Infant classes in national schools need a major overhaul, according to a new report on childhood education.
The Report on the National Forum for Early childhood Education, presented yesterday, recommends a re-examination of staff training and staff/child ratios and reform of the infant level curriculum.
The report from the forum, convened earlier this year by the Minister for education, Mr Martin, states: "early childhood education and care services have developed in and ad-hoc and unplanned manner." and care services have developed in an ad-hoc and unplanned manner."
At the report's presentation, Mr Martin acknowledged the "need to examine resources for infant classes and to look at the quality of provision with regard to the curriculum and staffing".
The publication focuses on service provision for children from birth to six years and highlights the lack of departmental co-ordination of services for this age group.
An inter-departmental "early years development unit" is recommended to address this problem.
Prof John Coolahan, editor of the report, is secretary general of the forum secretariat which brought together over 30 organisations involved in the provision of pre-school services.
He says there is a need to develop a national framework for early childhood development and education.
The forum strongly endorses the central role of parents. The report states: "Good relationships with carers and teachers are regarded as of crucial importance and training courses should incorporate in-depth work in this area."
Diversity of service provision in this sector should also be protected, it says.
"The time is right for a strategic policy on early childhood provision and a White Paper which will incorporate that policy," Prof Coolahan said.
Mr Martin recognised the national forum as an important step in the preparation of a White Paper on early childhood education "which will be published as soon as possible", he said.
But the Department's role in pre-school provision was "lamentable", said Mr Richard Bruton, Fine Gael's education spokesman, adding: "It is inexplicable why the Minister has waited almost five months to publish this report. It has only served to lose the momentum gathered by the valuable presentations to the forum.
"Among children under the age of four, the State has only offered pre-school to 3 per cent of the population.
"It has been left to others to make the provision and it is not surprising that the efforts have been under-resourced."
Welcoming the report, Senator Joe O'Toole, general secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, said: "The curriculum for children aged three up needs to be examined with a view to creating a seamless transition from early years through to first class."