Little Steps, Big Futures:The Podcast

This week we chat to Anne and Eva from Siptu and The Big Start Campaign.  Anne and Eva talk to us about how the campaign came about, discussed the challenges the sector is having at the moment and what we can expect over the next few months.  If you are not a member of Siptu already we will leave all the information below!  We hope you love it!  To join Siptu: https://bigstart.siptu.ie/ Contact Nu...

This week we chat to PJ Lucey, a secondary school teacher in an all boys school. PJ is the owner of a Martial Arts Gym which focuses on Grappling, Brazilian  Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling and Judo. During the episode we chat about the importance of knowing a form of Martial Arts, especially as a self defense mechanism, the tools PJ and his other coaches give to children right up to adulthood and why self d...

This episode is very sensitive and may not be for little ears so if you wish to listen later we recommended switching to a different episode.  We have dedicated this episode to Ashling Murphy and her family, who was tragically murdered in her home town on January 12th.  We want to take this opportunity to extend our deepest condolences to Ashling's family and friends. If you or somebody you l...

Happy New Year! Can we still say that on January 13th? We are back with a bang this year and chatting all about our 2022 plans and goals. Thank you to everyone who continues to support us - we would not be here without you all. Looking forward to bringing some fresh topics, new speakers and maybe some bloopers your way this year. Lets get started! Support us: https://www.facebook.com/littlestepsbi...

This is our last episode of 2021! Thank you so much to each and every one of you for continuing to support us here at Little Steps, Big Futures over the past year.  It hasn't been easy for everyone but we hope we brought you some joy in during the hard times.  This is a very special episode with a group of amazing children sharing their knowledge about Christmas. We hope you absolutely love i...

Guess who is baccck? This week Aoife and Jenny catch up on all the news including Storm Barra, masks in schools and Christmas Magic! If anyone is listening with little children we advise you save this episode for another time. We hope you love it! Support us: https://www.facebook.com/littlestepsbigfutures https://www.instagram.com/little_steps_big_futures/ Support us: https://www.instagram.com/lit...

This week we are chatting to Rachel Coates, a Registered Nutritionist based in Manchester, a non - diet nutritionist who doesn't focus on weight loss and a Intuative Eating Coach.  Rachel chats to us all about what intuative eating actually is, how we can implement small changes into our diet to help us become more intuative eaters and why we should be listening to our hunger/fullness cues. ...

This week we chat to Registered Dental Nurse, Oral Health Advocate and Dentist in training, Eileen McGlinchey or SmileyEileey. Eileen chats to us all about teeth from a young age, gives top tips to help encourage children to brush their teeth and also talks about her work as an oral health advocate. Eileen has such passion when she talks about oral health and have even created her own website with...

This week we chat to Carla and Iain from the Wave Project Northern Ireland. Wave Project supports children and young people who experience a range of physical and mental health issues, social deprivation or social isolation. Young people attending their courses are supported through surfing to build confidence and self-esteem, develop resilience, and make friends. Carla and Iain chat to us about h...

This week we chat to Samantha O' Shea.  Samantha is a manager of a large creche setting in Kerry. We chat about the past year and taking over as manager during a global pandemic, the challenges Samantha and her team face every day and the staffnig crisis that is rocking the sector right now. We hope you love it! Support us: https://www.facebook.com/littlestepsbigfutures https://www.instagram....

This week we chat to P.E. and English Teacher,  Julie Cronin. Julie talks to us about how she can see the affects or lack thereof of exercise, P.E. or sports in teenagers when they reach secondary school. We also discuss why exercise is not only important in later life but can be implemented successfully into the Early Years Setting. Not only is exercise great for physical health but mental health...

This week we are chatting all about Aistear and Siolta! We go through what they both are, how they are used in the classroom and some examples. We hope you get some info from it. If you want to know more, email us @littlestepsbigfutures.com, or DM us on Instagram and Facebook. We hope you love it! - Read all about Aistear here - Aistear V Siolta - Aistear broken down by the NCCA Support us: https:...

