Early Childhood Ireland's Podcast

Send us Fan MailA core aspect of the work of Early Childhood Ireland over the past number of years has been Childminding. We led the Erasmus programme, Qual FDC in 2023, a European based project which focused on quality in family day care (as Childminding is often referred to). In 2024 we conducted a literature review, with Stranmillis College in Belfast, into the existing research on Childminding and regular listeners may have heard a previous episode discussing that piece of work, linked below.  In 2025, we conducted two more research projects, funded by the DCDE, into aspects of childminding and that is what we are going to hear about today. To tell us about the policy context methodologies and findings we were joined by Frances Byrne, Director of Policy at Early Childhood Ireland and by Liz Kerrins, Research Director, at Early Childhood Ireland. Podcast episode: Childminding: Exploring the research literature, with Dr Suzanne McCartney and Liz Kerrins Scéalta blog: Childminding in Denmark  

Send us Fan MailOur guest today is Dr. Colette Murray, from Technical University, Dublin who was an advisor on the From Rhetoric to Reality research Early Childhood Ireland conducted in 2025. In this research we wanted to investigate the inclusiveness of Irish ECE settings for members of the Traveller community, focusing on young Traveller children’s perspectives and experiences of inclusion in their preschools. Colette speaks about the importance of this work and how support is needed at systemic and setting level to ensure that all children feel a sense of belonging in their Early Years setting. You can find the report here 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we are going to look at one of the really significant benefits of the group insurance scheme available to Early Childhood Ireland members, through Arachas Insurance. To explain the benefits available through the group insurance scheme we are really pleased to be joined by Brendan Little and Paula Walshe from ARAG, who work with Arachas to provide a range of Legal, HR and Counselling supports. Arachas policyholders, on the Group Scheme, can contact the services outlined by phoning  01-6707470

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we are joined by Superintendent Niall Featherstone and Inspector Marisa Costello, from the Garda National Vetting Bureau to discuss the legislative basis for Garda Vetting, the importance of correct validation of identity and some misconceptions that can arise.   

Send us Fan MailNational Pyjama Day, brought to you by Early Childhood Ireland is a favourite day on the calendar for children and educators all over the country. This year marks the 22nd National Pyjama Day and funds raised will support LauraLynn, Ireland's Children's hospice and will continue to support the Early Childhood Ireland member projects Eco- Emotions. For this special episode of the podcast we are joined by Rebecca Candon, Family Support Team Manager at LauraLynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice and by Lorraine Diggins, Early Childhood Specialist at Early Childhood Ireland and project lead on the Eco-Emotions project. 

Send us Fan MailAistear (2024) includes, as a Principle, the concept of the Agentic Educator. In this episode, Grainne McKenna, from Dublin City University outlines her thoughts on this concept and explores links to the 'Self-Efficacy' theories of Albert Bandura. She also mentioned the literature review commissioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment as part of the process of updating Aistear, which you can find here.  Grainne also refers to a journal article called Turn-over and Retention Among Head-Start Educators (Vicente et al 2025) and that is linked here. 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we return to the topic of children's rights, participation and safeguarding. We were delighted to be joined by Tanya Ward, CEO of the Children's Rights Alliance. We discuss the areas in which Ireland is performing well in relation to children's rights and the areas in which improvements are needed.We touch on how slow relational pedagogy as outlined in Aistear 2024 plays a key role in educators being able to hear the many ways in which children express themselves. Finally, Tanya shares the three key areas where significant progress needs to be made to ensure that all children in Ireland have their rights respected.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we discuss a recent CPD programme we developed in Early Childhood Ireland with a group of educators, called Enhancing Leadership Practices. Dr Christina Egan Marnell outlines the background to and development of the programme.  Siobhán Barrett, from Cahir Bears Community Creche in Cahir, Co Tipperary, was one of the participants in the programme. We chat to her about what pedagogical leadership means to her, her experience on the programme and about how she is supporting her colleagues to see themselves as leaders in their role. 

