A new scheme aimed at improving educational standards at pre-school level will require state-funded creches and playgroups to secure official "Quality-in-Education" approval. This is among the proposals in a White Paper to be published this autumn.
The White Paper is also likely to propose the setting up of a new agency to co-ordinate research and inspections and to monitor standards throughout the sector.
All state-funded organisations catering for young children will be required to reach the new "Q" mark standard, but those which are private can also apply for it.
The White Paper is due from the Department of Education in October. State-funded pre-school provision, in schools, creches and playgroups is currently provided in an unco-ordinated and unsupervised manner - apart from health regulation checks - by no fewer than nine government departments, led by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
It is likely that the White Paper will propose the establishment of an Early Education Agency, an executive agency under the Department's aegis along the lines of the National Educational Psychology Service. This will co-ordinate the Department's educational provision and conduct research, evaluations and inspections. Most importantly, it will develop and monitor standards throughout the state-funded pre-school sector.
All providers will be able to apply for recognition through the QE Mark, but it will be compulsory for state-funded groups. Standards will cover staff qualifications, learning objectives, curriculum and planning.
The Minister for Education, Mr Martin, is not proposing a single state funder for the sector, or that his Department should take on the central funding role. He believes that a single national pre-school system, apart from being financially impossible, would "adversely impact on the diversity of provision and be of questionable educational advantage", according to a senior Department source.
He believes, for example, that the EU-funded Early Start pilot scheme for under-fours in disadvantaged areas has not been properly co-ordinated with existing playgroup and other provision, and thus the "net gain" of the project has often been doubtful.
Apart from research, demonstration and inspection, the Department will confine its direct funding to provision for children with disabilities such as autism and Downs Syndrome, for whom specialist interventions during the first four years have been shown to have a significant, and sometimes dramatic, effect.
Department sources say that the new standards are not intended to place additional financial burdens on providers. Recognising the current very low level of resourcing, the Department plans to significantly increase its spending on staff training for pre-school personnel, and on the provision of expertise and educational materials to pre-school groups, so that they can meet the new standards. However, it says that this will "take some time to achieve".
The sources say there is particular concern that until now, much state funding has been for schemes to help disadvantaged children, both in and out of schools, which have had "little or no specialist early education content".
The Department is not proposing any extra direct departmental funding for pre-school projects for disadvantaged children, but wants to ensure that the educational part of any increased childcare funding should be properly co-ordinated with other elements.
The Government has already indicated that it will provide a significant increase in funding for childcare in the next Budget. The report of the inter-departmental group on childcare is due out in the next two months.