3,4,5 Learning Years
3.4.5 Learning Years (aimed at children aged 3-5, parents and early childhood service providers)
- Mia Grange
The youngballymun Early Years Service has two strands:
- Strand I is an area-based strategy aimed at supporting quality practice through the implementation of the Siolta – the National Quality Framework For Early Childhood Development and Education.
- Strand II supports school readiness in preschool children through the delivery of the Highscope.
Strand I works with early childhood development and education services to enhance quality service provision through supported implementation of Síolta - The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Development and Education. This service is designed in collaboration with local children’s services providers and is delivered in partnership Barnardos.
A Síolta coordinator supports and coordinates the application of the framework in early years settings in Ballymun. The service will contribute to outcomes for children and their parents and strengthen the knowledge and practice base of early year’s service providers.
Strand II is in service design; this phase will be completed in September. Key action areas identified to date in service design include; training, implementation supports and ongoing coaching.
Síolta in Ballymun:
- The Early Years Quality Coordinator started in post on February 23rd 20099
- Early Years services had expressed an interest in learning more about Síolta through the youngballymun consultation process
- Of the 9 services 5 services are already actively engaged in the Síolta Quality Assurance process.
- Initial Site visits to Early years services
- Relationship building with service providers
- Raising awareness of siolta & the quality assurance process through delivery of presentations & site visits
- Coordinator receiving a 4 day induction from EYEPU
The National Quality Framework is known as Síolta and was developed by the CECDE (Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education). It is a set of national standards for early childhood education. Síolta aims to define, assess and support quality standards in early year’s services. Síolta is applicable to different types of childcare services and a range of ages. A coordinator works with the service to provide individualised support and guidance through the entire process, facilitating skills such as reflective practice, gathering evidence, completion of a baseline assessment and portfolio building.
HighScope
The second strand of youngballymun Early Years Service works in tangent with Strand I which supports the implementation of Siolta. The second strand has now begun and includes the implementation of the HighScope Curriculum Approach, an evidence based programme to support children’s readiness for school. Strand II provides both educational training and implementation and site mentoring support to services using the HighScope Curriculum Approach over a two year period.
The service is designed in collaboration with local early childhood services and is delivered in partnership with Barnardos. The I.H.A training (Implementing the HighScope Approach) commenced in October 2009 and will be completed in October 2010. It consists of 12 training days for both practitioners and service managers. A HighScope Coordinator has also been appointed and is currently in post to provide the mentoring and role modelling support as required. As part of the service design evaluation process a baseline programme quality assessment (P.Q.A) has been carried out on each service involved in the training and implementation programme and will provide the settings with current programme quality levels. A site visit using the same assessment tool will also be carried out to evaluate programme quality and implementation of the curriculum on completion of the HighScope training programme. Use of the P.Q.A will provide service staff with the opportunity to self evaluate their progress throughout the programme.
As a comprehensive researched based system which includes child instruction staff development and accountability assessment, HighScope meets the underpinning principles and standards of Siolta -the National Quality Framework for Early childhood development and Education.
Click here to view further information on HighScope curriculum
For further information on 3,4,5 Learning Years, please contact:
Joanne Waters - Early Years Quality Coordinator
Phone: 01 883 2154
Email: joanne@youngballymun.org
Antoinette Gibbs - HighScope Coordinator
Phone:01 883 2164
Email antoinette@youngballymun.org
