Choosing a playgroup or a creche for a pre-school child can be problematic. How can you be sure that the place is any good and will benefit your child? Horror stories abound of tots being strapped into chairs all day, with no play or vital stimulation.

Come 1998, however, all that is set to change when the Irish Preschool Playgroups Association (IPPA - The Early Childhood Organisation) introduces its quality assurance scheme. "Parents want the scheme and our members are all for it," says Hilary Kenny, the IPPA's director of services. The association, which was set up 28 years ago, boasts a membership of just under 2,000 and includes playgroups, parent and toddler groups and 200 full day-care groups.

Over 25,000 children attend IPPA groups. The IPPA already operates a code of standards for playgroups, while its countrywide network of branches supplies support and training for parents and playleaders.

Top of the list of priorities outlined in the IPPA's strategic plan which was launched on November 20th is quality assurance. Kenny notes that in many instances, the IPPA already demands higher standards of its members than do the regulations of the 1991 Childcare Act.

"The regulations say that there should be two people on the premises," she explains. "They could be anywhere in the building, but we recommend that there be two adults in each playgroup all the time. We advise a ratio of one adult to eight children but the regulations require only one adult to 10 children."

The IPPA's quality assurance scheme will cover the curriculum, staff training, settling in policies for children, policies on membership and the involvement of parents, complaints procedures and policies on premises, equipment, safety, health and hygiene.

For the IPPA, the type of curriculum offered by groups is of major importance. The IPPA curriculum is child-centred, holistically based and needs driven. "In our groups," Kenny explains, "children are encouraged to make their own decisions about what they will work on and problem-solve for themselves. We mediate their experiences and give them words to express their feelings. We encourage empathy with other children."

Play is vital for children's development, she says. "We regard playbased early childhood services as the first step in engaging the imagination and creativity of the child. Children who actively construct their own learning become creative, critical thinkers."

When it comes to play, the IPPA puts the emphasis on natural materials - water, dough and sand, for example. Plastic is hard and unyielding and leaves little to the imagination, Kenny observes.

There's a strong emphasis, too, on art and physical education. "Children of that age are more active physically than they will ever be again. Physical activity is strongly linked to intellectual development and being physically competent encourages learning."

Staff training is another important element of the quality assurance scheme. "Training is crucial to quality," Kenny notes. "There's very little about the quality of staff in the Childcare Act, but it's an issue of great concern to us. We recommend that groups continually examine and reflect on their practices and continue to participate in training courses."

The current NCVA childcare courses are geared to school-leavers. "Our members have a lot of handson experience and are used to our methodologies," she says. "We've developed an NCVA-accredited course geared to adult experiential learning, which will be available at centres nationwide in 1998." The programme is EU-funded and therefore time-limited. "We need these courses to continue after 1999," Kenny argues. "People are crying out for training."

Training can be a double-edged sword. Higher levels of training go hand in hand with higher levels of pay. The sector is run on a shoestring, she says. Community groups are registered charities and are run by parents' committees which employ a play leader.

UP till now private groups have not regarded themselves as businesses, but rather as providers of services to the community. "They know they have to keep their prices low and they operate at no more than break-even level." There's a conflict between well-paid staff and the cost of childcare to parents. "We're pressing for a tax break for parents on the cost of childcare," Kenny says. "It should be available to all parents, including mothers who opt to work in the home."

She points to the fact that a growing body of research on both sides of the Atlantic shows that children who have experienced high quality early care and education in which parents are actively involved are more likely to stay in education longer, secure employment and avoid the pitfalls of teen pregnancies and substance abuse.

The IPPA is setting up a steering group, involving outside experts, to monitor members and award the quality assurance mark. The scheme is first to be piloted and will be introduced more widely during 1998.

"The quality assurance scheme will bring members together and raise the status and awareness of the value of the work they do," Kenny stresses.

`We recommend that groups continually examine and reflect on their practices and continue to participate in training courses'