Minister praises achievements of childcare workers

Three childcare workers from Northern Ireland have received special praise and recognition from Dr Sean Farren, Minister for Employment and Learning at a special awards ceremony at Belfast City Hall.

The three, Kathleen O’Kane from Derry, Mary O’Reilly from Omagh and Winnie Kelly from Coalisland, who were presented with their awards by the Minister, are the first in the UK to achieve the new NVQ Level 4 in Early years Care and Education.

Attending the Northern Ireland Pre-School Playgroup Association’s annual training awards, Dr Farren congratulated over 60 trainees who received awards, he said: “Tonight’s winners should derive tremendous satisfaction from their achievement. These training awards are about raising the quality of childcare and about focusing on the needs of every child.

“Childcare training and professional qualifications also remind people that there is no job more important than caring for children. High quality training and qualifications help to bring the childcare and early years sector the professional recognition it has earned.

“Your work as educators contributes directly to the Government’s vision of a society that is peaceful, cohesive, prosperous, stable and fair, not least by giving children the best start in learning. We are committed to ensuring that this and future generations will not grow up with the same problems of literacy and numeracy as that being experienced by too many adults in Northern Ireland today.”

The Minister added: “This year a new milestone has been reached. The three Northern Ireland trainees who were the first in the UK to attain their NVQ Level 4 awards UK have demonstrated a commitment to quality in early years education and childcare. They should take great pride in their achievement.”

Dr Farren said that early years provision was one of the clearest illustrations of what could be achieved when Government, the community and the voluntary sector worked in partnership and acknowledged the contribution made by the Northern Ireland Pre-School Playgroup Association (NIPPA) in the development and delivery of early years provision and childcare training. (SP)