Early Childhood Ireland
National Annual Awards 2020 2020

The Early Childhood Ireland National Annual Awards 2020
The Early Childhood Ireland National Annual Awards celebrate and provide an opportunity to highlight services which generate spirit, energy and drive in providing better experiences for the young children in their care and their families, and how this dedication enhances the lives and experiences of these children.
The awards build on professional practice within Early Learning and Care settings and encourage ongoing reflection and shared dialogue between educators. Early Childhood Ireland believes that sharing quality education and care practices and pedagogies through documentation has the power to build and enhance quality across services, and to enable high quality experiences and environments for young children, families, educators, and local communities.
These awards provide an opportunity to bring the sector and service passion into the spotlight.
This year’s awards are as important as ever; however, we are celebrating the shortlist and winners of each category in a slightly different way.
Thank you to everyone who entered our 2020 National Awards. We wish all entrants the very best of luck.
Award Categories
There are 6 categories and 8 awards.

Learning Story of the Year (Written to individual child)
Click here to reveal the winner!

Emergent Curriculum in Action Learning Story of the Year
Click here to reveal the winner!

Best Learning Story from ‘Newcomer’ setting (individual child or group)
Click here to reveal the winner!

Inspired Practice Award
Click here to reveal the winner!

Partnership with Families Innovation Award
Click here to reveal the winner!

LINC Award for Leadership in Inclusion
Click here to reveal the winner!

First 5 Award for Transitions for Children
Click here to reveal the winner!

Pedagogical Leader Award
Click here to reveal the winner!
Jenny Buckley
TV Broadcaster, Voiceover Artist and Actress
We are thrilled to have Jenny as our master of ceremonies for this years National Annual Awards 2020.
is a TV Broadcaster, Voiceover Artist and Actress. She has worked with a number of stations including RTÉ, Virgin Media and UTV Ireland

Judging Panel
Thank you to our panel of 18 national and international judges, who have various backgrounds and areas of expertise. They all agreed that the standard of entries this year is very high. You can read about the 2020 Early Childhood Ireland National Annual Awards judging process and our 2020 judges here:
Aine Lynch, National Parent Council (NPC). | Dr Lisha O’Sullivan, MIC Limerick. |
Anna Barr, LINC Programme Tutor. | Julie McNamara, Kildare County Childcare Committee. |
Anne Fitzpatrick, TU Dublin. | Lorraine Sands, Educational Leadership Project, New Zealand. |
Dr Anne-Marie Brooks, Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY). | Marlene McCormack, Institute of Education. Dublin City University. |
Annette Kearns, Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood, Maynooth University. | Mary Daly, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). |
Carole Dee, LINC Programme Tutor. | Mary Skillington, Galway Mayo Institute of Technology. |
Chantal Williams, Stepping Stones Children’s Services, Tasmania. | Michelle Hart, National Childhood Network (NCN). |
Delia Goodman, Better Start National Early Years Quality Development. | Paula Hilliard, LINC Programme Tutor. |
Dr Judith Butler, Cork Institute of Technology. | Professor Emer Ring, MIC Limerick. |
Early Childhood Ireland National .
Sponsors






#ECIAwards20
Click here to hear an interview with Minister Roderic O’Gorman, who outlines why the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is proud to sponsor the Early Childhood Ireland National Annual Awards 2020.
Click here to hear an interview with Marie O’Doherty, National Coordinator with the Leadership for Inclusion programme, who outlines why Linc is proud to sponsor the Leader in Inclusion award in the Early Childhood Ireland National Annual Awards 2020.
Keep an eye on this web page, on our twitter hashtag #ECIAwards20 and on our other social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn for further updates.