Send us Fan MailIn light of the Updated Aistear in 2024, the Aistear Síolta Practice Guide has also been updated to reflect the changes made to the Aistear Framework. In this episode of Early Childhood Ireland's podcast, Lorraine Farrell from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment takes us through key changes and discusses how the Aistear Síolta Practice Guide can be used by educators to support reflection and develop practice. The Aistear Síolta Practice Guide can be found on the Nurturing Skills website. 

Send us Fan MailEarly Childhood Ireland is calling on the Government to announce on Budget Day a date for bringing Early Years and School Age Care graduates within public sector pay and conditions, in line with teachers. In this episode, Frances Byrne, Director of Policy at Early Childhood Ireland takes us through the rationale for this ask in our Budget 2026 submission.  

Send us Fan MailIn a very special episode, to mark the very special milestone of our 100 episode, we were delighted to have a wide-ranging conversation with Wendy Lee. Wendy is the Director of the Educational Leadership Project in New Zealand.  Wendy discussed the importance of relationships, values, celebrating children's learning journeys and importance of ensuring childhood is valued as a right by policy makers and educators. 

Send us Fan MailIn this week’s episode of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast Taking Part in TIME, we hear from Claire Walsh and Marsela Vangjeli, both from The Children’s Village in Balbriggan. They chat about the Practitioner Inquiry project they worked on when they took part in the TIME CPD programme earlier this year and the impact this had on their setting. The TIME CPD programme and the new member resource, now available on the Early Childhood Ireland Learning Hub was funded by the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal. 

Send us Fan MailMembers and regular listeners know that the work of Early Childhood Ireland is influenced and inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach. In April of this year, we were saddened to learn of the death of Carla Rinaldi, who was Honorary President of Reggio Children and the Centro Loris Malaguzzi. To pay tribute to this shining light and examine some of the ways in which she has influenced the Early Years and School Age Care sector in Ireland we are delighted to be joined by Milica Atanackovic, Acting Director of Membership, Excellence and Learning at Early Childhood Ireland. 

Send us Fan MailWe were delighted to chat with Dr Aaron Bradbury from Nottingham Trent University in the UK. Aaron recently edited a document called Play Matters and in this special conversation to mark International Day of Play we discuss the joy of play, slow relational pedagogy and advocating for play.  As Aaron says, the possibilities that come from play are endless! 

Send us Fan MailEarly Childhood Ireland is delighted to introduce a brand new member CPD resource called TIME: Thriving through Interactions and Meaningful Engagements. In this episode we discuss the programme with Dr Christina Egan Marnell, from Early Childhood Ireland. We chat about how it was developed, how will support educators to reflect on and develop their engagements with children. The development of the CPD programme and resource was supported by the RTE Toy Show Appeal. Early Childhood Ireland members can access the course here

Send us Fan MailWhat does consulting with children mean, how do we do this? In this episode Prof Deirdre Horgan from University College Cork takes us through her work with Hub na nÓg developing the recently published toolkit to support consulting with children. She discusses how so much consultation goes on with children everyday and gives ideas on how we can recognise this and capture it. You can find the toolkit referred to here  https://hubnanog.ie/resources/toolkit-guidance/?_sft_post_tag=toolkits  If you would like to hear the earlier episode about the Children's Participation framework with Prof. Laura Lundy and Anne O'Donnell, you will find it here  https://earlychildhoodirelandpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1541473/episodes/9314091-exploring-the-national-framework-for-children-and-young-people-s-participation-in-decision-making-with-prof-laura-lundy-and-anne-o-donnell

Send us Fan MailThis week we talk to Valerie Gaynor, Manager of Creative Kids and Co in Dublin, who participated in the NCCA's Updating Aistear Development Group about her experiences of the process. She also discusses how the updated Aistear is impacting on practice in her setting.    

Send us Fan MailToday, 22 April is World Earth Day. To mark this important day we were delighted to chat about the enhanced focus on Sustainability in the Updated Aistear, with Dr Marlene McCormack, from Dublin City University. In this episode Marlene discusses how values play a role in attitudes to sustainability, with a mindset of caring at it's heart. She gives practical ideas on how we can support children and families to think of sustainability and ecology. 

