Focus Group on the New Draft Childminding Regulations

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The Public Consultation on the New Draft Childminding Regulations have been launched recently and Carlow County Childcare Committee would like to invite childminders to join our focus group on Wednesday 13th March @ 7pm in the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow to give your views.
Your expertise is invaluable in shaping the future of Childminding Regulations. We want your voice to be heard before the regulations are finalised.
For further information or to book a place, please phone Carlow County Childcare Committee on 059 91 402 44 or email eilish@carlowccc.ie .

Press Release: Minister O’Gorman announces €18 million Capital Grant for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector

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Press release

Minister O’Gorman announces €18 million Capital Grant for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector

From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Published on 

Last updated on 

  • €18 million announced under the Building Blocks Expansion Grant Scheme
  • Grants in 2024 for Early Learning and Childcare services to expand their capacity by means of internal renovations and reconfigurations
  • Scheme will deliver thousands of Early Learning and Childcare places in areas of undersupply
  • Scheme will use new analysis to target funding at areas with biggest supply gap
  • Maximum fee threshold will apply to ensure that places delivered through this funding are not unaffordable

Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, has today announced an €18 million Capital Grant Scheme for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector.

The Building Blocks Capacity Expansion Grant Scheme is part of the wider Building Blocks Capacity Grant Scheme for Early Learning and Childcare under the revised National Development Plan 2021-2030 (NDP).

The primary focus of the Expansion Grant Scheme is to increase capacity in the 1-3 year old (pre ECCE) age range for full day or part-time care. This will be achieved by funding projects that reconfigure or internally renovate existing Early Learning and Childcare services to accommodate additional children in this age category.

The Expansion Grant Scheme will be open to Core Funding partner services.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has examined the levels of supply and demand for Early Learning and Childcare using the latest census data and information on existing provision and enrolments, as well as CSO data on commuting patterns, to generate insights into the extent to which existing levels of supply meet local demand across the country. This analysis is being used to identify areas of undersupply across the country, allowing the funding to be targeted at areas most in need.

A further feature of this scheme will be the application of a maximum fee threshold for Early Learning and Childcare places that are delivered through this funding. In line with the objectives of the Minister to improve access to affordable, quality early learning and care, funding for capacity expansion will only be made available to services that charge fees below a maximum fee threshold.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister O’Gorman said

“Ensuring high-quality Early Learning and Childcare that is affordable and accessible to all is a key priority for Government. In recent years, the Government has invested significantly to reduce costs to parents, yet we know that early learning and childcare can be difficult to access in certain areas of the country. The Expansion Grant Scheme will provide for an immediate increase in affordable Early Learning and Childcare places in 2024, and will be specifically targeted in areas in where they are needed most. It will be the first of two significant capital investment schemes, to be delivered in 2024 and 2025.”

He added

“I hope this will provide a huge support for services that are ready to expand capacity through smaller-scale renovations and upgrades. Since I announced the Building Blocks Capacity Scheme in December, my Department has worked closely with Pobal and the network of City and County Childcare Committees to prepare to deliver the scheme. ”

In addition to the Building Blocks – Capacity Grant, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth continues to progress a range of actions to ensure the supply of Early Learning and Childcare aligns with demand including:

  • The establishment of a new Supply Management Unit in January. The Unit will manage the design and delivery of the Building Blocks Capacity Grant. The Unit will also focus on developing the division’s forward planning capacity to better estimate supply and demand and develop effective responses to meet supply gaps.
  • Engagement with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Updating the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings.
  • The regulation of childminders under the National Action Plan for Childminding, which will allow the National Childcare Scheme to open to parents who use childminders from autumn 2024.

ENDS/

Note for Editors:

Key features of the Expansion Grant Scheme:

Projects of between €50,000 and €100,000 will be funded to deliver additional capacity, e.g. where services can renovate or upgrade existing space to cater for more children. This grant will be open to both private and community-based services, under the following conditions:

  • Private Providers can apply for funding between €25,000 and €50,000.
  • Community Providers can apply for funding between €50,000 and €100,000.
  • Match funding will be required for privately owned services, with a maximum contribution by the

Department of 50% of total project costs. Match funding will not be required of community-led services.

In order to be eligible for grants, services must commit to increasing their service provision by at least five places for 1-2 year olds or at least six places for 2-3 year olds (pre ECCE) , or to increase capacity over both age cohorts to a minimum of 6. Places for children in other age brackets may also be eligible for funding once the minimum requirements are met.

