OVER THE LAST 10 years the provision of full day nursery care has developed to such an extent that there is hardly a small town in Ireland that hasn't got a creche.

Work practices and family roles are changing, and to cater for the demand daycare services have developed in a notoriously ad hoc manner.

However, last December the long awaited regulations on pre school services tinder the Child Care Act 1991 were published. The regulations, in providing a first step towards standardising the quality of care, are generally welcomed - but with reservations from some quarters.

Frances Gaynor, a former nursery owner, is a tutor on the NNEB/NCVA course in childcare at Sallynoggin Senior College, Dublin. "Where the regulations fall down is in not looking at how group care can meet the all round needs of children," she says.

"They focus on the "static" environment, areas like safety and hygiene - which are of course extremely important - but what happens with the children all day long? This is fundamental to the quality of the care.

Noirin Hayes, head of the school of social studies at the DIT, agrees. "The regulations offer us a starting point, a legal framework from which to improve the quality of care. They are, unfortunately, as minimal as we had expected and provide no guidelines on the more dynamic aspects of care. But their existence will help raise awareness among parents and thrust the issue of quality care into the arena for debate."

Defining and finding good quality care is a minefield for parents. Sheena O'Brien, the nursery owner and manager of Childsplay, a purpose built creche in Dublin city centre, points out that "essentially, daycare is taking the place of the extended family. With that in mind, we provide a quality of care which is much like a home from home, a warm loving atmosphere where there is scope for flexibility and spontaneity each day.

"The babies have loads of cuddling and chatting, the younger children all have turns on someone's lap for a chat or a story and the older children know they can come over for a hug, a chat or a hand with something whenever they need it. You need enough staff to be able to do this, though."

"We would have a well planned day that doesn't seem planned. We have free play time, Montessori time, nap time, lunch time and a choice of arts and crafts, music and drama.

"But the emphasis is always on flexibility to meet the needs of the children on any given day."

"A nursery should first and foremost, be homely," Gaynor says. "Today many nurseries offer all sorts of exciting educational opportunities, but sometimes at the expense of nurturing and affection.

"PARENTS SHOULD look at their own homes when choosing a creche and think about how a nursery might provide a similar atmosphere. A mixture of age groups is fairly typical in a family, for example. There are models of childcare that recommend what are known as `family groupings', where there is a key worker for a group of children of different ages. The security of family relationships should be duplicated where the care is outside the family.

"All the needs of the child should be met, emotional and social as well as intellectual and physical. Sitting down to make things can be fun, but there has to be room for spontaneity. In fact, watching children at play you find they almost always get involved in some sort of imaginative game."

Noirin Hayes has also observed "a worrying trend towards providing early childhood services which are more like a formal school service. It is important to have a learning environment, but pre school children learn through play and having the opportunity to experience things.

"Respecting children and providing a safe, loving and language rich environment is at the heart of good quality care. Research would indicate a maximum of 50 children per nursery, and a sense of order, without being too timetabled, is also important. The ordinary - sitting around, chatting, doing nothing special at all - shouldn't become extraordinary."

Frances Gaynor says that while a lot of information on good quality care is provided by voluntary organisations, "parents shouldn't have to pound the streets to find it. The Government should provide resources so this information is as readily available as information on vaccinations.

"As a society we have a responsibility to ensure our children are well cared for. There is an urgent need for a government policy on daycare provision, it shouldn't be left entirely to the market - health care, housing and education aren't. Daycare shouldn't be any different.

"Parents have the most potential to bring about change in daycare provision, and they should feel confident about demanding what they feel is best for their children.