Send us Fan MailThis week we chat with Grahame Brown, Account Director at Arachas Insurance. Grahame takes us through what a Group Insurance scheme is and outlines the benefits contained in the Early Childhood Ireland scheme which is underwritten by Allianz and administered by Arachas.  

Send us Fan MailIn a new series of Early Childhood Ireland's podcast, we are exploring the recently Updated Aistear. In this episode, Fiona Kelleher, from Early Childhood Ireland tells us about the consultation process carried out with babies, toddlers and young children as part of the updating process. She discusses some key findings and shows how these findings influenced the updated Principles of Aistear. The reports Fiona mentioned on the Consultations with babies, toddlers and young children can be read here. Phase one Phase two  These consultations were conducted by Early Childhood Ireland, Maynooth University and Stranmillis University College, on behalf of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. 

Send us Fan MailIn a special episode of Early Childhood Ireland's podcast to celebrate International Women's Day we invited the Chair and the CEO of Early Childhood Ireland Sheila Nunan and Teresa Heeney to have a conversation. In the episode we explore leadership, gender equality, and the work for better pay and conditions in Early Years and School Age Care.  In the context of International Women’s Day, the discussion  highlights the personal experiences of these two women leading the largest national children’s advocacy and membership organisation in Ireland. We shed light on the broader reality for the predominantly female workforce (97%) in the sector, one that is essential for children, as well as to Ireland’s economy and society, yet is undervalued and underpaid.  

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of the podcast, we delve into the findings of the eighth annual Barometer, with Director of Policy Frances Byrne. This opinion poll is conducted for Early Childhood Ireland, by Red C and explores public attitudes to Early Years and related issues. 

Send us Fan MailThis episode of Early Childhood Ireland's podcast provides an update on the Eco-Emotions suite of materials and resources. Guest, Milica Atanackovic, tells us how Eco-Emotions was created to support educators to develop a deeper appreciation of the importance of co and self-regulation and the role nature pedagogy can play in this for children. Milica also discusses the plans to extend the resources in 2025.   

Send us Fan MailAistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework has been updated. In this episode we chat to Dr Sharon Skehill from the NCCA about some of the key developments and changes in the Framework. You can find the Updated Aistear here https://curriculumonline.ie/early-childhood/aistear-2024/ 

Send us Fan MailFor our first episode of 2025, and as the final stages of government formation are taking place, we chatted with Frances Byrne and Emily Clarke of Early Childhood Ireland about our policy work during the recent General Election campaign. 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we are delighted to be joined by Laura Dagger, from the National Child Safeguarding Office. She discusses the legal responsibilities of Early Years, School Age Care and registered Childminding settings in relation to Child Safeguarding. She outlines the requirements of the Safeguarding Statement and finally stresses the fact that Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. Laura also signposts us to training and resources that can be found here https://www.childsafeguardingelc.ie/training

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we have a conversation with two passionate educators about children thriving outside in nature. Johanna Davis and Mary-Ellen O'Sullivan, from Seedling Nature Schools in Limerick share their experiences of children developing self-regulation and a value for the environment in their outdoor setting. 

Send us Fan MailMuireann Ranta, from the South East Technological University joins us for this episode of Early Childhood Ireland's podcast. We discuss how we can encourage children to develop a sense of wonderment about the natural world from their very earliest days and how this sense of wonder supports education for sustainability. The resource developed by OMEP Ireland, called Sustainability for the Start, that Muireann refers to, can be found here 

Send us Fan MailEarly Childhood Ireland is delighted to have launched our newest member resource, called Eco-Emotions, funded by National Pyjama Day. In this episode of  Early Childhood Ireland's podcast we chat to Learning Strategy Manager, Milica Atanackovic about why we developed the Eco-Emotions suite of resources and webinar series. She also discusses initial finding from on member survey on self- regulations and awareness of sustainability issues in Early Years and School Age Care settings. 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we discuss the findings and implications of the recent research carried out by Stranmillis University College on behalf of Early Childhood Ireland. We chat with Dr Suzanne McCartney, from Stranmillis and with Liz Kerrins from Early Childhood Ireland about the study, entitled  The determinants of experiences and outcomes for children and young people in Childminding: A Rapid Review of the Research Literature. You can read the Executive Summary hereAnd you can read the full report here 

Send us Fan MailIn this, the first episode of our new season, we tease out the 4 Asks for Children to Elevate Early Years and School Age Care to the Status of Primary Education which are at the centre of our Budget 2025 Submission. We are delighted to be joined by Frances Byrne, Director of Policy at Early Childhood Ireland. We discuss the importance of a sustained and sustainable workforce, effective planning and how good family leave builds strong and connected families and communities.  You can read the full submission here. 

