Swings + Roundabouts Summer 2020

The ECE sector, meanwhile, watches with bated breath the implementation of the ELAP. Much is promised, but I fear the true implementation timetable will frustrate some. Ratio changes, tightening licensing of new services and planning teacher supply are just a few of the initiatives planned – but when? There is a project to review the ECE Regulations, Licensing Criteria and Funding Rules. Long overdue. But again, we need to watch this carefully. The MoE will have an agenda of changes they feel should be made. The extent to which that agenda matches concerns and ideas for improving the quality of ECE and children’s’ experiences is unclear. Following the settlement of the primary teacher’s contract negotiations, an agreement emerged called “the Accord”. Under the guise of ”workload issues” the Accord promises to remove teacher appraisal requirements from recertification by the Teaching Council. This was complimented by a communication from the Teaching Council advising teachers they no longer had to compile documented evidence of their efforts to meet the Standards for the Teaching Profession or participate in appraisal activities. To put it plainly, from the ECE sector’s perspective, this won’t work. The clash between employer responsibilities and best practice and the political agenda behind the appraisal stance is evident at every turn. There’s plenty of other issues going on to challenge us: the implementation from the Review of Tomorrow’s Schools, what’s happening with Learning Support, and the concerns about when government spending may grind to a halt and what that will do for our economy, for unemployment, for inflation and so on. If ever there was a clearer way to show that our ECE sector continues to grapple with change – every day – just look at what 2021 has in store for us! December 2020 { 9 }