Minimum requirements for the number of hours of provision per week and weeks per year will also apply.

A key feature of the scheme will be a check to ensure that fees charged by services applying do not exceed a maximum fee threshold. This is to ensure that capital investment does not result in the delivery of places that are unaffordable to parents.

The maximum fee threshold has been determined using data on fees from the Pobal Early Years Sector Profile and applying a statistical technique, Tukey’s Fence, to identify outliers from the normal range of fees. Accounting for variation in the range of fees charged, a ‘fence’ is established. Any fee values above the fence are classified as outliers. The method was applied to the data for the country as a whole for both full and part time fees.

  • The maximum fee threshold for full time care is €295 per week.
  • The maximum fee threshold for part time care is €190 per week.

The Department and Pobal have jointly developed a Relative Demand Model using the latest census data and information on existing provision and enrolments, as well as CSO data on commuting patterns, to generate insights into the extent to which existing levels of supply meet local demand across the country. This analysis will enable the funding to be targeted to where it is most needed.

Applications are ready to be opened in February with closing date of 3rd April. Services will be notified of the outcome of their applications in June.

gov – Minister O’Gorman announces €18 million Capital Grant for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector (www.gov.ie)

DCEDIY Press release: New Early Learning and Childcare Data website launched by Minister O’Gorman

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Press release

New Early Learning and Childcare Data website launched by Minister O’Gorman

From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Published on 

Last updated on 

• New website with a series of interactive dashboards presenting data about the early learning and childcare sector

• Allows key data on the early learning and childcare sector to be filtered by a range of variables including county and provider type

• First two interactive dashboards – Overview of Service Providers and Capacity – now available

• Replaces the the ‘Annual Early Years Sector Profile report’ with an easy to use, accessible and innovative dashboard that helps to improve user experience

Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth today launched the Early Learning and Childcare Data website. This new website will include a series of interactive dashboards that will be released by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) over the coming weeks and months. The first two interactive dashboards – ‘Overview of Service Providers’ and ‘Capacity’ – are released today.

The Early Learning and Childcare Data website provides a new and innovative way of displaying administrative data as well as survey data collected annually from over 4,400 early learning and childcare services across the country, supporting evidence-informed policy development and planning.

 

The full suite of interactive dashboards, will be available on the Pobal website over the coming weeks and months (www.pobal.ie ). The dashboards will include data that were previously published in the Annual Early Years Sector Profile report such as the number of services and children participating in DCEDIY funding programmes and schemes, fees data and workforce data on wages, qualifications and turnover of early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners in the sector. The dashboards will also allow the data to be filtered by a number of variables, including county and service type.

Key data from the first two interactive dashboards in the series: ‘Overview of Service Providers’ and ‘Capacity’ – includes:

• As at 1 June 2023, 4,483 service providers delivered at least one DCEDIY funded programme or scheme, 48 more than on the same day in 2022.

• 95% of service providers participated in Core Funding in 2022/23, while 87% delivered the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) pre-school programme and 77% provided the National Childcare Scheme (NCS).

• It is estimated that over 213,000 children were enrolled in early learning and childcare services across the country in 2022/23, 8% more than in the previous year.

• The total estimated capacity of the sector in 2022/23 was over 243,000, an increase of 6% on the previous year. The highest growth in capacity was for children attending school age childcare, at 25% for those aged 4 to 6 years, and 20% for those aged 6 years and older.

Commenting on the launch of the new Early Learning and Childcare Data website, Minister O’Gorman said:

“I am delighted to launch the new Early Learning and Childcare Data website today, which is an innovative resource for all stakeholders in the early learning and childcare sector, that will support evidence-informed policy development and planning at a national and local level”.

“This new approach will allow us to release data in a more timely way. The interactive nature of the dashboards will provide users greater control over their use of the data and will ensure it is more meaningful and useful to them”.

“I look forward to seeing how these dashboards, developed by Pobal, will evolve and are used in the coming months and years”.

“The key data in the first of two interactive dashboards released today – show the substantial increase in the numbers of services in contract for the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) as well as an increase in the numbers of services delivering supports under the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM)”

Anna Shakespeare CEO of Pobal said:

“The launch of the New Early Learning and Childcare Data website is a testament to the progressive nature of the work being undertaken across our Data and Analytics teams in delivering a better user experience to our customers. We are delighted to work alongside the DCEDIY in delivering this new data resource which we think will be a valuable addition to the Early Learning and Childcare sector and Government for future policy making and programme planning over the coming years”.

