FINGLAS CHILDCARE

OUR DAY

Finglas Childcare Ltd recognises the early years as a distinct time in a child’s life. We believe that children thrive in an environment where their wellbeing is valued and where they can be happy, comfortable and have fun.  We support children to make choices and decisions and to learn through ‘hands on’ play experiences.

 

CURRICULUM

The Highscope Curriculum is founded on developmental theories that see learning as an interactive growth process

To meet children’s learning and development needs we use the High Scope Infant, Toddler and Preschool Curriculums.  High Scope is an early childhood curriculum which supports all areas of children’s development and wellbeing.  We chose High Scope because it is proven to have a lasting positive impact on children’s lives. 

Our setting also embraces the principles and learning goals of Aistear, the National Curriculum Framework for children from birth to six years in Ireland.

In our early years settings children’s learning and development are nurtured through supportive adult child interactions, an engaging learning environment, a consistent daily routine and the use of ongoing observations and assessment to inform our work.

DAILY ROUTINES

 

A daily routine provides children and adults with consistency and predictability. Flexibility and choice within each part of the daily routine gives children a sense of ownership of their time in creche. Each Finglas Childcare care room has a Highscope daily routine best suited to the age and developmental stage of children attending that room. In the Nursery room this routine is based more on individual children’s personal care needs, sleep patterns and interests. As the children progress to Toddler room the routine also progresses to include more small and large group times in addition to more challenging activities. By the time the children are attending Preschool/ECCE the daily routine offers more complex activities that can be extended to scaffold individual children’s abilities as they grow. Finglas Childcare daily routines are carefully planned and documented to take account of the children’s physical, intellectual, personal and interpersonal skills. Daily plan sheets are written up based on observations of children’s strengths and interests and each child’s participation in the daily routine is documented in their own portfolio.

The Highscope routine lays out the order that activities will happen during the day. The schedule is the same every day hence the “routine” but there is flexibility to change times allocated for celebrations and special projects. Plan-do-review takes up most of the routine, this is when children sit with an adult, in small groups and plan the activity they want to work on. Work time is when they use the chosen equipment to play where they have chosen and with whom, and then clean up. This is followed by review/recall when the children meet with the same adult and children and talk about what they did and what they learned. Large group times are when all the children in the room partake in the same activity, this can be indoors, outdoors or at greeting time. Small group time includes all of the children but broken up into small groups again with the same adult and children. New experiences such as using a piece of equipment or doing an activity for the first time usually happens at this time with the adult modelling how to use the equipment to the children. In addition to the above, transitions from one activity to another need to be planned and managed to avoid the children becoming bored or upset. Meal times and personal care are also factored into the daily routine.

As we can see the Highscope daily routine offers great choice within a structure for the day. It creates a sense of security and control for the children as they can predict what happens next. It supports initiative as children make choices during the day. It provides a social community as children play in the same space with the same peers and adults and the same routine. Finally, the daily routine provides the adults in the room with a framework to observe children and plan for each child’s care and learning. Short and medium term plans are also made and implemented to take into account individual and group interests and cultural celebrations
COMMUNITY

It takes a village

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a community organisation we value the involvement of families and the wider community.  We see the child in the context of the family, and the family in the context of the wider community.  We know that the more involved parents are in their children’s learning and development, the greater the chance children have to succeed. Children visit the library, elder care home and local shops as part of their active participation in the community.

Our settings are staffed with a motivated team of friendly, responsive, capable and confident adults.  Finglas Childcare Ltd have an ethos that values and promotes training and we support staff to develop professionally.

 

Food

Finglas Childcare believe in the psychological and physical benefits of healthy and nutritious food for children.  This is why we provide fresh food that is prepared on site in all of our part time and full-time locations.

Depending on hours of attendance children get a healthy breakfast, dinner and snack. Fresh fruit is provided daily and all meals are served with milk or water. Our 2-week menu consists of favourites such as curry, spaghetti bolognese, stew and shepherd’s pie. We never add salt or sugar to our recipes and will always choose the low sugar and low options for sauces or gravies. Allergies and cultural food choices are catered for. Our meats and fruit and vegetables are purchased from the local butcher and green grocer.

Meals are prepared in our fully HACCP approved kitchens that are inspected twice yearly by an Environmental Health officer. Our menu is compiled by our Healthy Eating sub group who use the Safe Food Ireland, Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Pre School Services guide and is reviewed yearly by our subgroup, healthy alternative food suggestions are welcome.

Children are supported to make healthy food choices and have appropriate food portions. They are encouraged to feed themselves independently with the help of their key worker from the time they attend the nursery room. Independent feeding and making choices increase as the child moves to the toddler room and then the preschool/ECCE room.

Finglas Childcare view mealtimes as a social occasion which is why as the children get older they are encouraged to set the table for mealtimes with a table cloth and a vase with flowers. Children distribute delph and cutlery to their peers. Adults in the room are encouraged to sit in with the children at mealtimes and model appropriate eating etiquette in addition to supporting conversation.