New evidence in the neuroscience field shows that early intervention is crucial as children's brains are more receptive in the first five years of life than at any other stage, Dr Orla Doyle told the conference on community childcare and education. Dr Doyle lectures at UCD's School of Public Health and Population Science.

"It is more efficient, both biologically and economically, to get things right the first time than to try to fix them later," she said.

Well-designed early childhood interventions in the US had generated returns to society of up to 17 dollars for each dollar spent, she added.

The conference was organised by CPLN area partnership - formerly known as the Clondalkin Partnership.

Sweden's former senior adviser on childcare, Barbara Martin Korpi, also spoke at the conference. She said her country's system of universal access to pre-school had been developed over 30 years.

Almost 50 per cent of one-year-olds in Sweden are now enrolled in pre-school or family day care, and this rises to more than 90 per cent in the case of 2-5 year-olds. All children in Sweden have a right to pre-school, while costs are set at a maximum fee of 3 per cent of a parent's monthly income. There is a national curriculum which ensures high standards of education, and aftercare is available in schools for children aged between six and 12.

"Women had to fight to secure these gains over the course of several decades, as men were opposed to childcare. It was only in the 1960s, with a strong women's movement, a growing economy, and a new generation of politicians, that attitudes began to change," Barbara Martin Korpi said.

The conference also marked the publication by the CPLN area partnership of a review of community childcare services in Clondalkin. The report warns that changes to funding threaten to undermine the social mix at these facilities. Under the changes, greater subsidies are available for parents on low incomes and costs are set to rise for other parents.

"Families that are just above the subvention scheme threshold will simply not be able to afford the significantly increased fees which the community childcare services will have to charge in order to be viable and sustainable," the report says.

Recommendations include:

• enhancing subvention for parents just outside the subvention levels;
• restructuring funding of community childcare;
• increasing public awareness of the value of quality childcare services.

(Source: Irish Times)