Preschool Regulations were first introduced in Ireland in 1996. These regulations were revised in 2006 and have now been further revised in the Child Care Act 1991 Regulations 2016 and the Child Care Act 1991 Regulations 2016. In 2018, Tusla’s Early Years Inspectorate developed the Quality and Regulatory Framework (QRF), which sets out the core regulatory requirements for compliance with the Early Years Regulations 2016, The Quality and Regulatory Framework applies to all registered Early Years Services.

It sets out, in a clear way, the requirements for statutory compliance for providers of services, the stakeholders, and parents/guardians to help them understand how the Early Years Regulations 2016 are interpreted in practice by the Early Years Inspectorate and how to comply with the Regulations.

There have also been some very significant changes in Irish and international laws in relation to children’s rights. The Early Years Regulations 2016 and these other legal changes, as well as other important developments, have made a significant impact on what providers of early years care and education services are required to do and wish to do, to meet higher standards of quality in developing and providing safer, more efficient and more effective services for children and families, and to ensure that children’s rights are protected.