Professionalising early years services

Education Division Conference 2016

Croke Park Stadium, Conference Centre, Jones Road, Dublin 3.Thursday, 31st March 2016

The Irish phrase ‘tús maith, leath na hoibre’ says a good start is half the work. In the case of our children it means so muchmore than this. The importance of early years to the achievement of personal development and human potential hasn’talways been sufficiently appreciated. And for years there has been no link between the benefits flowing from investment inearly years and the social and economic costs associated with a failure to do so. This is beginning to change.

There has been some investment by government in services for early years partly in response to population growth. But thesystem of early childhood care and education is still operating on a shoestring with a complex mix of services. This makesregulation challenging and the task of professionalising the workforce somewhat unusual.

IMPACT has a long and proud record of successfully assisting many groups to gain professional recognition and improvedpay and conditions of employment. Early childhood care and education is a public service in the sense that it is a public good.But well over 70% of the provision is in the private sector. Earnings are poor and many of the providers themselves are barelyin receipt of a living wage. This is why IMPACT believes that the entire workforce, including small business owners, must uniteto campaign for professionalisation.

This conference will hear internationally renowned authority Professor Helen Penn deliver the keynote address on theimportance of professionalisation. A panel of influential contributors will discuss how momentum towards professional isationof the sector can be built and a further group of selected experts will debate the practical steps thatneed to be taken to overcome obstacles in the way.

‘A Good Start’ is a landmark event where IMPACT, Ireland’s leading publicservice union, is making early years a priority. The union is doing sobecause it understands the importance of a profession al isedworkforce not just for the staff but for society as a whole. And itrealises that this will only be achievedthrough trade union organisationand effective representation.

Book yourplace today!

Conference programme

To register to attend this landmark event, please contact Elaine Elliott (eelliott@impact.ie / 01 8171534) or Julie Healy (jhealy@impact.ie / 01 8287813)

9.30am Registration

10.45am IntroductionGina O’Brien, Cathaoirleach, Education Division, IMPACT

11.00am Keynote Speaker, Helen Penn, ProfessorEmerita of Early Childhood, University ofEast London (UEL)

11.30am PANEL 1:BUILDING MOMENTUM FORPROFESSIONALISATION’ Bernie McNallyAssistant Secretary, Department of Children and Youth AffairsTom HealyDirector, Nevin Economic Research InstituteMarian QuinnChairperson, Association of ChildhoodProfessionalsTeresa HeeneyChief Executive Officer, Early Childhood IrelandFacilitated by:David ColemanClinical Psychologist, Broadcaster and Author

13.00pm Lunch

14.15pm PANEL 2:IDENTIFYING OBSTACLES AND SOLUTIONSJune TinsleyDirector and Head of Advocacy, BarnardosAodhán Ó RíordáinDr. Emer RingHead of Department of Reflective Pedagogy and Early Childhood Studies, Mary Immaculate CollegeOrla O'ConnorDirector, National Women’s Council of IrelandFacilitated by:Orlaith Carmody, Managing Director, mediatraining.ie

15.45pm Kevin CallinanDeputy General Secretary, IMPACT Trade Union

16.00pm Close of Conference

HELEN PENNProfessor Emerita of Early Childhood, University of East London (UEL)

Helen set up one of the first integrated careand education training courses in the UK forstaff working in the early years. She has pub -lished on the training, roles and remuner ationof childcare and early education staff. Whilstat UEL she also set up the International Centrefor the Study of the Mixed Economy of Child -

care (ICMEC) and her recent research concerns the impact ofprivate for profit childcare on children, families and on staff.She undertook research for the Department for Education inEngland on the costs of childcare, and carried out an inter -national review on the private sector for Start Strong inIreland, which she also presented to Government officials inAustralia and New Zealand last year. She has worked exten -sively on childcare and early education projects for the OECDand EU, and wrote one of the benchmark documents for theEU on early education and care.