The dashboards with data for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 programme year can be accessed via [external-link https://www.pobal.ie/childcare/earlylearningandchildcaredata/ www.pobal.ie/EarlyLearningandChildcaredata. ]

Notes to Editor

• Pobal is a not-for-profit organisation that works on behalf of Government to support communities and local agencies towards achieving social inclusion and development.

• Pobal administers a range of programmes and schemes on behalf of the Government, for the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Social Protection, as well as the Department of Health/HSE, the Department of Justice, the Department of Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, the Department of Transport, and a number of EU bodies.

• Pobal works in the areas of, early learning care and childcare, social inclusion, local and community development, peace and reconciliation, equality, labour market supports, and education and training. Some of the groups supported by Government through Pobal include the long term unemployed, young people, farmers / fishermen, families, Travellers, older people and ex-prisoners.

• As at 1 June 2023, 4,483 service providers were contracted for at least one DCEDIY funding programme.

• More information about Pobal can be found at https://www.pobal.ie/

• Please see press release from 7 December 2023 for related information regarding addressing capacity gaps in the sector

Further information –

The Early Learning and Childcare Data dashboards were designed to replace the Annual Early Years Sector Profile report which was produced annually for 19 years from 2002 to 2021.

Full Press release

Early Learning and Childcare Data Website

Minister O’Gorman announces the introduction of a new pilot Nurturing Skills Learner Fund

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Press release

Minister O’Gorman announces the introduction of a new pilot Nurturing Skills Learner Fund

From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Published on 

Last updated on 

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, has today announced the introduction of a new Nurturing Skills Learner Fund on a pilot basis, co-funded by the European Union through the EIST programme 2021 to 2027.

The new Nurturing Skills Learner Fund will support early years educators to undertake approved degree-level qualifications while continuing to work in the early learning and care (ELC) sector. It aims to help achieve the Government objective of achieving a graduate-led workforce in ELC services by 2028.

The expansion of funding opportunities for early years educators to upskill was a key commitment in Nurturing Skills, the Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028. Nurturing Skills aims to build on the significant progress already made in raising skill levels across the workforce. Current data indicates that the proportion of early years educators with a relevant degree qualification has risen from 12% in 2012 to 37% in 2022. Nurturing Skills aims to increase this proportion to at least 50% by 2028.

The pilot Nurturing Skill Learner Fund will make a contribution of up to 90% of course fees for early years educators seeking to upskill by studying for a recognised ELC qualification at level 7 or 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications. It is designed to complement and add to other Government financial supports, such as the Free Fees Initiative and SUSI grants. Funding will be provided directly to approved higher education institutions to reduce the upfront costs of studying for early years educators.

The new Fund aims to enhance the quality of ELC services, while supporting the professional development of early years educators, developing career pathways, and supporting recruitment and retention of staff in the sector.

Announcing the pilot fund, Minister O’Gorman said:

“It gives me great pleasure to announce the pilot Nurturing Skills Learner Fund. The research evidence is clear that the quality of early learning and care services is key to ensuring good outcomes for children, and that early years educators are the key to the quality of those services.

“I would like to recognise the dedication of the many early years educators who have already undertaken higher-level qualifications, often at considerable cost to themselves. While my Department’s Learner Fund has already provided financial support to many, I know that the financial barrier to upskilling has remained high. This new pilot Fund aims to significantly reduce the barrier to early years educators’ professional development.”

The Nurturing Skills Learner Fund will be co-funded by the European Union through the ESF+ Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training programme (EIST) 2021-27. It is included under the Skills and Lifelong Learning strand with the aim of promoting lifelong learning, in particular flexible upskilling and reskilling opportunities for all.

Applications for the Pilot Nurturing Skills Learner Fund will open in May 2024, via Pobal, to early years educators who have applied to approved higher education institutions, with a view to educators who are selected for the pilot receiving financial support for studies commencing in September 2024.

The current Learner Fund has since 2017 given financial support to 3,720 early years educators who have completed ELC qualifications at levels 7 and 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications. The current Learner Fund will continue to be available, with a higher level of post-award bursary contribution from 2024, to assist those who are undertaking degrees but are not part of the new pilot Nurturing Skills Learner Fund.