This week we chat to Ciaran, Founder of the extremely popular app Childpaths, and Robbie, Director of Business Developmet at Childpaths. Childpaths is an interactive, childcare/school management platform for the Early Years Sector and soon to be Primary Schools. Founded by Ciaran who realiseds that Childcare Educators have much much more to complete in a day than just caring for your children. Fro...

It is just again this week chatting all about why we love our job and why we chose to remain in the childcare sector. We also read out some of the responses from our lovely listeners. We hope you love it! We want to hear your opinion. Message us on Instagram, Facebook or send us an email @littlestepsbigfutures.com. Siptu sign up: https://bigstart.siptu.ie/ Support us: https://www.facebook.com/litt...

This week we sit down to chat about the new COVID19 regulations for The Early Years and schools. Should contact tracing still go ahead? Should we be isolaing as close contacts? Find out what we had to say! We also discuss the recent announcement from Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman, on ‘doubling’ state support for childcare by 2028. You don't want to miss this! We want to hear your op...

This week we are joined by Dr. Christopher Brown for our 50th episode! Chris is a former preschool, kindergarten, and 1st-grade teacher. He is also an award-winning researcher, teacher educator, and professor of early childhood education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. He has two books. The first, "Ready for kindergarten? Freeing yo...

This week we chat to Jen Ormond. A teacher in an Early Learning Unit working with children with additional needs. Jen is also a child's yoga instructor which she incorporates into her classroom weekly. We talk to Jen about the daily routine of a ASD teacher, the challenges she can face daily and the rewarding part of the job! We hope you love it! Support us: https://www.facebook.com/littleste...

This week we have our second returning guest - Katie O' Connor. Katie is an Early Years Practitioner and mom to a little boy who just started Preschool. We chat to Katie about the madness around September time, the settling in period, advice for parents and Practitioners, as well as the struggles and worries they may face. Katie openly spoke about her worries about her little boy starting Pre...

This week we chat to the lovely Katie Power. Early Childhood Graduate and full time Nanny. Katie chats to us about why she became a nanny after college, tips and advice around nannying, the difference between Childminders, Babysitters and Nannies and why more value should be placed on the job. We hope you love it! Support us: https://www.facebook.com/littlestepsbigfutures https://www.instagram.com...

We are taking a break this week but please listen to a recent episode we recorded around choosing a creche or preschool and what to bring! Today Aoife and Jenny chat about what parents should look out for when choosing a Childcare Setting and what they should bring in for their first day! The advice given during this episode comes from our own experiences so always ask your provider if you have an...

Drew Vernon is back! This week we chat to Drew, a returning guest and the Marketing Director at Tonies. Drew and the team at Tonies USA have created an initiative to encourage parents and children to read together. W chat to Drew about the value of reading and how this challenge came about. Use #readtoyourchild on Instagram to get involved! Support us: https://www.facebook.com/littlestepsbigfuture...

This week we chat with Katie O' Donoghue, Art Psychotherapist and Author of 'The Little Squirrel who Worried'. We talk to Katie about her new, beautiful book which was inspired and created during the COVID19 lickdowns. Katie wanted to create a story that could help young children deal with the worry and the anxieties that they may be experiencing in their lives and give children the...

This week we chat to Peig O' Sullivan. Peig is a Qualified Social Care Practitioner, holds a Diploma in Youth and Community Work and is a Qualified Counselor & Psychotherapist, but Peig's story and how she turned her life around is one of great bravery and resilience. From a teenage single mom at the age of 17 to a woman with amazing achievements & a thriving career, Peig teaches...

This week we chat to Jen Hogan. Jen is the author of ' The Real Mum's Guide to (Surviving) Parenting ', a journalist, radio & T.V. contributor, an Irish Times Columist and most importantly a mom to 7 beautiful children. We chat with Jen about all things childhood and parents, from managing a household of 9, the difference between working moms and working dads, pressure of social...

This week we chat to Rebecca Knox - a fellow Early Years Educator, room leader and advocate for the Early Years. We discuss the ongoing issues that Educators are faced with everyday in the Childcare Sector, pros for joining Big start & Siptu, and especially the new announcement from the Government around formally establishing a 'Standard Wage'. What does that mean? How will it be rol...