BERNIE MCNALLYAssistant Secretary General, Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Bernie joined the Department of Children andYouth Affairs in April 2015 as Assistant Secre -tary General. She has lead responsibility forearly years care and education, youth affairs,research and participation. Prior to this shewas Director General of the Office of theOmbudsman which incorporated the Office

of the Information Commissioner and other commissions.Bernie worked as an occupational therapist in Ireland, the UKand the USA and was later a Director of Therapy and SocialWork services in St James's Hospital, Dublin. Bernie wasemployed as an advisor on therapy services in the Depart -ment of Health and Children from 2004 to 2008. Bernieworked closely with IMPACT on issues relating to the dev -elop ment of the therapy professions both before and duringthis period and brings her experience of workforce develop -ment to her current role in early years. 

TOM HEALYDirector, Nevin Economic Research Institute

Tom is an economist and Director of the tradeunion-sponsored Nevin Economic ResearchInstitute (NERI). He has previously worked inthe Economic and Social Research Institute,the Northern Ireland Economic ResearchCentre, the Organisation for Economic Co -oper ation and Development, the National

Econ omic and Social Forum and the Depart ment of Edu -cation and Skills. His research interests include the impact ofeducation and social capital on wellbeing.

MARIAN QUINNAssociation of Childhood Professionals

Marian is the Chairperson of the Associationof Childhood Professionals and also lectureson the early childhood programme at CorkInstitute of Technology. She received her BAin Montessori Education from St. NicholasMontessori College, Ireland and her MEd fromUCC. She has over 18 years experience work -

ing as an early childhood practitioner in both the communityand independent sectors in Ireland and Australia. She wasone of the founding members of the ACP in Cork in 2005 andbecame the inaugural chairperson of the national associationwhen it launched in June 2013. To date, her most significantprofessional achievement was the organisation of the firstever national early childhood rally in Ireland, where over2,500 people were galvanised to take to the streets tohighlight the need for investment in early childhood ingeneral and more specifically in early childhood pro -fessionals.

TERESA HEENEYChief Executive Officer, Early Childhood Ireland

Teresa graduated with a Masters of BusinessScience from the National University ofIreland Maynooth in 2013. She led the mergerof the Irish Preschool Play Association and theNational Childrens Nurseries Association in2011. Since March 2014 she has been ChiefExecutive Officer with Early Childhood Ire -

land. Prior to that Teresa worked as the manager of Cherishand as training and research manager in ISPCC, followingroles in youth and community work. Teresa received herundergraduate degree in social science from UCC.

DAVID COLEMAN Clinical Psychologist, Broadcaster and Author

David is a practising clinical psychologist. Hespecialises in working with children, teen -agers and their families. He is probably bestknown for the range of television prog -rammes he has presented dealing withchild hood struggles, teenage angst and otheraspects of family life.

David is also a bestselling author of 'Parenting is Child’s Play'a guide to raising young children. His second book is a guidefor parents of teenagers called 'Parenting is Child’s Play: TheTeenage Years'. David’s latest book is titled 'The ThrivingFamily'.

David is a weekly expert contributor to the Health and Livingsupplement with the Irish Independent every Monday andalso writes a monthly feature article for the Irish Independenton a range of parenting and family topics. He is also a regularcontributor on the ‘Sean O’Rourke Show’ on RTÉ Radio 1.

About our speakers

JUNE TINSLEYDirector and Head of Advocacy, Barnardos

June joined Barnardos in 2005 and now hasover 14 years experience in policy, lobbyingand campaigns to influence change in nat -ional policies, legislation and practice. She hasresponsibility for advocacy and supporterengagement leading the strategic vision andimplementation of policy development and

advocacy campaigns designed to improve outcomes forchildren. Ahead of the 2016 general election she led the RiseUP campaign to tackle child inequality by seeking statutoryinvestment in key public services such as Tusla, quality child -care, primary education, community based health servicesand improved housing conditions. June represents Barnardoson a wide range of coalition groups on children’s issues andis a current board member of Start Strong.

