Ready for Pre-school

All children can avail of two years of free preschool under the universal Early Childhood and Care and Education Programme (ECCE). The programme is available to all children who have turned two years and eight months of age by the start of the programme year in September and will not be more than five years and six months by the end of the 2nd programme year.

The state pays participating early learning and care services a set amount per child to offer the ECCE programme. In return, participating services provide a preschool service that is free of charge to all children within the qualifying age range.

The service is for three hours a day, five days a week, over a period of 38 weeks. Children already attending an early learning and childcare service may simply transfer into the preschool room when they reach the qualifying age. For other children it will be their first time leaving the care of parents or childminder.

Starting preschool can be a big transition for young children so we made this animation video for parents/ guardians to show their child. We hope it helps your young child understand and be excited for their first transition.

Below is the Family Guide to Aistear which is a resource to support parents to understand what your child’s early learning and development should look like in an early years setting.

Family Guide to Aistear

• Transitioning from home to preschool can be challenging for young children. Facilitating a smooth transition from the home to preschool involves preparation, establishing routines and providing emotional support to help children adjust to their new environment. When a child is transitioning from home to preschool it is important for parents to communicate with their child’s educator as they will provide tailored information related to their transitions process and settling in procedures. To show your child what preschool is all about, go to the main page and watch the video on Starting Preschool.
• If your child is starting primary school, don’t forget to pick up your My Little Library bag from your local library.

Why not borrow one from your local library?

Pre-school helps children by:

• Helping them build secure attachments and experience consistent, reciprocal, nurturing relationships that support muinín (confidence) and connectedness with family, cairde (friends), key person, educators and community.
• Teaching them to be confident, independent and develop self-help and self-care skills, particularly in predicting and handling transitions.
• Helping them to be empowered to communicate their feelings and emotions to make sense of life experiences, to cope with challenges and to learn to co-regulate and self-regulate.
• Teaching them to use their bodies to move, be active, and experience, explore, and extend their physicality through inclusive environments, indoors and outdoors, through súgradh (play) and spraoi (fun) experiences that encourage practice, challenge, adventure and mastery, using assistive technology where appropriate.
• Help them learn to evaluate, experience and manage risk and adventure, including being misniúil (brave) and learning about body safety, through participation and engagement in the indoor and outdoor learning environment.
• Teaching them to be cineálta (kind) and fiosrach (curious), deep thinkers and reflective learners.
• Helping them to be creative and take the initiative to explore, respond to and express themselves through art, drama, dance and music, experiencing the power, joy, excitement, beauty, potential and relevance of the arts.
• Teaching them to enhance their spirituality through nurturing their sense of ionadh (wonder), awe, stillness and gratitude and through respecting ethnicity, culture, traditions, festivals, rituals and dúlra (nature).
• Helping them to demonstrate agency and express choices, preferences and make decisions for themselves and their communities whilst respecting diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Teaching them to develop holistically and show a sense of mastery and belief in their own abilities, take learning risks, and display learning dispositions such as determination, perseverance, independence, resilience, empathy, compassion and resourcefulness.
• Teaching them to explore and identify their place in the world, and be empowered to live sustainably as agentic, respectful, caring and compassionate global citizens with rights and emerging responsibilities.

The ECCE Programme offers both indoor and outdoor learning experiences, as well as opportunities for solo play and group play.

Indoor learning experiences often include:

• painting, drawing and writing
• playdough play and sensory activities
• puzzles and games
• construction – for example, with blocks or Lego
• books
• home corners with play kitchens and dressing up

Outdoor learning experiences often include:

• play in the natural environment
• constructing with others
• sand and water play
• pretend play
• climbing, running and jumping

Group learning experiences often include:

• stories
• songs
• circle time
• music and movement

This summer leading up to September you can support your child’s transition to pre-school by ensuring they can:

• wash their hands
• put on and take off their coat (also a handy skill for dressing up)
• use the bathroom (pre-school staff know that accidents happen)
• put on their shoes (think about getting them shoes they can manage easily)
• open their lunch box or lunch bag (lunches will be healthy foods only in pre-school)
• work on turn taking and sharing (this will be a work in progress)

Naíonrí

Over 10 % of pre-schools in Ireland are Irish language pre-schools.

The naíonra is an early-immersion setting for children aged 3-5 years, facilitated by an early-years teacher. Children of this age learn through play and this is done through the Irish language in a naíonra setting. A booklet for parents on what to expect in the naíonra is available here.

NCS – The National Childcare Scheme provides financial support to help families with their early learning and care childcare costs.

There are two types of subsidies available under the National Childcare Scheme:

• Universal Subsidies are available to all families with children under 15 years old. This subsidy is not means tested and provides €2.14 per hour towards the cost of a registered childcare place for a maximum of 45 hours per week.
• Income Assessed Subsidies are available to families with children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years. This subsidy is means tested and will be calculated based on the applicants’ individual circumstances. The rate varies depending on level of family income, child’s age and educational stage, and the number of children in the family.

For further information please click the following link: Home · Applicant Portal (ncs.gov.ie)