One of the six episodes will focus on preschool children, which is very important for providers, in light of the  government’s Literacy and Numeracy strategy, which can be downloaded for the Language, Literacy and Numeracy section of our website.

The Family Project

“There’s loads of help out there, you just need to be a little humble to ask for it,”
Johnny Murtagh, champion Jockey and mentor on The Family Project

The Family Project is a new six-part series that follows some very busy families from around Ireland working together to overcome the learning and educational issues that affect their lives.

Each week, a different family sets out to tackle a problem that has a particular impact on them, whether it’s Dad having trouble reading, the kids finding maths difficult, or simply the parents not finding time to help with homework. They work together as a team, to find a way to overcome the problem, bringing them closer as family.

Each family is guided by the input and teaching of Ireland’s best education experts. These experts devise a learning programme and give the families the techniques and tools to address their issue. They show ways that they can all work together, and will set a target or goal that the family can realistically achieve. The experts are from the same area as the family, to show that local resources are available to everyone in Ireland.

In addition to this guidance, each family will be mentored along the way by well-known figures from Irish life – Johnny Murtagh, Sheila O’Flanagan, Mary O’Rourke to name but a few. These people were motivated to get involved because of their own experiences with education and can empathise with the families dealing with these issues.

For example, one series follows Wes Doyle and Linda Farrell, parents of five children from Clondalkin. They are worried about their son Luke, who has lost interest in school and has become a bit of a class clown. They want him to give school a second chance as they know he is bright and if he applied himself and did well it could open up a lot of doors. Wes also left school early and would like to return to education and possibly complete his Leaving Cert.

Wes’s passion in life is horses, so he and his family are supported by champion jockey Johnny Murtagh. Johnny, himself a father of five, left school early and has had to deal with his own issues with education.

As Wes faces his own challenges, Johnny is on hand for the duration of the project to share his own experiences, to invite the family to join him at his stables showing Wes the possibilities of what can be achieved in spite of his challenges -  supporting and motivating Wes and his family as they work together to reach their target. Similarly Johnny can relate to Luke in that he was the class clown in school, he had potential but no interest and as a result left school young.

The Family Project showcases the educational tools and techniques that are available to all families. Not only does it show how families can work together improving collective learning, but also how they can apply these methods to activities that involve the whole gang. With the passion and involvement of some of Ireland’s most respected personalities, the series will both inspire and inform families on how easy it is to enrich their lives by learning together.

So tune in every Monday night from Monday 20 May at 7.30pm on RTE ONE

Courses will be held in Dublin, Dundalk, Galway and Limerick during July (see dates, venues and online booking below)

Early Childhood Ireland are offering a Department of Education and Skills (DES) approved Summer Course that focuses on The National Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, Aistear. The programme is suitable for all primary school teachers – those currently teaching junior and senior infants as well as those who are seeking to be at the forefront of early education and current practice within the primary school setting.

Aistear is a key document in teaching, learning and assessment of early childhood education in Ireland. It is set to be integrated as a curriculum document for junior and senior infants and will be linked to the School Report (Tuairisc Scoile) and School Self-Evaluations.

The active and experiential programme will build on current primary school teachers experience and look at practical ways to incorporate play into the classroom while still meeting aims and learning objectives as required by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).

The programme will include a field trip to a primary school classroom and early childhood setting that is currently implementing Aistear as part of their curriculum.

An overview of the programme includes:

• An introduction to Aistear

• Integration of Aistear into the primary school classroom

• Innovative strategies to support language, literacy and numeracy in the classroom

• Play as a context for teaching, learning and assessment

• Practical play experiences for the classroom to support oral language

• Challenges for teachers implementing Aistear

Cost: €95 euros

The schedule for venues will be Monday to Friday from 10am – 2.30pm (including lunch break). Details of the field trip will be given to the participants on day 1. All participants who complete the programme will receive certification of professional learning. Places are limited and only confirmed once payment is made (online bookings can be made below).

We value your feedback on how it met with your expectations and are interested to hear your suggestions for future events. That is why we would appreciate if you could complete this form.

Once you complete and submit the evaluation, the presentation from Dr. Ferre Laevers ‘An introduction to Experiential Education,’will be emailed to you.

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We value your feedback on how it met with your expectations and are interested to hear your suggestions for future events. That is why we would appreciate if you could complete this form.

Once you complete and submit the evaluation, the presentation from Dr. Ferre Laevers ‘An introduction to Experiential Education,’will be emailed to you.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

At the recent AGM of Early Childhood Ireland, members discussed their experiences of working with their local primary schools. There are many examples of good working relationships between these sectors but a number of practices that were highlighted, gave rise to some concern.

Let your opinions be heard!

Early Childhood Ireland would like to hear from members about their experiences of working with local primary schools. School governance and school admission policies have become a topic of increased discussion in local and national media. Please complete our survey below to let your opinions and experiences on this topic be heard:

• Preschool links with primary schools survey

Get your batteries collected as competition heats up

The joint ERP and Early Childhood Ireland joint battery recycling campaign has hit 3 tonne, equating to 130,040 batteries*. The average collection weight is 29kgs per school – the equivalent of 1,200 AA batteries. Fingal has taken the lead as the greenest county for pre-school battery recycling, highlighting the positive effect the campaign is having encouraging parents and pre-schoolers to recycle their batteries right across the country.

Speaking about the campaign, Yvonne Holmes, Head of Corporate Communications, ERP, said, “We are reminding all ECI pre-schools to call the ERP Operations team on 0818 332 757 , and return the battery boxes to be in with a chance to win a fun recycling party.“

The competition closes on the 31st May and each participating facility will be in with a chance to win an ERP Recycling Party with face painters, balloon modellers and more, to take place in June. They will also win a trophy and a book voucher to the value of €250. There is still an opportunity for facilities to register so do not miss out!

This competition is part of an on-going commitment from ERP and Early Childhood Ireland to put recycling and sustainability at the heart of the pre-school educational agenda and reduce the 90% of pre-school sites that have never before recycled. The campaign ensures the message that recycling batteries is good for the environment is heard. Disposing of batteries in general waste is harmful to the environment causing soil and water pollution. It also means the potential resource, which could be recycled, is lost.  

The battery collection competition remains open to childcare facilities in Fingal, Monaghan, Cavan, Clare, Limerick, Kerry, Louth and Meath. For more information, please visit our ERP page.

*Based on the weight of an AA battery

We value your feedback on how it met with your expectations and are interested to hear your suggestions for future events. That is why we would appreciate if you could complete this form.

Once you complete and submit the evaluation, the presentation from Dr. Ferre Laevers ‘An introduction to Experiential Education,’will be emailed to you.

cforms contact form by delicious:days