The Early Years e-Bulletin that has issued to early learning and care (ELC) providers, school-age childcare (SAC) providers, and childminders.
The e-Bulletin includes updates from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, the Department of Education and Youth’s Early Years Inspectorate, Pobal and Tusla.
A link to the e-Bulletin can be found here: Early Years Sectoral e-Bulletin June 2025
Summer can give you the perfect opportunity to spend all day with your child and we have the summer play guide for you! We know coming up with new fun ideas everyday can be difficult.
Let’s Play Ireland is jam-packed with free fun-filled play ideas for you and your family.
Let’s Play Ireland has lots of information on the different types of play and fun activities including:
• Outdoor family adventures.
• Rainy day ideas.
• Messy play ideas.
• Play packs from our friends in Scotland.
• National Play Day.
Informal Kinship Care is when children live with and are cared for by a relative or close family friend, when a parent is unable to. These children are not in the care of the state (i.e., it’s not called “Foster Care”). Tusla may be involved. If so, it’s called a “Private Family Arrangement”. This may be temporary or longer term.
The Department of Children, Disability & Equality (DCDE) want to better support families involved in these arrangements. To help understand what support parents need, DCDE wants to hear from parents who have experience of their child(ren) being cared for in these arrangements.
You can complete this survey by yourself, or with support from a friend a practitioner (e.g. Social Worker, Family Support Worker, etc).
If you want independent support with the survey, you can contact Yvonne Davis. Yvonne is part of the Quality Matters team and has lots of experience working with parents and families in a wide range of circumstances. Yvonne is passionate about creating safe, respectful spaces where people feel heard and supported.
To reach Yvonne, please see contact details below:
Phone (please only call between 9 – 5): 086 266 7749
Email: Yvonne@qualitymatters.ie
If you want, you can also download the survey – please click here. If you choose to complete the survey this way, please email or post the completed survey back to Yvonne.
Email: Yvonne@qualitymatters.ie
Postal address: 24 Mountjoy St East, Dublin 1
If you have any questions, please contact Yvonne@qualitymatters.ie.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. Your input is greatly appreciated.
The Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley, T.D., has welcomed the new proposals for a 10% increase to minimum rates of pay for Early Years Educators and School-Age Childcare Practitioners.
The proposals have been put forward by the Joint Labour Committee, which is made up of employer and worker representatives. It has the responsibility for setting minimum rates of pay for over 35,000 staff in the early years and childcare sector.
The Minister expressed her appreciation for the collaborative efforts of the Joint Labour Committee and acknowledged their independence in the negotiation process.
“The new proposals for a 10 per cent increase in minimum pay represent a significant step toward ensuring fair pay for educators and practitioners working in the sector. I am committed to ensuring the successful implementation of these proposals by providing a ring-fenced allocation of €45 million from Core Funding. It has been specifically earmarked to support services in meeting the cost of the proposed increases in pay and conditions.”
Recently, the Minister met with the Joint Labour Committee to highlight the availability of this €45 million in Core Funding from the state for increased pay for staff in the early years and childcare sector.
Minister Foley said:
“I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Joint Labour Committee in these negotiations and their vital role in advancing the professionalism and value of those working in the sector.
If these proposals are implemented through updated Employment Regulation Orders, they will bring much-needed improvements in pay for these dedicated professionals, enhancing the quality of care and education provided to children across Ireland.
I am hopeful that these proposals will soon come into effect, marking a positive change for our dedicated and skilled staff in the early learning and childcare sector and the services that employ them.”
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley T.D. is today delighted to announce that 461 Parent and Toddler Groups around the country are receiving funding totaling €421,618.
The funding can be used for a variety of purposes including children’s toys, equipment and books as well as children’s refreshments and snacks. It can also be used for children’s activities such as arts and crafts and music. Parents can also be supported with parenting courses and courses in first aid for children.
This initiative is part of First 5, the Whole of Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families. In February, the Minister announced that funding of €350,000 had been secured, which was an increase of €100,000 on last year’s allocation.
However, with the growth in demand even stronger this year, a further additional €70,000 in funding was secured to bring the budget up to €421,000.
This has allowed the allocation of grants to 461 Parent and Toddler Groups this year, an increase of 66 compared to last year when 395 groups received grants.
Minister Foley said:
“I’m delighted to be supporting the wonderful work of the Parent and Toddler groups who provide a valuable opportunity for parents/carers with younger children to meet up in the community.
