National Childrens Nurseries Association - Siolta & Aistear

NCNA Thematic Network Meetings- Siolta & Aistear

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Network Meetings are FREE to NCNA Members and are available at a nominal fee of just €15 for Non-Members

Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education

Síolta was developed and published in 2006 by the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE) on behalf of the Department of Education and Science. It is a quality assurance process which addresses all aspects of practice in early childhood care and education services. It is designed to support practitioners to develop high quality services for children aged birth to six years and is relevant to all settings where children spend time out of their home environment. Detailed information on Síolta can be found at www.siolta.ie .

A national implementation plan is currently being developed for Síolta. A central part of this plan involves the induction of a number of Síolta Coordinators. These individuals will be appropriately qualified and have significant experience in delivering ECCE service to children and families. The role of the Síolta Coordinator is to provide mentoring and guidance to services which are engaged in the Síolta Quality Assurance Programme. NCNA have five Siolta Co-ordinator currently involved in the Siolta Roll Out.

Aistear, the Framework for Early Learning

Aistear, the Framework for Early Learning supports practitioners in planning for and providing enriching, challenging and enjoyable learning opportunities for children from birth to six years. It can be used in different types of settings including children’s homes, childminding settings, full and part-time daycare, sessional services and infant classrooms. Developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) with practitioners, children, parents, researchers, those working in training and professional development, and in the government departments concerned with the early years, Aistear reflects key research messages on early childhood learning and takes account of early childhood in Ireland. The aim of the Framework is to help every child to grow and develop as a competent and confident learner within loving and nurturing relationships with adults and peers. Detailed information on Aistear can be found at www.ncca.ie/earlychildhoodframework.

The NCCA has published Aistear on the NCCA website and on CD-ROM this year. The NCCA will also publish practical planning tools and tipsheets to support practitioners in becoming familiar with Aistear and in beginning to use it in their work with children. Following publication, the Council will work with practitioners, children and parents to gather examples of Aistear in action across a variety of settings. These examples might include short video clips, photographs, and samples of children's work and conversations with adults and other children. The purpose of the examples is to share practice across settings. This will be done through the NCCA’s ACTION website at www.ncca.ie.

Workforce Development Plan for the Early Childhood Care and Education sector.

It is important that, after an initial lead-in time, all lead staff in services delivering the ECCE initiative will have achieved a major award in early childhood care and education at level 6 of the NFQ or equivalent. It is also recognised that the historical complexity of educational attainment of the workforce in ECCE services in Ireland may present challenges in this regard. To facilitate practitioners, who are not currently fully qualified, to achieve this status, it is proposed to put in place a Workforce Development Plan which will address issues such as access and effective participation in education and training programmes. A national consultation process will commence shortly to enable all stakeholders in ECCE provision in Ireland to express their views on this important issue. This consultation process will conclude in the autumn of 2009 and the Workforce Development Plan will be produced thereafter. Implementation of the Workforce Development Plan will commence in early 2010.

In light of this timeframe it is anticipated that unqualified staff working in services participating in the ECCE initiative will be required to commit to becoming qualified within five years. After that time a service which does not have a fully qualified staff member leading the preschool year will not be eligible for participation in the ECCE initiative.

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  Siolta & Aistear

  Siolta is the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education. Síolta has a number of key characteristics, which are of importance in gaining an understanding of how the Framework operates. These characteristics ensure that the vision of the Framework can be realised and have the maximum beneficial outcomes for all ECCE stakeholder. Aistear is the new curriculum framework for all children from birth to six years. It can be used in childminding settings, sessional services, full and part-time daycare settings, infant classes in primary schools, children’s own homes.