Early Childhood Ireland's Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In a continuation from the first part of our chat with Prof. Marilyn Fleer, from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, we move on to discuss the role of the adult in conceptual play worlds and introduce STEAM with older children, using stories and play problems to make abstract learning more concrete and fun. If you’ve been inspired by Professor Marilyn Fleer's lovely podc...

Send us Fan Mail We asked Professor Marilyn Fleer, from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia to chat with us about how conceptual play worlds support children’s STEAM learning. Marilyn was so generous with her time and the conversation with her covers a lot of ground, so we decided to break it into two episodes.  In part one, we are introduced to the idea of conceptual play worlds…using what...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Nicola O’Reilly discusses why and how young children’s curious and inquisitive minds need to be enabled and encourages through their play in the STEAM areas, making particular reference to the area of engineering.  Nicola is a Lecturer and Researcher in the School of Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education in DCU.  

Send us Fan Mail As the CAO deadline approaches on May 1, in this special edition of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast we talk to Dr Leah O’Toole who is Assistant Professor in Early Childhood Education in the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education, Maynooth University about the BA in Early Childhood Teaching and Learning, of which she is  Programme Coordinator. This is a level...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Early Years educator and setting manager, Eilish Balfe describes how COVID-19 was the catalyst for her doing a complete 360 change of mind about having technology in her setting. She discusses how, in partnership with parents, she and her staff support children’s curiosity through the use of technology 

Send us Fan Mail In this final episode of the series focusing on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion we talk to Shirley Heaney, National Coordinator of the Leadership for Inclusion (Linc) programme about what motivated her interest in this area, and discuss lots of practical examples of how educators can recognise their own good inclusion practice and ways they can develop it further.   

Send us Fan Mail Early Childhood Ireland recently released the 2022  Barometer. This is the 5th Barometer published by Early Childhood Ireland. In this special edition episode of Early Childhood Ireland's podcast, Frances Byrne, Director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigning discusses key findings from this years research, identifies keys trend over the past 5 years and as today is Internationa...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 3 Maxine Ryan, winner of the 2020 Leader for Inclusion award talks about her experience of being an INCO in her setting, how she supports families and why she feels that peer support is vital to constantly develop our inclusion practice.  

Send us Fan Mail Episode 2 In episode 2 Relationships matter for inclusion, Nickola Cullen, winner of the 2021 Leader for Inclusion award takes us through her approach to leadership for inclusion and outlines how relationships are fundamental to ensure inclusive practice.

Send us Fan Mail In this first series of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast for 2022, we look at the importance of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in our practice. Well-being and Identity and Belonging are vital to ensure children feel happy, safe and included and thus are able to play, develop and learn to their full potential. This series looks at why and how we can ensure this is embedded in o...

Send us Fan Mail As we come to the end of the first full year of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast, Milica Atanackovic, Research and Professional Learning Manager at Early Childhood Ireland takes over the mic from our usual presenter Máire Corbett to explore Máire’s thoughts on the episodes of the past year. She reflects on the way she hopes the podcast helps bring a practical application to curre...

Send us Fan Mail As we approach the end of a year that can only be described as bizarre and with much uncertainty still regarding COVID-19, we look at how the creative, committed contribution by all staff in so many settings to ensure the health and welfare of children and families can be recognised and acknowledged. 

Send us Fan Mail In this final episode of this series Joanie Barron, from Wallaroo Playschool takes us through the approach her setting has to ensure individual children’s voices are given space, are heard and acted upon in a democratic, humanistic environment.  

Send us Fan Mail Continuing our series on Children’s Participation, Sharon Skehill, from Newtown Kids' Club: Willows and Nursery outdoor settings, Abbeyknockmoy, Co. Galway discusses how she ensures that children of all ages are consulted and those opinions acted on in her day to day practice.

Send us Fan Mail Following on from the last episode of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast looking at enable children’s participation in decision-making, this time we talk to Cathy Steenson and Breifní Cusack about how children in Carr’s Child and Family Services are enabled to participate in decision-making about food and nutrition. 

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to a new season of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast. In the first episode of this new season, we have a bumper edition, as we are honoured to welcome Professor Laura Lundy and Anne O’Donnell who developed the National Framework for Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision Making. It’s a fascinating discussion about why and how we involve children in deci...

Send us Fan Mail In the third and final episode of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast series relating to Transitions, Milica Atanackovic and Fiona Kelleher discuss the recently completed TRAP project, outline the development of the programme and the materials resulting from this EU project with Croatia, Iceland and Sweden.

Send us Fan Mail In episode 2 of this series about Transitions, Kathleen Cash and Lorraine Cash from Tir na nÓg, in Co. Kildare, winners of the 2020 Early Childhood Ireland National Award for Transitions for Children, take us though their approach to transitions in practice.

Send us Fan Mail At this time of year, our thoughts turn to move on, as children leave our ECCE settings and they start to get excited about Big School in September. For everyone, there is a sense of excitement and loneliness as the children and families leave a familiar secure place and look forward to a new setting. In Early Learning and Care settings, there is a sense of anticipation as we get...

Send us Fan Mail In Early Childhood Ireland's podcast this week Rebecca Kelly, winner of the 2020 Partnership with Families Innovation Award talks about her passion for partnership with families, ensuring this is as strong as ever despite COVID-19 restrictions, and what being the winner of this award has meant for her and her setting 

Send us Fan Mail Dr Judith Butler is the guest this week on Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast. In this episode she discusses the importance of relationships, play, supporting children’s learning and her experience of judging the Early Childhood Ireland Awards.  

Send us Fan Mail Learning Stories capture and make visible children's knowledge, skills and dispositions. In this series of Early Childhood Ireland's podcast, we talk to educators who use Learning Stories to show children, their parents and other stakeholders what and how they are learning in a vivid, tangible way. In episode 1, Audrey Fagan from the CRC preschool talks about her light b...

Send us Fan Mail In our 2 March episodes we marked the anniversary of COVID-19 arriving in Ireland, by looking at the impacts the pandemic has had on children, their families and the Early Learning and School Age Care settings they attend. To hear the story of one Early Childhood Ireland member we were delighted to be joined by Orlagh Doyle owner of Carraig Briste and Killegny Early Learning and C...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast, Early Childhood Specialist Debbie Mullen discusses the importance of parents being as involved and engaged in their child’s setting as they can be.

Send us Fan Mail In this series of Early Childhood Ireland’s podcast, we take a look at COVID-19 a year on , with 2 episodes looking at the impacts of the pandemic, on children, their families and the early childhood education sector. In this first episode Fiona Ferris, Deputy CEO and Head of Training with AsIAm, reflects on some positives and also some of the detrimental aspects of lockdown and r...