“It is very encouraging to see that more and more parents and their toddlers are taking part every year. I am pleased that these grants are supporting the growth of buggy walking groups, which were introduced post-COVID to encourage more outdoor activity.
“These groups are an important source of social contact especially for new parents and parents who are new to an area.
“I want to especially thank the groups who are offering a welcome and friendship to parents and children who are newly arrived in Ireland and into the community.”
Breakdown of the Parent and Toddler grants are listed in the table below
| 2025 Parent and Toddler grants | ||
| Childcare Committee | No. applications recommended | Total € Amount Recommended by CCC |
| Carlow | 7 | €6,700 |
| Cavan | 11 | €10,100 |
| Clare | 13 | €10,900 |
| Cork City | 8 | €6,380 |
| Cork County | 41 | €35,991 |
| Donegal | 28 | €26,730 |
| Dublin City | 26 | €23,150 |
| Dún Laoighaire Rathdown | 16 | €13,300 |
| Fingal | 15 | €12,782 |
| Galway | 24 | €23,490 |
| Kerry | 18 | €17,100 |
| Kildare | 20 | €16,677 |
| Kilkenny | 7 | €6,290 |
| Laois | 4 | €3,700 |
| Leitrim | 12 | €11,300 |
| Limerick | 31 | €30,700 |
| Longford | 5 | €5,600 |
| Louth | 10 | €8,700 |
| Mayo | 22 | €22,500 |
| Meath | 22 | €19,775 |
| Monaghan | 7 | €6,600 |
| Offaly | 13 | €14,200 |
| Roscommon | 7 | €6,200 |
| Sligo | 8 | €7,328 |
| South Dublin | 17 | €15,600 |
| Tipperary | 15 | €15,450 |
| Waterford | 14 | €9,750 |
| Westmeath | 14 | €12,748 |
| Wexford | 17 | €14,177 |
| Wicklow | 9 | €7,700 |
| Totals | 461 | €421,618 |
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley and Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, Hildegarde Naughton, have today announced that 22 innovative projects will receive funding of €2.8 million under the latest round of the Disability and Participation Awareness Fund.
The grants are being provided for projects to support people with disabilities to take part in community, sports and physical activities, arts and cultural activities, social enterprises and neurodiversity initiatives.
The projects for people with disabilities include canoeing clubs how to cater for people with disabilities, audio theatre workshops, disability arts festivals and a DIY wheelchair repair programme.
There are also employment skills courses for people with disabilities and stroke rehabilitation courses.
In September 2024, a call for applications was launched under the Disability Participation and Awareness Fund and following a robust selection process, 22 successful organisations will now receive grant awards of up to approx. €200,000.
Announcing these most recent recipients of funding under the Disability Participation and Awareness Fund, Minister Foley said:
“I am delighted to announce that 22 innovative new projects will receive funding under this round of the Disability Participation and Awareness Fund. There is a wonderful range of projects to support people with disabilities of all ages to live full and active lives. They include sailing voyages, forest singing workshops, school therapy dog programmes and fully inclusive circus performances. These projects will offer new and exciting opportunities for people with disabilities to show their talents and abilities and to reach their true potential.
Minister of State Naughton added
“The brilliant initiatives which will be funded by this most recent round of DPAF funding will have a lasting impact on society by promoting more understanding and awareness of disability matters within the community, creating genuine employment opportunities for disabled people through the provision of various training programmes, providing life changing supports with assistive technology and facilitating meaningful participation in many recreational activities, fostering that broader sense of community and belonging for everyone.”
The ministers made the announcement at the Together Academy Café in Dun Laoghaire, which is receiving funding to provide training and work experience for people with disabilities.
The fund is operated on behalf of the Department by Rethink Ireland, and each of the successful projects will receive both grants and non-financial support as part of the funding model.