Send us Fan MailIn the final episode of the series shining a light on children's rights, we chat with Prof. Emer Ring, Dean of Education at Mary Immaculate College. We discuss the elements we need to think about as we  seek to develop a shared understanding of what inclusion means for us as early childhood educators and how that lens has evolved and changed over time.  Emer also talks about the Reggio Emilia approach to special rights. She refers to the final evaluation of phase one of the Leadership for INClusion in the Early Years (LINC programme) 2016-2020 and you can read that report here . 

Send us Fan MailContinuing our series on Children's Rights, in this week's episode we talk to Dr Sheila Long, from South East Technological University about Global Citizen Education. We discuss what Global Citizen Education is and how we can support this in settings. 

Send us Fan MailTuesday,  11 June 2024 has been designated as International Day of Play, recognising and celebrating that play is a fundamental right for children.  In this bonus episode of Early Childhood Ireland's podcast, we asked Prof. Nóirín Hayes, from Trinity College Dublin for her views on what play is and why it is fundamental for children. 

Send us Fan MailIn this new series of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast, which focusses on Children’s Rights, we are delighted to be joined by Prof. Nóirín Hayes, Visiting Professor at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin. In the episode we discuss what it means to have a children’s rights lens along with why and how children should be active participants in their own education.

Send us Fan MailIn the fourth and final episode of the OWLET series of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast we ask our Early Childhood Specialist, DR Christina Egan Marnell some of the questions posed to us about using the OWLET resources. Have you wondered how to use the lullabies if you’re not familiar with the languages of the songs? Tune in to find out!  

Send us Fan MailIn this week's episode of Early Childhood Ireland's podcast Mairéad Gallagher, music teacher and director of Wriggletto discusses how the OWLET lullabies can be used throughout every day by educators and parents in simple ways to support children sense of cultural identity and awareness. 

Send us Fan MailIn Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast this week we chat to Leah Ahern de Leastar, Early Years educator and lecturer about music. We discuss how music is a universal language and how we can weave music through the day. Leah also reminds us that it is about process, not product, we can all enjoy music whether we are great singers or not. To read more about how lullabies and music can support wellbeing and cultural heritage check out our Scéalta blog post Relationships and Music. 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we chat with Dr Christina Egan Marnell and Maria Cleary from Early Childhood Ireland about our beautiful new member resource called OWLET: Lullabies of the World . This resource supports babies and young children to practice language, develop their own positive identity, and develop an understanding of the identity of others. Many children aged 1 to 2 years hear foreign languages spoken in their Early Years settings in Ireland, which creates space for them to explore and speak their home language. Lullabies in different languages foster children’s development of positive attitudes to their own diversity and identity, as well as a curiosity about other languages. To read more about how lullabies and music can support wellbeing and cultural heritage check out our Scéalta blog post Relationships and Music. 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of our podcast we chat with Frances Byrne, Director of Policy at Early Childhood Ireland. We tease out the findings of Early Childhood Ireland's Barometer 2024. Now in its seventh year, the Barometer is an annual opinion poll, conducted nationwide by Red C market research and polling company,  to gauge public attitudes to Early Years care and education.  You can find the Barometer here https://www.earlychildhoodireland.ie/about/advocacy/childcare-barometer/early-childhood-ireland-barometer-2024/ and if you have any queries about the Barometer please email [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast Dr Lynn J McNair, from the University of Edinburgh and Kathleen Tuite from Early Childhood Ireland outline what Practitioner Inquiry is and how becoming a Practitioner Inquirer supports the building of bridges between theory and practice. Kathleen also discusses the new Practitioner Inquiry programme which Early Childhood Ireland is commencing soon. 

