Early Childhood in Northern Ireland Stranmillis University College Child Centred Early Childhood CETL Group Meeting Sheelagh Carville

The Local Context - Education  Traditionally, a rather formal approach to EY;  An early start to statutory school [4 yrs + 2 months – 5 yrs + 2 months];  Pre low levels of funded, pre-school provision [below half of eligible children];  Currently, a changing and dynamic scene – Pre School Expansion Programme, 1998;  Approx. 9,000 extra places created in a range of sectors (statutory, voluntary & private);  A new approach to the “Foundation Stage” – Enriched Curriculum, seeking to disseminate developmentally appropriate practice for Yrs 1 & 2 of primary education.

The Local Context - Childcare  Very patchy;  Shortage of provision for 0 – 8 age range;  The majority of care is by family members [largely unregulated] or private providers [expensive];  No policy initiative to roll out of Early Excellence Centres or Extended Schools;  Sure Start: on a smaller scale.

The Place of Stranmillis  BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies: 270 students on both full and part-time pathways; 270 students on both full and part-time pathways; Taught in Belfast, but also at Omagh College and Monaghan VEC; Taught in Belfast, but also at Omagh College and Monaghan VEC; Using face to face teaching, V/C delivery and QoL. Using face to face teaching, V/C delivery and QoL.  Graduates [170 F/T & 280 P/T since 2000] making a significant contribution to the development of EY services in NI;  ITE route with EY options;  PGCE EY (3 – 8 years);  M level provision [a new MA (ECS) in September];

Student Portfolios  Modular assessment by Personal/Professional Development Portfolio (PP/DP);  A mechanism for charting personal development against professional experience in EY settings;  Based on making theory/practice links;  Completed through observations and reflections.

Pilot  CETL pilot – a poster presented;  Placement tasks focused on each module’s content;  Students using employment based contexts (P/T) & provided placements (F/T) to gather observations (recorded in a journal);  Plans to pilot this as an e-journal format.