Childcare Education & Training Support (CETS) scheme
The Office of the Minister for Children & Youth Affairs (OMCYA) has announced a new childcare support scheme, commencing September 2010, called Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) . The scheme will support participants in training and education operated by FAS and the VEC's. For more informationClick here
Merrion Square in Dublin was just one of the venues for National Play Day Sunday 4 July. On Saturday 3 July, RTE Six One and Nine O'Clock News featured Irene Gunning CEO of IPPA, and Ann O'Brien of Dublin City Council, talking about the benefits of outdoor play. For more information and photos please click here
The Play Alliance, a network of voluntary childcare organisations, local authorities, county childcare committees and other interested parties, used the platform of National Play Day (Sunday July 4), which was celebrated all over the country, to issue the following statement: click here
Bloom, Ireland’s largest gardening, food and family festival, became a path of discovery for children this year! IPPA introduced the Garden of Possibilities using open-ended materials. IPPA received a silver gilt medal for our first entry into Bloom. To see photos please click here
A Quarter of Complaints to Ombudsman Related to HSE
The Office of the Ombudsman's 2009 Annual Report was launched in July. Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly said her office received 2,873 complaints last year, the highest in over 10 years. This was 86 more than in 2008 and over a quarter were in relation to the HSE and its services. Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children was first published in September 1999. For updates on the Revised Children First Guidelines: 2010
please click here
Play expert Tim Gill (keynote speaker at the IPPA conference last April), has travelled extensively across Northern Europe over the past decade. To read article click here
A growing number of Germans are sending their children to Waldkindergärten: forest nurseries where they spend their days outside, learning in Nature's classroom. To read article click here.
Increasingly Preschool Inspection Teams are requesting that persons/staff in services that have lived in the UK obtain Police Vetting. This facility is not yet available through the Irish system of vetting. For more information please click here
Revised Guidelines for Childcare Policies and Procedures January 2010
To assist members in meeting the requirements under Article 5 of the Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations 2006, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education, (Siolta) and the Framework for Early Learning (Aistear), IPPA has researched and developed a Photograph/Video Policy and Procedures guideline. Click here
