What is ‘Aistear in Action’?

Aistear in Action is a collaborative project between the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) , Early Childhood Ireland and Pre-school Practitioners in the North Cork and South Tipperary region.

This project aims to explore ways of developing and enriching the early childhood curriculum in pre-school settings, using Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework.

It will support early childhood practitioners to:

(i) think about and develop their practice in ways that support children’s learning. We will look at ways of making children’s skills, interests and abilities visible to themselves, their families and the people who work with them. We will use the Aistear framework to guide the ways we work.

(ii) explore how the ways in which they can use Aistear along with their current curriculum.

(iii) provide examples of Aistear in Action

What are the expected outcomes of this project?

Early childhood marks the beginning of a child’s life-long learning journey. Fun, rich and challenging experiences, which are supported by adults who are continually reflecting on their practice and planning for new learning, are key to ensuring that children reach their full potential.

This project aims to enhance the experiences and learning of both children and practitioners, through the use of Aistear. The services participating in this project will develop their practice by supporting children’s learning and development across Aistear’s four themes; Well-being, Identity and Belonging, Communicating and Exploring and Thinking.

Early Childhood Ireland and the NCCA will be sharing materials and experiences from the project with other practitioners. This will be done using photos, video and/or audio clips, samples of children’s play and work, and samples of practitioners’ resources, all of which will be available on their websites, in publications and/or at training events.

Publications

Two of Early Childhood Ireland’s publications which document examples of Aistear in Action in playgroup and daycare settings are as follows:

• Power of Play: A Play Curriculum in Action
• Nurture through Nature (temporarily out of stock)

Please phone Rachel on 01 4040655 for further information on either of these publications.