AODHÁN Ó RÍORDÁIN Before 2011 Aodhán worked as a teacher andprincipal in St Laurence O’Toole’s GNS inSheriff Street where he was inspired to getinvolved in politics to further the causes of thedisadvantaged and voiceless in our society.

He was elected as a TD in February 2011 andappointed as Minster of State with respon -

sibility for New Communities, Culture and Equality and DrugsStrategy in July 2014.

While serving as Vice-Chair of the Oireachtas Committee onEducation and Social Protection, Aodhán was instrumentalin persuading the Committee to conduct a review of the roleof the Special Needs Assistant and had extensive con sul -tation with IMPACT.

DR. EMER RINGHead of Department, Mary Immaculate College

Emer heads the Department of ReflectivePedagogy and Early Childhood Studies atMary Immaculate College, Limerick. A special -ist in early years and special education, shehas worked as a teacher, a learning supportteacher, a primary school resource teacher,and a senior inspector with the Department

of Education and Skills. Emer is course leader for the Bachelorof Arts in Early Childhood Care and Education Programme(BAECCE) at Mary Immaculate College, which are stronglyinfluenced by progressive international movements in earlyyears’ education. She was joint principal investigator in twonational research projects: An Evaluation of Concepts of SchoolReadiness among Parents and Early Years Educators in Ireland,commissioned by the Department of Children and YouthAffairs, and An Evaluation of Educational Provision for Studentswith Autistic Spectrum Disorder in the Republic of Ireland,commissioned by the National Council for Special Education.She co-leads a Level 6 special purpose award (higher edu -cation) for staff in early years settings to access the NationalHigher Education Programme for Inclusion Co ordinators in EarlyYears Settings.

ORLA O’CONNOR Director, National Women’s Council of Ireland

Orla holds a masters degree in EuropeanSocial Policy from NUIM and a degree inSocial Science from UCD. She has worked insenior management in non-governmentalorganisations in Ireland for over 15 years. Shewas previously the head of policy of NWCI,and has led campaigns on a wide range of

women’s rights issues including social welfare reform,pension reform and for the introduction of quality andaffordable childcare. Orla has worked in local communitybased projects developing services for the unemployed, loneparents and young people.

ORLAITH CARMODYMangaging Director, mediatraining.ie

Orlaith is the author of Perform As A Leader(Ballpoint Press, September 2015) and themanaging director of media training.ie, whichspecialises in communications training andleadership development. In demand as a key -note speaker, conference chair and seminarleader, Orlaith has addressed Ire land’s most

influential business people, networks and political groups.She has also presented at conferences in the USA, UAE,Canada and Europe.

An active media commentator, she contributes regularly toa variety of programmes and publications on subjects suchas doing business today, women’s participation at board leveland in public life, entrepreneurship, education and parenting.

Following a career as a broadcast journalist with RTÉ, Orlaithbecame a serial entrepreneur, and is a director of a numberof SMEs in media, recruitment, production and education.She served on the board of RTÉ from 2010 to 2015.

She is a founder member of the Irish Chapter of EO, theEntrepreneurs’ Organisation, and was President in 2014/15.

Orlaith has a Diploma in Journalism from DIT and an MA inFilm and Television from DCU.

KEVIN CALLINAN Deputy General Secretary, IMPACT

Prior to his appointment as Deputy GeneralSecretary of IMPACT in 2010, Kevin spent 12years as the union’s National Secretary forHealth and Welfare. Since then he has hadresponsibility for the grow ing mem ber ship inthe education sector overseeing the est -ablish ment of the Education Division within

the union in 2012.

Kevin has a lead role in strategic organising and uniondevelopment for IMPACT.

He was elected as a Vice-President of ICTU in July 2015 andhe is a member of the Executive Committee of the Euro peanFederation of Public Service Unions. He is currently a memberof the National Com petitiveness Council.