the upskilling of people working in early years education and,

according to the most recent State of the Nation’s Children report (DCEDIY, 2024b),

the percentage of ELC staff with a qualification at QQI Level 7 or higher was 37% in

2023, up from 25% in 2019 (p.64, using data from Pobal). Collecting data at the level

of the individual child could shed light on whether progress in areas such as staff

qualifications result in better outcomes for young children.

An important decision will need to be made in relation to who receives a childcare

provider and/or early learning questionnaire if the child spends long periods in two

quite different settings (e.g. an early learning centre 20 hours per week then a home-

based childminder for another 20 hours). Previously parents of Cohort 08 were

asked to nominate a ‘main’ care provider, usually based on hours per week – but with

the extension of the free pre-school year provision, there is an increased likelihood of

split-care with similar durations.

A possible impediment to surveying childminders and centre-based caregivers

directly is the relatively poor response in the Cohort 24 at 9 months pilot. While the

response from centres who were contacted was quite good, there was a high degree

of reluctance from parents to provide the contact details in the first place (CSO,

2024). Data on participation in the care providers’ survey in the main phase will not

be available until late 2025 at the earliest.

Recommendations for Cohort 24 at 3 years:

•Survey childminders and centre-based carers directly, where a child spends at least 8 hours per week in that childcare.

•The survey could draw on previous surveys used with Cohort 24 at 9 months and Cohort 08 at 3 years for longitudinal and cross-cohort comparisons, but extended or new coverage of topics such as diet, activities, and screen-time should be included.

6.4 Recommendations for Supplementary Measurements