At the doors of compulsory education or (un)sure start

Scientific evidence from neuroscience, biology and psychology suggests early childhood to be a period of great opportunity as well as risk. Research findings have repeatedly confirmed that children can benefit from participation in early childhood education and care programmes (ECEC). These programmes can have a significant positive impact on their success in further education. Access to ECEC is of crucial importance for children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds (SDB), as well as children with disabilities or high risk development. They present a great opportunity for them to start on an equal footing with their peers at the commencement of compulsory education. However, the benefits of ECEC programmes largely depend on their quality. Several countries, aiming to improve their ECEC, have adopted an integrated system approach to provide continuity of services along with  complex help and support for all children. Slovakia resists this trend. It preserves its internally fragmented system, featuring several governmental ministries as coordinators of individual programmes, thereby lacking the necessary coherence and co-operation. Such fragmentation affects mainly the most vulnerable groups of children, who cannot benefit from early childhood education and care programmes in the way their peers can. Fragmentation into several sectors is mainly reflected in the non-systemic governance of early childhood education and care programmes for children aged below 3. In Slovakia, these programmes are not perceived as being a basic prerequisite of quality pre-primary education. In most countries, the ECEC system covers care of children from their birth up to the start of their schooling. In our country, attention is paid to pre-primary education covering mostly children aged 3 and over. However, ECEC programmes for younger children are on the margins. In public discourse, nurseries are an important topic, reflecting the rising demand of parents for institutional care for their children. There are not many options for them. Capacity in kindergartens in several towns and municipalities struggles to accommodate even the older children, and there are only a few public nurseries. At private nurseries, fees exceed the state subsidy parents are entitled to receive for this purpose, and due to the so-called “Nursery Act”, these nurseries are still few in number.

The fact that care for children below 3 years of age is not perceived to be a part of the ECEC system is reflected in its legal definition as a social service. Moreover, nurseries are even defined as an ambulant social service. The legal regulation of these facilities relates mainly to safety, child protection and hygiene. Nobody monitors pedagogic activities with children and no methodological guidance is provided. The fact that early childhood care for children below 3 is neglected is also mirrored in the limited access to these programmes for the most vulnerable groups – children with disabilities or from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. Children with disabilities and their families can participate in the early intervention system, which has been developed over a longer period of time. Due to limited funding, and the low regional coverage and availability of information, many families face difficulties in accessing these services. Socially excluded families living in poverty have no opportunity to participate in an ECEC programme for children aged below 3. Institutional care is neither a solution nor an option for these families, and a portfolio of programmes for the youngest children is not prepared for them.

There are also challenges concerning access to pre-primary education programmes designed mainly for children aged 3 or over. Low enrolment of children in kindergartens provides  the evidence. Slovakia is far from the EU 2020 target aiming at a 95% participation rate in pre-primary education for children aged 4 and over, up until their commencement of compulsory schooling. In 2017, Slovakia had 76% of children of this age in kindergartens. Calculations performed by the Learning Makes Sense team point to significant regional differences. In the regions of Košice and Prešov, the situation is critical and is mainly caused by the long-term low participation rate of Roma children in these programmes. Only a third of them attend kindergartens.

This low participation rate in pre-primary education is also caused by inadequate capacity in kindergartens, and this problem has not been addressed for the long term. Even if parents are willing to enrol their children at a kindergarten, not all children are admitted. Lack of capacity gives rise to discriminatory practices in the admission of children in certain cases. Primarily affected are children with no permanent residence in the respective municipality or urban area where the kindergarten is located, and children with unemployed parents. Such circumstances also lower the chances of children with disabilities being admitted. The Learning Makes Sense team estimates that more than half of these children are not admitted to kindergartens. Their proportion of the total population of children in kindergartens is ten times lower than their proportion in primary schools. The kindergarten principal has the legal right to refuse admission of such a child if conditions in the kindergarten are not appropriate. However, there are no specific criteria to assess which conditions are appropriate and which not. Therefore, kindergarten principals make their decision based on their own judgement. In this context, the Learning Makes Sense questionnaire survey provides interesting insights. Only a fifth of respondents from kindergartens considers their own kindergarten ready to educate children with disabilities. Respondents listed the following main challenges in the education of SEN designated children: insufficient conditions for a customised approach due to a high number of children in classes; lack of teaching assistants and professional staff; physical barriers in school buildings; lack of funds to address the needs of SEN designated children and teachers unprepared for work with these children. Inadequate conditions for educating children with disabilities often result in mainstream kindergartens refusing to admit them. From those admitted to kindergartens, two thirds attend special needs kindergartens. Yet there are many districts in Slovakia with no such institutions. At the same time, many special needs kindergartens face similar problems with lack of funds and staff.

Also, it is doubtful whether kindergartens are ready to educate children from SDB. Findings from both qualitative and quantitative surveys suggest that kindergartens do not have the conditions for a customised approach to children and the provision of the support services necessary. Another challenge is the relative inability of kindergarten staff to work with children speaking other languages. This may be the reason why a quarter of kindergarten teachers and principals believe that children with a different mother tongue should be educated in special needs classes or schools. Low participation in pre-primary education of children from excluded localities can also be caused by the lack of programmes focusing on liaison with their parents. Parental expenditure on pre-primary education and its impact on access to education needs to be tackled as well. There are several supporting measures targeted at assisting children from low-income families. However, under the current system, kindergarten attendance (especially for younger children) is not free of charge. Firstly, the income threshold for these families is set too low, and secondly, the supporting measures do not cover all expenditure related to kindergarten attendance. Another important barrier to access is the significant distance to kindergartens. At time of the survey, this barrier was relevant for a fifth of excluded Roma localities.

Analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data from the Learning Makes Sense survey are examined in more detail in the following sections:

Importance of early childhood education and care.

Why attention should be paid to early childhood education and care

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 ECEC system is fragmented.

The early childhood education and care system is significantly fragmented

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Care in early years is neglected.

Early childhood care of children aged below 3 is overlooked. Is that a problem?

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Low access to pre-primary education.

Pre-primary education is not accessible to all

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Conclusions:

The state should guarantee equal access to quality education. Countries taking this goal seriously place significant emphasis on increasing access to, and quality of, early childhood education and care programmes. The quality of these programmes is influenced by the ability of the ECEC system to address the complex needs of all children and their families, and consequently help improve life chances for everyone. Therefore, particular attention is placed on creating an integrated system which is sufficiently well coordinated that children and their families can access all services they need, even before they reach the age of 3. Integrated ECEC systems provide for continuous and targeted child development, from birth to the commencement of schooling. In such systems, early childhood care programmes for children aged below 3  are not only a service designed for parents pursuing their jobs or studies. Their role is also to address the various needs these children and their families might have, including those caused by disabilities or social disadvantage. Integrated ECEC systems provide a seamless transition to pre-primary education, which is perceived to be a basic prerequisite for successful schooling. Therefore it is accessible to all, and in many countries there is a legal entitlement to this service. If public policies cannot create opportunities for all children to participate in ECEC programmes, then this indicates little attention is being paid to equal education opportunity in that country.