Nursery Room

Our spacious and well-equipped nursery room caters for babies from 5 months to 14 months. The programme of care for children in the nursery is based on the child’s individual routine. A warm, stimulating environment is provided through caring and responsive staff. Sensitivity, consistency and loving interactions are promoted at all times. Activities are conducted individually depending on the age and ability of each child, and revolves around their care needs. Developmental milestones are considered imperative when planning activities to aid the enhancement of their abilities.                                                                                                                              

Mobiles, rattles, soft colourful toys and toys with different textures are used as a stimulus for young infants, aiding the development of the primitive palmer grasp, reaching and grabbing skills as well as to develop hand/eye co-ordination. Staff will interact with babies through songs and rhymes to aid the development of social, emotional, language and cognitive skills. Opportunities for lying down allowing for kicking and rolling are recognised as being important to aid the child’s overall development. As the babies gain more independence, more challenging toys will be introduced and as the babies get older staff will be preparing them for the transition for toddler groups. Activities will include jigsaws, play dough, water play, construction toys, threading beads, pegboards etc.

Junior & Senior Toddlers

Our playroom provides a happy and caring environment, which encourages children to learn social and development skills, through activities and play. At this stage of development children are introduced to feeding themselves. As well as free play with a range of activities and challenges including music, arts and crafts, gardening etc. Comfortable sleeping arrangements are available during the day.

The toddler rooms cater for children from 14 months to 3 years of age.  This room is carefully designed to cater for active toddlers. At this age, a programme is introduced creating some routine to the children’s day, which prepares them for the Pre-school sessions. The Junior Toddler Room caters for the younger children from 1 to 2½ years and the Senior Toddler Room caters for older children from 2 years and 8 months to 3½ years.

Developmentally appropriate activities are introduced which will encourage independence and learning. Opportunities to discover and explore will be incorporated into the activities to stimulate the children’s senses. Children will be encouraged to be inquisitive and to ask questions to harness their natural curiosity. Examples of the activities carried out in the toddler rooms include jigsaws, matching and sorting, picture and colour recognition, counting and grading activities, cooking, arts and crafts, messy play activities such as gloop play, sand and water play, music and movement, yoga, story telling, rhymes, singing and outdoor play.  

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Junior Preschool - ECCE

The aim of Junior Preschool Education is to prepare the child for life. The teacher introduces to each child the skills and qualities necessary to live life to the full in an independent, safe and happy way. It also develops the child to their full potential. In the Junior Preschool classroom, the children explore the world through their senses and their own activity. They develop a love of learning and enjoy working, which hopefully will stay with them throughout life. Junior Preschool is an education for life, a learning process environment. Junior Preschool is about learning to balance responsibility with freedom of choice. It offers children the opportunity to realize their potential, in a non-competitive environment and seeks to promote in them:

• Self-confidence and self-esteem
• A sense of responsibility and self-worth
• A sense of responsibility for themselves and their actions
• Independence and adaptability
• Co-operation with others
• A sense of community respect for the rights and needs of others
• Concentration and persistence in completing a task
• Initiative and self-motivation                                                                                                               

Senior Preschool – ECCE Our curriculum allows the children to learn through the medium of Irish. A range of learning through play while experimenting with sand, water play dough, the use of colours, numbers, sounds and various arts and crafts. The activities encourage their creative, emotional, social and physical development.  

The after school programme caters for children of all primary school ages, it is a plan with flexible possibilities and not a rigid schedule which every child has to follow. The programme provides a planned range of safe, creative, positive opportunities, which provide ownership by children and young people for many elements of the programme. The Leaders build up a positive relationship with each child in the group. They  encourage each child to make choices and decisions, to express their own needs and to take responsibility for their own actions.                             

Crèche Cois Laoi provides an atmosphere that is conducive to learning, a space for work and with relevant materials to support their study. Children engage in fun arts and craft activities, cooking, outdoor play and organised outings, drama and role play, individual and group board games, computers, music and dance, group projects and so on. The after school children have a dedicated out door play area which is suitable for use in all weather, outdoor play is strongly encouraged for children in the after school room after their day in school.

Homework is only one of the many activities, which is carried on within the school age childcare programme.  The ethos of the setting is to provide children with recreational activities that allow for relaxation after their day at school.  However we do appreciate that some parents would wish to have a certain amount of homework completed by their child and this request will be facilitated where possible. 

Homework is facilitated within a quiet area of the setting away from regular activities. The children who are in early will do their homework in the after school room before they come upstairs for lunch, the children who arrive from 2.30 onwards will have their lunch and will do their homework in a quiet setting under staff supervision and encouragement while the younger children return to the after school room. Support will be given if a child requests it but individual attention can not be accommodated. A maximum of 45 minutes is allocated to homework completion with the emphasis being put on written homework, reading and learning should be completed at home with the parents / guardians. Staff will not sign the children’s homework journal this is to be checked by the child’s parent / guardian.

The Crèche Manager's aim is to provide a service that children will enjoy and where they will progress to their full potential during their stay, where staff will enjoy working in the environment and where parents will be happy and content leaving their children in our care.

Caroline Bennett

Crèche Manager

Qualifications:

CACHE Diploma in childcare Education

Fetac level 5 in Childcare

First Aid

Child Protection

HACCP

All our staff are fully qualified in Childcare with a minimum of Fetac Level 5 (or equivalent). All staff also have Child Protection, First Aid, Manual Handling and Fire Safety Training and are facilitated to update their skills and knowledge through participation of service training on a regular basis.

All Crèche Cois Laoí staff are Garda Vetted (and International Police Clearance if required) prior to commencing employment.

The Advisory Board is in place and includes representation from Crèche Cois Laoi staff, UCC, Áras na Mac Léinn, Early Childhood Studies, Buildings and Estates, UCC Students Union, and a Student Parent and Staff Parent Representative. The staff and student parent representatives are elected annually. The role of the Advisory Board is to decide on policy and deal with general issues as they arise.