Notes to the Editor

• The reports mentioned are available at www.gov.ie/nurturingskills and Gov.ie/First5

• Further information on the ESF+ programme in Ireland in available at eufunds.ie

• To be eligible for financial support, courses must have been approved by the Qualifications Advisory Board for the ELC sector: Qualifications Advisory Board (QAB) for the Early Learning and Care (ELC) Sector

Press Release

  • €45m announced under the Building Blocks – Capacity Grant
  • Grants in early 2024 for Early Learning and Childcare Services to expand their capacity by means of internal renovations
  • Grants from mid-2024 for Early Learning and Childcare Services to deliver larger scale extensions to their premises by the end of 2025
  • Targeted Grant will deliver thousands of Early Learning and Childcare places in areas of undersupply

Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, has today announced a €45m Capital Grant for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector. The Building Blocks – Capacity Grant is part of a wider Building Blocks Capital Programme for Early Learning and Childcare under the revised National Development Plan 2021-2030 (NDP).

The purpose of the Building Blocks – Capacity Grant is to address capacity gaps by expanding existing provision and investing in the development of new provision where most needed.

The primary focus of the Capacity Grant is to increase capacity in the 1-3 age range for full day or part-time care. Places for children under age 1 will also be eligible for funding. The Capacity Grant will be open to Core Funding partner services.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is undertaking a detailed needs analysis of supply and demand for Early Learning and Childcare. This analysis will identify areas of undersupply across the country and will allow the funding to be targeted at areas most in need.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister O’Gorman said

“This Capacity Grant will deliver thousands of Early Learning and Childcare places in areas where they are needed most. It will build on the success of significant capital investment in the sector over the past twenty years, including the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme and the National Childcare Investment Programme through which the State has funded more than 90,000 places”.

He added “the implementation of capital funding on this basis will deliver supply for age categories and service providers where there is proven need. By adopting this approach, my Department will ensure that services ready to expand capacity through smaller-scale renovations and upgrades can begin works in early 2024. Services will also be afforded time to prepare larger-scale project plans, where needed, to submit applications under the scheme, and to commence those projects during 2024. The network of City and County Childcare Committees will act as a support for services considering applying for funding.”

In addition to the Building Blocks – Capacity Grant, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is progressing a range of actions to ensure the supply of Early Learning and Childcare meets demand, including:

  • The regulation of childminders under the National Action Plan for Childminding, which will allow the National Childcare Scheme to open to parents who use childminders from autumn 2024;
  • Updating the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings in partnership with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; and
  • The ongoing development of Core Funding which has given rise to a significant expansion of places since the scheme was first introduced. The allocation for year 2 of this scheme provided for a 3% growth in capacity, which has materialised, and the allocation of year 3 of the scheme provides for further growth of 3%.

Minister O’Gorman also noted the current difficulties around staff recruitment and retention, which are the largest constraint on capacity growth in the sector. The historic Employment Regulation Orders (ERO) introduced last year, supported by Core Funding, were a significant milestone in efforts to improve pay in the sector, with an additional €4 million allocated in year 2 of Core Funding to support the removal of the 3-year experience rule for graduate premiums, subject to updated ERO, which are under negotiation by the independent Joint Labour Committee. In addition, the workforce plan for the sector – Nurturing Skills – includes specific actions to support the recruitment and retention of staff.

Minister O’Gorman thanked the network of thirty City and County Childcare Committees, who, along with Pobal, are working closely with his Department on the design and delivery of the Building Blocks schemes.

ENDS/

Note for Editors:

The Capacity Grant will be split into two strands, an Expansion Grant Scheme, and a larger-scale Extension Grant Scheme. Both schemes will operate from 2024.

Key features of the Expansion Grant Scheme:

  • €15m will be made available from early 2024 to providers to fund expansion projects in areas of identified undersupply
  • priority will be given to delivering full-time and part-time places within the 1-3 age group. Places for children under age 1 will also be eligible for funding.
  • projects of between €50,000 and €100,000 will be funded to deliver additional capacity, e.g. where services can renovate/upgrade existing space to cater for more children
  • match funding will be required of privately owned services, with a maximum contribution by the Department of 50% of total project costs. Match funding will not be required of community-led services.

Key features of the Extension Grant Scheme:

  • funding to be made available to providers later in 2024, to commence larger-scale expansion projects that will be completed in 2025. Total funding available for this Scheme will be €20m
  • projects of between €100,000 and €500,000, will be funded
  • priority will be given to the expansion of full-time and part-time places within the 1-3 age groups, within areas of identified undersupply
  • match funding will be required of private services, with a maximum contribution by the Department of 50% of total project costs. Match funding will not be required of community-led services.

