Kildare County Childcare Committee

✨“Calling all childminders, parents & stakeholders”

Book your space and have you say!

Visit https://www.letstalkchildminding.ie/

Always Children First – Foundation Training

Protecting children starts with informed, confident professionals. This interactive one-day training equips Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) educators with the knowledge and skills to recognise, respond to, and report child protection and welfare concerns. It also supports services in meeting Children First and Tusla safeguarding requirements.

Register Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1993597464683?aff=oddtdtcreator

Book your place today and strengthen your safeguarding practice.

❗ Limited places available.

My Little Library 2026

My Little Library has been up and running since May 2026. The book bags for every child finishing pre-school and starting primary school in September are ready for children to collect from their local library. Children can choose from an English or Irish bag. About 10,000 bags have been collected so far.

Thanks so much for supporting this initiative to date. If you still have contact details for the parents of the children starting primary school in September, could you please reach out and give them another reminder of this wonderful initiative.

Please find attached invitations in English and Irish, QR codes to send to parents on Whatsapp and a poster for your service.
https://elc-sac-sector-comms.newsweaver.com/icfiles/13/94420/363249/750033/_nw_test_mailing/991be03c8cf69d84714ebcf9/little%20library%20parent%20child%20invite%202026.pdf

The Department would be delighted if you could share My Little Library with Families.

Kind regards,

Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare Division

Outreach Support for Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare Services

Need a fresh pair of eyes? Looking for support with quality improvement, compliance or team development?

KCCC offers an Outreach Support Service to Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare services across County Kildare.

Whether you are preparing for inspection, developing your Quality Improvement Plan, strengthening leadership, or simply looking for guidance, our Development Officers can provide tailored support that meets the needs of your service.

Outreach support may include:

🍃 Tusla regulatory compliance & CAPAs

🍃 Quality & Inclusive Practice Plan (QIPP)

🍃 Policies, procedures and documentation

🍃 Leadership and management support

🍃 Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI)

🍃 Practice mentoring and quality enhancement

🍃 Signposting to relevant training and resources

Support can be provided as a single consultation or through ongoing mentoring, depending on your service's needs.

To arrange an Outreach Support visit or discuss your service's needs, email Barbara to [email protected] or call 045861307.

Hive Announcement- Fee tables and Parent Statement Approvals Process 2026/2027.

Dear Service Provider,

Please see the attached announcement from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE) in relation to the Fee Table and Parent Statement Approvals Process 2026/2027.

Queries relating to this should be directed to your local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC).

Regards,

The Early Years Team

Hive Announcement- ECCE 2026 is now open

Dear Service Provider,

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme is now open for the 2026/2027 programme year.

Please ensure you have activated your ECCE 2026/2027 funding agreement.

We would also like to remind you that NCS subsidies cannot be claimed for hours that a child is in ECCE.

You can find guidance and documentation on the Early Years Hive to support you with ECCE.

Regards,
The Early Years Team

🌿 Taking learning outdoors

Outdoor play is so much more than a break from the indoor environment. It gives babies, toddlers and young children opportunities to move, explore, investigate, take manageable risks, encounter nature and make discoveries in ways that simply cannot be replicated indoors.

The updated Aistear: Early Childhood Curriculum Framework places an intentional focus on learning outdoors and on children's connection with dúlra (nature).

As we prepare for a new programme year, it is a lovely opportunity to reflect:

How can our outdoor spaces become places of curiosity, exploration and possibility — every day, and in every season?

Read more: When the Roof is the Sky: https://www.tusla.ie/news/new-outdoor-play-guidance-for-early-years-services/

Explore NCCA's reflections on outdoor learning and Exploring and Thinking below.

Reed more: NCCA Outdoor learning blog: https://ncca.ie/en/updates-and-events/latest-news/2025/february/aistear-blog-4/

Introducing Irish in English-Speaking ELC Settings – Community of Professional Practice

🔗 Register here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/1993608477623?aff=oddtdtcreator

Think introducing Irish in your ELC setting sounds challenging? Why not make it fun? ☘️

Join us for this interactive two-part Community of Professional Practice, hosted by Naíonra Bhóín Dé, and discover how Irish can become a natural and enjoyable part of children's everyday experiences through routines, relationships, play, songs and stories.

You do not need to speak Irish to take part! Whether you're a complete beginner or already have some Irish, this is an opportunity to explore, experiment and learn alongside experienced Naíonra educators and fellow ELC professionals.

Together, we'll explore how introducing Irish can help children connect with our first language, culture and traditions, while also building confidence with language and supporting children's transition into primary school.

Come along, have a go, and discover how a little Irish can make a big difference! 💚☘️

New NCS co-payment functionality training invite- Thursday 27th of August 2026.

✨Dear Service Provider

You and your staff are invited to attend online training on the new co-payment functionality at 2.30pm on Thursday 27 August 2026. This functionality went live on 31 July 2026 and is now included as part of the NCS claim process.

The new co-payment functionality is mandatory for completion for all newly created and edited claims, from 31 July 2026. This training is intended to provide you with a detailed overview of the new co-payment functionality. The upcoming training date, time and registration link are included below.

Click here to register for the training on at 2.30pm to 3.30pm on Thursday 27 August 2026
311f664d-568d-406a-b301-ec95b797111d@aeae5436-a997-489f-b0e1-ae283ced47f7?source=copyLinkLegacyShareEventDialog" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/311f664d-568d-406a-b301-ec95b797111d@aeae5436-a997-489f-b0e1-ae283ced47f7?source=copyLinkLegacyShareEventDialog

Note: The content delivered in this session will be the same as the training delivered on the 23 and 30 July. There is no requirement to attend this training if you had previously attended in July, however you can attend if you wish to do so.

Training on the new co-payment functionality will cover the following:

The updated NCS claim pathway
An overview of the new co-payment functionality
New validations
New co-payment print outs
Helpful tips
Hive demonstrations
Regards,
The Early Years Team



⚠️The use of AI-based notetaking or recording tools is not permitted. This helps ensure we remain compliant with GDPR and uphold data privacy standards.

Pobal is solely responsible for the distribution of any training materials and can share these through appropriate channels. Unauthorised use of AI tools may result in removal from the session, a request for access to generated content, and its deletion.