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June 2012 EZine
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| New National Children’s Strategy |
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You have an opportunity to help shape and improve the lives of children in Ireland into the future.
Early Childhood Ireland is inviting you to have your say and influence the development of the new National Children’s Strategy.
The Government started a consultation on the development of the new strategy on the 11th June and wants to hear from Early Childhood Ireland Members and others who have opinions on how we can improve children’s lives, making Ireland a better place to be.
Accordingly, Early Childhood Ireland will be making a submission to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and we need YOUR views and opinions on the development of the strategy.
Read more to find out how YOU can get involved … More
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| Playday 2012 |
Playday is the national day for play, which will be celebrated on Sunday July 1st this year.
As well as a celebration of children’s right to play, Playday is a campaign that highlights the importance of play in children’s lives. It’s easy to celebrate Playday – it doesn’t matter whether your plans are big or small, what’s most important is that children and young people get the opportunity to get out to play for the day.
Have a look at our quick guide to help you plan your Playday event. … More
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| Summary of the HSE Inspection Survey |
| Early Childhood Ireland recently conducted an online survey for members around the experience of their latest HSE Inspection.
The purpose of this survey was to gain an understanding of our members’ experiences, in order to best represent their views and engage with the HSE about the whole inspection process and how it can be improved for the benefit of all.
If you have any queries about the survey please contact Kylie Johnson at (Enable Javascript to see the email address) or by phone on 01 404 069 … More
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| May Learning Stories Award Winners |
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 Thank you for all the wonderful submissions for the May Learning Stories Awards.
As always it was an extremely difficult task to pick out the winners from the range of entries. However, the winning stories were those which best demonstrated significant learning moments or events happening through play in a service.
Remember that the Learning Stories Awards are running over the summer months and please note that the closing date for the June Learning Stories Award is Friday 28th of June, so make sure to have your submissions in by then.
Read more to have a look at the 2 winning entries and the 3 highly commended stories from last month … More
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| “Going to Big School” |
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 Over the past week Early Childhood Ireland has sent out copies of our new leaflet “Going to Big School” to all members.
This leaflet has been developed in conjunction with the National Parents Council Primary. It is designed to be a support to your parents as they prepare their child for the transition from preschool to primary school.
Read more for further information on the leaflet and to find out how to get extra copies … More
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| Organising a Parents’ Meeting |
Another academic year moves to a close and perhaps it is thoughts of holidays and sun that occupy the mind. However, take a second to think ahead and consider the new round of children and parents that will be crossing the door in September. Whether you run playgroup, full day or school age childcare it is inevitable that new faces appear after the summer break.
Read more to have a look at our suggestions for preparing for and organising a successful parent’s meeting … More
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| On Your Behalf… |
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Early Childhood Ireland has been actively representing our members and participating in the following projects over the last month:
…More
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| Water Conservation |
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 World Environment Day took place on June 5th. The day is an opportunity for people from all walks of life to come together to ensure a cleaner, greener and brighter outlook for themselves and future generations.
World Oceans Day took place on June 8th. This event honours and celebrates the world’s oceans, including the products the ocean provides, such as seafood and marine life, as well as the oxygen that we breathe. It is also a chance to appreciate the ocean for its own intrinsic value.
To highlight these two important environmental days, and with water rates being a hot topic in the news of late, we have compiled some interesting facts and ways to help promote the conservation of water in your preschool and at home…. More
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| Outings and Summer Camps |
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 Outings: As an Early Childhood Ireland member your insurance policy covers taking the children in your service on outings, provided certain conditions have been met. For full details of these and to fill in the Outings Form for any planned trips please visit the Outings Page.
Summer Camps: The cover provided by the insurance scheme also automatically includes cover for the operation of holiday camps. For the full list of Insurance Guidelines for Holiday Camps please visit the Summer Camps Page.
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| Norway Study Visit |
Early childhood specialists, trainers, siolta co-ordinators and providers were recently given the chance to apply for a professional development opportunity in Norway. The overall aim of the study visit was to allow the participants to experience the approach to ECCE in another European country, through structured learning, lectures, seminars, discussion and on site visits to childcare settings and ECCE colleges.
Read more for a full summary for the visit and for details on future similar opportunities…More
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| Articles of Interest |
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There have been numerous articles in the press recently on topics relating to children and the early childcare and education sector, such as:
… More
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| We’re Hiring |
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Early Childhood Ireland supports and represents the people who play a role in the development, delivery and oversight of early childhood care and education in Ireland, and prioritises the interests of children.
Early Childhood Ireland currently has vacancies for Early Childhood Specialists in both the Membership and Learning Directorates.
Please visit the Current Vacancies page for further details on how to apply…More
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| Upcoming Workshops |
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 We are delighted to offer a series of Continuous Professional Learning Seminars. Each seminar is made up of 3 workshops.
We have scheduled them so that you can avail of two on each evening. A Certificate of Attendance will be given for each Seminar (3 workshops) completed.
The topics covered by the workshops range from “Documenting the Curriculum” to seminars on “Music”. To see the full details of the workshops on offer and to make a booking, please visit the Upcoming Training Page.
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| Facebook and Twitter |
| We hope that you have enjoyed the Early Childhood Ireland EZine, through this we will continue to keep subscribers updated on a monthly basis.
However, for daily updates and breaking news please don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
Also let us know if you have a Facebook page for your service and we can “Like” that too.
 
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Dates for your diary
Playday 2012 taking place on Sunday 1st July… More
EECERA taking place in Oporto, Portugal from the 29th Aug – 1st Sept… More
Closing date for June Learning Stories Submissions: Friday 28th June… More
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Upcoming training and events
Documenting the Curriculum Seminars:
Workshop 1 – Tuesday 26th June (3 – 4.30pm)
Workshop 2 – Tuesday 25th September (3 – 4.30pm)
Workshop 3 – Tuesday 27th November (3 – 4.30pm) … More
Environments Seminars:
Workshop 1 – Tuesday 26th June (5 – 6.30pm)
Workshop 2 – Tuesday 25th September (5 – 6.30pm)
Workshop 3 – Thursday 29th November (5 – 6.30pm) … More
Reggio Seminars:
Workshop 1 – Thursday 28th June (3 – 4.30pm)
Workshop 2 – Thursday 27th September (3 – 4.30pm)
Workshop 3 – Thursday 29th November (3 – 4.30pm) … More
Music Seminars:
Workshop 1 – Thursday 28th June (5 – 6.30pm)
Workshop 2 – Thursday 27th September (5 – 6.30pm)
Workshop 3 – Thursday 29th November (5 – 6.30pm) … More
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