Service providers may be awarded funding under one of the Expansion Grant Scheme or Extension Grant Scheme only. The allocation of funding under the Capacity Grant will be informed by the results of a detailed needs analysis, which is underway, and which will identify capacity gaps and areas and categories of need.

The remaining €10m has been earmarked for a range of capital expenditure programmes, including childminding initiatives, ICT investment and sustainability capital projects. Further details of these programmes will issue in the coming months.

Issued by the Press and Communications Office at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

Tel: 01 647 – 3153/3114

Email: media@equality.gov.ie

Press Release

Upcoming Training: An Introduction to Síolta, Aistear and the Practice Guide, 23rd November 2023

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Learner Fund Graduate Bursary -2023

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The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) has re-opened the Learner Fund Bursary to Early Learning and Care practitioners who are new graduates of a recognised Early Childhood Education and Care degree programme. The local City/County Childcare Committees (CCC) will process and appraise Learner Fund Graduate Bursary applications.

The Learner Fund offers a bursary of €750 to early years educators who have obtained a recognised Level 7/8/9 award, were working in a Tusla-registered ELC service prior to commencing their studies and are currently working in a Tusla-registered ELC service.

This closed for applications on 29 September 2023.

Send completed application forms and supporting documentation by email to niamh@carlowccc.ie

Rules:

The qualification for which the bursary is paid must be either:

a) On the DCEDIY Early Years Recognised Qualifications list and indicated as meeting the qualification requirements for lead educator graduate premium.

Or

b) The applicant must hold a letter of eligibility to practice from DCEDIY which states that the qualification meets the standard for the graduate premium.

  • The award must be placed at level 7/8/9 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) and achieved in the academic years 2015-2023.
  • The bursary amount will be €750.
  • The qualification must be a full, major award; the bursary cannot be paid in respect of partially completed awards.
  • Letters from third level education providers which state that a partially completed award is equivalent to a full award will not be accepted.
  • The qualification for which the bursary is paid must be that which qualifies the person to work in the Early Years sector (and is at least level 7 on the NFQ).
  • Applicants may only apply once and cannot be granted the Learner Fund bursary for a second time if they have already received it before – ie. the bursary will be paid for one of the following: a level 7 OR a level 8 OR a level 9 qualification.
  • The applicant cannot have received any public funding in support of their completing the award relating to this application.
  • The bursary is available to experienced practitioners only; applicants must have been working in a Tusla-registered Early Learning & Care Service prior to beginning their course and applicants must be currently working in a Tusla-registered Early Learning & Care Service.
  • Staff working in standalone School Age Childcare services are not eligible to apply.
  • Application must be made by the holder of the award and not by any third party on their behalf.

Rules:

2023 Learner Fund Graduate Bursary Rules for Applicants

Application Form:

2023 Learner Fund Graduate Bursary Application Form

 

Childminders:

Childminders who are registered with Tusla and hold a Level 5 or Level 6 award on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) achieved in the academic years 2015 to 2023 inclusive are eligible to apply.

Rules:

2023 Learner Fund Childminder Bursary Rules for Applicants

Application Form:

2023 Learner Fund Childminder Bursary Application Form

Timeframe for applications:

29th September All forms must be fully completed and returned (incl. photographic evidence) by email to your niamh@carlowccc.ie no later than 5PM on Friday 29th September 2022.
Week of 13th November CCCs pay approved applicants

 

 

Press release: Minister O’Gorman Launches the 2023 Childminding Development Grant

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Press release

Minister O’Gorman Launches the 2023 Childminding Development Grant

From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Published on 

Last updated on 

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, today announced the opening of the 2023 Childminding Development Grant.

With a total budget of €250,000, the Childminding Development Grant provides up to €1,000 to assist childminders who are providing a childminding service in their own homes.

The Grant aims to support the enhancement of quality and safety in the service through the purchase of toys, childcare equipment, safety equipment, and equipment to support inclusion and STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths).

It is open to registered and unregistered childminders as well as those who are planning to open a childminding business in 2023.

For the first time, 75% of the grant will be paid in advance, to help childminders with the upfront costs of purchasing equipment.

Making today’s announcement, Minister Roderic O’Gorman said:

“I am delighted to announce the launch of the 2023 Childminding Development Grant. The welcome changes to the grants for 2023 are a direct result of feedback from childminders and other stakeholders on the Funding and Financial Supports Advisory Group, which was set up to assist in the implementation of the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028. The involvement of childminders themselves is central to the design and the delivery of the National Action Plan for Childminding.