The following projects were successful:
| Project | Organisation | Counties | Award size | Strand |
| Sea Change for All | Sail Training Ireland for youth Development | Nationwide | € 56,486 | 1 |
| Mixed Ability Sport | COPE Foundation T/A Horizons | Cork | €136,745 | 1 |
| PaddleAble Educate | Irish Canoe Union T/A Canoeing Ireland | Nationwide | €75,550 | 1 |
| creATe Assistive Technology | Peter Bradley Foundation T/A Acquired Brain Injury Ireland | Nationwide | €121,550 | 1 |
| Digital and Accessible Technology (DAT) Library |
Brothers of Charity Services Ireland CLG | Galway, Roscommon | €101,608 | 1 |
| Evidence-based exercise programmes for Stroke survivors | Cork Stroke Support CLG | Cork, Kerry Waterford | €118,138 | 1 |
| DIY Wheelchair Repair project | An Mheitheal Comhshaol Cooperative Limited | Galway, Sligo, Mayo, Clare, Roscommon | €55,550 | 1 |
| When Forests Sing (WFS): Open Youth Orchestra of Ireland’s bio/Diverse Opera | Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) | Nationwide | €143,150 | 2 |
| Sightless Cinema | Sightless Cinema | Dublin; Kildare; Laois; Meath | €109,850 | 2 |
| Disrupt Creative Access Development Programme |
Disrupt Disability Arts Festival | Nationwide | €127,280 | 2 |
| Circus is for EVERYBODY | Galway Community Circus CLG | Nationwide | €176,550 | 2 |
| Our Place | Carlow Arts Festival CLG | Carlow | €205,095 | 2 |
| Shine Drama, Music and Dance | Hawk’s Well Theatre | Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo |
€134,480 | 2 |
| From CAPCA to Abundance | Fionnathan Productions | Nationwide | €185,400 | 3 |
| DigiCoaching –Advancing Digital Accessibility | St. John of God Community Services | Nationwide | €100,550 | 3 |
| Bluestack Special Needs Foundation |
Bluestack Special Needs Foundation | Donegal | €138,950 | 3 |
| See My Skills | See My Skills | Cork | €94,881 | 3 |
| Together Academy
New Training Cafe |
The Down Syndrome Centre | Dublin | €146,770 | 3 |
| MCC School Therapy Dog Programme | My Canine Companion | Nationwide | €155,550 | 4 |
| Discovery Programme | Thriving Autistic CLG | Nationwide | €203,750 | 4 |
| Neuroconvergence | Happenings CLG | Nationwide | €200,550 | 4 |
| ADHD Productivity Programme |
HADD-ADHD Ireland | Nationwide | €72,374 | 4 |
| Total: | 2,860,807 |
The purpose of the Disability Participation and Awareness Fund (DPAF) is to support the participation of people with disabilities in local activities, to help remove barriers to community involvement and to support the promotion and implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in communities.
The most recent call for applications to the Fund opened through Rethink Ireland in September 2024. Applications were invited under four thematic strands.
Strand 1
Supporting community, sports and physical participation: Funding projects/organisations that improve and encourage the accessibility of, and participation in, community life for disabled persons.
Total award: €665,627
Strand 2
Supporting arts and cultural activities, particularly those that foster awareness of the lived experiences of people with disabilities and that support the participation of people with disabilities in artistic, cultural, and community life.
Total award: €896,405
Strand 3
Supporting social enterprise initiatives to provide valuable employment experience or apprenticeships to people with disabilities.
Total award: €666,551
Strand 4
Supporting projects/initiatives in the area of neurodiversity: Funding projects/organisations supporting the participation of neurodiverse children and adults in their local communities.
Total award: €632,224
In addition to cash grants, non-financial support will also be provided, which will be tailored to each project/organisation, and will be aimed at building its capacity and increasing its impact.
ENDS
Children and their lives are at the heart of Aistear which celebrates early childhood ‘… as a time of being, and of enjoying and learning from experiences as they unfold’ (GoI, 2024, 6). When updating Aistear, it was important to ensure that it reflected the changes to children’s lived experiences in Ireland, as well as aligning with research and policy developments pertaining to diversity, equity and inclusion.
In considering the respectful image of the baby, toddler and young child in the Framework, there is a particular emphasis on acknowledging their individual life stories with kindness and consideration. This acknowledgement of their individual experiences is grounded in an understanding of the rights of the child in ensuring no baby, toddler or young child faces discrimination in accessing and participating in early childhood education. In presenting a vision of the educator as one who genuinely believes in the competencies of babies, toddlers and young children, meaningful participation is understood as the intentionality that informs and guides pedagogical practices, ensuring all children experience joy and sonas (happiness) in their learning.
Recognising and celebrating diversity of self, family, baile (home) or ability is embedded throughout Aistear. Recognising diversity is about empowering and enabling babies, toddlers and young children to have bród (pride) in themselves, their family and their culture and to feel confident in knowing all they bring to their social worlds. Their funds of knowledge from home are listened to and wondered at as valued contributions to the curriculum.