Send us Fan MailIn this final episode of our Delving into Adventurous Play series, Early Childhood Ireland member Dairíona Ní Mhuirí outlines her approach to Adventurous Play and how children in her Naíonra (Irish language preschool) use real tools and fire. She describes how every child is able to play the way they want to play in the outdoors and discusses the benefits of this for relationships as well as children's learning experiences. 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of our Delving into Adventurous Play series, Niki Buchan Educational Consultant at Natural Learning Educational Consultancy outlines the importance of adventurous play  and the role this has in physical development. She discusses some of the challenges and gives really practical suggestions on introducing real tools and fire to children.  In this episode Niki refers to resources that can be used to support educators in the Early Years and School Age Care sector, as they plan to introduce experiences like real tools. These sample benefit risk assessments will help educators identify the benefits of a proposed activity, as well as any risks involved. Control measures to mitigate these risks can then be put in place using professional judgement, to enable children to derive the maximum learning and play opportunities while ensuring that risks are identified and managed. These can be accessed at this link.  https://www.earlychildhoodireland.ie/resources-to-support-adventurous-play/

Send us Fan MailIn this first episode of a new series, Delving into Adventurous Play, Chloe Keegan, from Early Childhood Ireland discusses what adventurous play is and why children need to be challenged in their play, with specific reference to supporting children to use real tools. 

Send us Fan MailOur World of Languages: Episode threeIn this episode Liz Kerrins, from Early Childhood Ireland and Dr Francesca La Morgia, from Mother Tongues discuss the changing terminology around languages and why the term plurilingualism is more inclusive and respectful.  They refer to the OWL provocations pack, which you can check out at https://www.earlychildhoodireland.ie/learning/owl-project/

Send us Fan MailOur World of Languages: Episode twoIn episode two of this series looking at multilingualism, Suzanne McCarthy, Education Officer at Mother Tongues outlines her research on supporting heritage languages with older children.  She outlines some ideas on how we support children to develop a positive sense of Identity and Belonging through their settings valuing their home languages and the languages in their communities. 

Send us Fan MailOur World of Languages: Episode one  In this first episode of a series where we will explore multilingualism, we talk to Dr Christina Egan Marnell, Early Childhood Specialist, at Early Childhood Ireland about her experiences working with children and families  who speak different languages to the language spoken in a setting. She provides useful strategies to support us to value the richness this diversity provides, while giving ideas on how challenges can be overcome. 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode Fiona Kelleher, from Early Childhood Ireland speaks to us about the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) Conference held recently in Lisbon. She chats about what Early Childhood Ireland brought to the event,  what we gained from it and how we are sharing these learnings with our members. She outlines the various research projects the Early Childhood Ireland delegation presented on and the keynote speakers who addressed the conference. She provided details of the NCCA Updating Aistear Consultation with babies, toddlers and young children, with which Early Childhood Ireland is involved as a partner with Maynooth University and Stranmillis College. This is the research Fiona presented on at EECERA. You can read the report here https://ncca.ie/media/6220/consultationreport.pdf 

Send us Fan MailAistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework was initially launched in 2009. Much has changed in the Early Years sector since then. To reflect  these changes Aistear is being updated. To take us through the development and consultation process we were joined by Dr Sharon Skehill. Sharon is an Education Officer on the Early Childhood Team at the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. She is working on Updating Aistear. Sharon has extensive experience working as an early years' educator with babies, toddlers and young children, with a particular focus on the outdoors. She has also worked as a lecturer and researcher in early childhood education. To find out more and to participate in the consultation process go to  https://ncca.ie/en/early-childhood/early-childhood-education-developments/updating-aistear/consultation/  

Send us Fan MailAs part of our strategic policy work, we were delighted to host a Meet the Members event this Thursday, 5 October, where a group of Early Childhood Ireland members  met with key members of the Oireachtas to discuss our Budget 2024 Submission. There was a large turnout and we were delighted to chat with Kathleen Funchion TD, Dara Calleary TD, Jennifer Whitmore TD and David Stanton TD, along with our members Orlaith Doyle, Rachel Runswick and Louise Kilbane.