“In parallel with enhancements to this year’s Childminding Development Grant, my Department continues to progress other actions in Phase 1 of the National Action Plan, including the drafting of childminder-specific regulations that will be proportionate and appropriate to the home and family setting in which childminders work.

“Once introduced, the childminder-specific regulations will enable a much wider cohort of childminders and parents to benefit from the National Childcare Scheme. The drafting of childminder-specific regulations, and associated legislative reform, is under way at present, and consultation on the draft regulations will take place in the coming months.”

For further information about the Childminder Development Grant or the National Action Plan for Childminding, visit www.gov.ie/childminding or contact your local City or County Childcare Committee.

Aistear- The Journey Continues, Saturday 6th May, 9.30am to 2pm, DCU, Dublin 9.

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Aistear- The Journey Continues

On Saturday 6th May 2023, you are invited to discuss, share and engage with research and practices that emerged from the recent review of literature to support the updating of Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework completed by researchers and academics at DCU Institute of Education.

 

This engaging and interactive event will include seminars, small group workshops and showcasing of practice that provide an opportunity to consider how research and evidence informs and enhances curriculum development in an Irish context.

 

Join us for an exciting day of knowledge exchange, critical reflection, practical workshops and connection with friends, allies and colleagues in early childhood care and education.

DATE:                Saturday 6th May 2023

TIME:                 9.30am- 2pm

WHERE:             DCU Institute of Education, Drumcondra, Dublin 9

REGISTRATION:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/609256160577

 

Aistear – Leanann an t-aistear

Cuirtear fáilte mhór romhat freastal ar ócáid speisialta a bheidh dírithe ar an taighde agus ar na cleachtais a eascraíonn as léirmheas litríochta a rinne grúpa taighdeoirí in Institiúid Oideachais Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath d’fhonn tacú le huasdátú a dhéanamh ar Aistear: Creatchuraclam na Luath-Óige. Beidh an ócáid speisialta ar siúl ar an Satharn an 6 Bealtaine 2023.

Is ócáid spreagúil agus idirghníomhach a bheidh ann ina mbeidh seimineáir, ceardlanna i ngrúpaí beaga agus samplaí praiticiúla de dhea-chleachtais. Tabharfar deis do rannpháirtithe machnamh a dhéanamh ar an gcaoi a chuireann taighde agus eolas atá fianaise-bhunaithe barr feabhais ar fhorbairt curaclaim i gcomhthéacs na hÉireann.

Ba mhór againn tú a bheith linn ar an lá spreagúil seo le heolas a roinnt, machnamh criticiúil a dhéanamh agus páirt a ghlacadh i gcomhráite le cairde agus comhghleacaithe i gcúram agus in oideachas na luath-óige.

DÁTA:                   Dé Sathairn 6 Bealtaine 2023

AM:                       9.30 r.n.- 2 i.n.

ÁIT:                       Institiúid Oideachais, DCU

CLÁRÚ:                  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/609256160577

Grainne McKenna

Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education

Scoil na Teanga, na Litearthachta agus an Oideachas Luathóige

School of Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education

 

Institiúid Oideachais OCBÁC       DCU Institute of Education

Campas Phádraig OCBÁC             DCU St Patrick’s Campus

Droim Conrach                                Drumcondra

Baile Átha Cliath 9                          Dublin 9

 

Email:                  grainne.mckenna@dcu.ie

Tel:                       01 700 9044

ORCID ID:         https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4037-8721

 

Recent Publications

Scanlon, G., Radeva, S., McKenna, G., & Maguire, C. (2022). Together from kindergarten: Exploring quality to inform inclusion in early childhood settings in Bulgaria. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 0(0), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2022.2127823

 

Murphy, S., McKenna, G., Downes, P. (2019). Educational Gaps and Future Solutions: A study of the holistic educational needs and experiences of a sample of homeless men in Dublin aged 18-38 Years. Dublin: Peter McVerry Trust.

 

Scanlon, G., McKenna, G. (2018). Home Works: A study on the educational needs of children experiencing homelessness and living in emergency accommodation. Dublin: Children’s Rights Alliance.

 

O’Sullivan, C., Maguire, J., Hayes, N., O’Sullivan, S., Corcoran, L., & McKenna, G. (2018). The wonder project: An early years arts education project with Traveller mothers and their children. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 1-27. doi:10.1080/1350293X.2018