As much as Aistear celebrates difference, it also draws attention to the importance of valuing similarities and connectedness. Learning about each other, being fiosrach (curious) together, and finding these connections builds friendships. Aistear recognises the fundamental need to belong and to feel part of a community, nurturing a sense of ómós áite (value of place) and collective identity as being part of something and someplace together.
Aistear places a strong emphasis on an understanding of equity in early childhood. Equity is about addressing any challenges that a baby, toddler or young child might experience because of their background or ability. The agentic educator knows the importance of their role in holding each baby, toddler and young child in a respectful and protective space, understanding the need to make things fair and accessible for all. While the term ‘equality’ means that all babies, toddlers and young children have equal access and opportunity; ‘equity’ is about fairness. It is about knowing who needs the extra time to put on their wellies so they aren’t always the last one to get to the swing. It is about knowing who needs the doors open ten minutes early so they do not have to deal with the busyness of transitions. It is about respecting each baby, toddler and young child and where they are at, and knowing the importance of taking the time to get to know them.
Inclusion in Aistear is about supporting, empowering and enabling every baby, toddler and young child to participate and progress in meaningful learning experiences. Inclusion is interwoven throughout the structures of Aistear, created on a foundation of children’s rights with broad and flexible Aims and Learning Goals so each and every baby, toddler and young child can reach their individual potential. Again, this draws attention back to the centrality of the agentic, competent, confident and reflective educator in using their knowledge and skills to develop a curriculum to inspire joy, fiosracht (curiosity), determination, bravery and sonas (happiness). In doing so, there is recognition and a genuine belief in the competencies of babies, toddlers and young children as well as a determination to advocate for and be a duty-bearer to promote their rights.
Following consultation (NCCA, 2024), the area of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education was identified as an area requiring further consideration in the finalised Framework. In light of this, STEM is now named in the updated Framework and is considered to involve educators nurturing babies, toddlers and young children’s innate curiosity, supporting their active exploration, and helping them to see themselves as agentic, competent and confident learners through engagement with meaningful STEM learning experiences. Aistear aligns with the STEM Education Policy and Implementation Plan (Department of Education and Skills, 2017) and the Early Years Education Inspection Tool (DES Inspectorate, 2018), both of which highlight the importance of STEM education in early childhood.
Agentic educators notice opportunities for babies, toddlers and young children to engage with STEM concepts as they explore and manipulate textures and objects and experiment with cause and effect, indoors and outdoors. The updated Aistear emphasises the integration of these exploratory moments into rich, intentional learning experiences within nurturing relationships. It promotes an inquiry-based approach where babies, toddlers, and young children are encouraged to ask questions, explore concepts and solve problems. Embracing this approach provides opportunities for babies, toddlers and young children to develop skills such as hypothesising, investigating, analysing, questioning and problem-solving and also dispositions such as curiosity, perseverance and confidence.
The Principles of Aistear refer to the value of holistic learning and development emphasising how babies, toddlers and young children learn many different things at the same time. Educators develop an emergent and inquiry-based curriculum through a blend of free-play, guided play and educator-led playful experiences. Educators are also encouraged to set up and or set out provocations, inviting babies, toddlers and children to engage and experiment with open ended materials and natural resources. These play and playful experiences, together with the use of provocations, provide opportunities to support and progress babies, toddlers and young children’s learning and development in many areas, including STEM education.
STEM is most explicitly addressed in the Theme of Exploring and Thinking. Here, it states that babies, toddlers and young children use their senses, their minds and their bodies to find out about and make sense of what they see, feel and experience in the world around them. By facilitating and supporting extended periods of uninterrupted free play, educators can consider guided play or educator-led playful experiences to further engage with babies, toddlers and young children in purposeful and sensitive ways. Babies, toddlers and young children enjoy exploring early STEM concepts and ideas and testing these out. Some of these may include:
• babies feeling the texture of sand or observing light and shadow through sensory play
• toddlers building structures with blocks or solving problems like how to create a bridge
• young children experimenting with water flow or investigating how plants grow.
STEM in early childhood education is about educators nurturing babies, toddlers and young children’s innate curiosity, supporting their exploration, and helping them to see themselves as agentic, competent and confident learners. The Framework encourages educators to see STEM as more than a set of isolated learning experiences; instead, STEM is woven into the fabric of play and interactions to ensure that every baby, toddler, and young child has the opportunity to develop the necessary skills, knowledge and dispositions to thrive and flourish in a complex and ever-changing world.
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley, and Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, have today launched the ‘Principles for Engaging in the Arts: A Guide for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare Settings’.
The Principles for Engaging with the Arts are designed to inspire and support meaningful arts experiences for children in early learning and care and school-age childcare settings across Ireland. The principles are closely aligned with the principles underpinning both Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, and the National Quality Guidelines for School Age Childcare Services. They have been developed to give greater detail and further clarity on this area of practice, to support early years educators, school-age practitioners and childminders in promoting arts experiences as part of their setting’s curriculum or programme of activities. The principles are also intended to support artists and arts organisations in their work with babies, toddlers, young children and children attending school-age childcare, while creating a shared language and shared understanding across and between sectors.
Minister Foley said:
“The arts are essential to how children make sense of the world, build relationships, and express themselves. These Principles celebrate the power of the arts to enrich everyday experiences in early learning and care and school-age childcare settings, and they offer a shared language and framework for educators and artists.
“As well as launching the Principles, I am delighted that Minister O’Donovan and I are also joining in the announcement of this year’s Arts in Early Learning and Childcare Scheme. The scheme continues to go from strength to strength, offering bursaries to support artists working in settings and services right around the country.”
Minister O’Donovan said:
“Early learning and care and school-age childcare settings have a key role in nurturing the innate creativity of young children. It is therefore imperative that early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners and artists are supported in their professional practice.
“Through research, sector consultation and collaboration facilitated under the Creative Youth Plan, I am delighted to launch, alongside Minister Foley, these set of Principles for engaging with the arts. In addition, I wish to congratulate the latest recipients under the Arts in Early Learning and Childcare Scheme, providing more opportunities for babies, toddlers and children to create and enjoy the arts.”
The development of the principles was an action under strategic objective 3 in the Creative Youth Plan 2023-2027, which aims to place creativity at the heart of children and young peoples’ lives.
They were developed by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality in partnership with the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (through the Creative Ireland Programme), the Department of Education and Youth, the Arts Council, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, early years educators, school-age childcare practitioners, childminders and artists.
The Principles for Engaging with the Arts recognise the unique role of the arts in fostering creativity, expression, and holistic development in early childhood and beyond. They focus on values such as inclusion, child-led exploration and collaborative practice, supporting adults to create environments where children’s creativity can thrive.
The launch event, which took place at The Ark cultural centre for children, in Dublin, featured contributions from artists and early years educators, showcasing creative work inspired by the principles.
The Principles for Engaging with the Arts and supporting videos are now available to download at:
Minister for Children, Equality and Disability Norma Foley TD has received a Letter of Imagination from a group of children to mark Cruinniú na nÓg, Ireland’s national day of free creativity for children and young people.
Taking place on Saturday, June 7, this all-island celebration will host over 1,000 free events across the country, celebrating creativity through music, art, circus, storytelling film and more.
Winter O’Neill Alvarez, Finn Greene, Aine Ryan, Marie Ryan and Teidí Dowling hand-delivered the letter to Minister Foley at Government Buildings.
Ireland is the only country in the world to have a national day celebrating young people’s creativity. Creative Ireland invites all young people to explore something new, unlock their imagination, and be part of this unique celebration of creativity and expression.
Personalised hand decorated letters, designed by young children at a Cruinniú na nÓg art workshop, were delivered to Government Ministers and President Michael D. Higgins to mark Cruinniú na nÓg, Ireland’s National Day of Creativity.
Minister Foley thanked the children for their hand-delivered letter in Government Buildings.
She said:
This year Cruinniú na nÓg promises an exciting and inclusive programme, from filmmaking to circus workshops, song writing to sensory events. There’s something for children and young people of all ages, with Cruinniú Late events offering safe, fun spaces for teenagers to explore and showcase their creativity. These 1000+ events wouldn’t be possible without the outstanding work of our local authority culture and creativity teams.
Cruinniú na nÓg highlights include:
For a full list of events happening nationwide see cruinniu.gov.ie
Notes
Dear Minister Foley
I’m one of the children of Ireland.
And I love to create.
Some of us build things.
Some of us draw.
Some of us dance.
Some of us imagine quietly.
But all of us have ideas.
And Cruinniú na nÓg is the one day that says:
Your ideas matter.
It’s not about winning.
Or being the best.
It’s about making something —
anything — that’s ours.
Like a song with no words.
A drawing that makes no sense.
A robot made from cereal boxes.
A dream that doesn’t need permission.
Thank you for helping give us
a National Day of Creativity.