…What is Siolta?

Our commitment to quality practices is on-going. We are currently nearing the end of a voluntary two year programme in Siolta, Irelands National Quality Assurance Framework, which involves a lot of reflection on our practice and showing concrete evidence of the way in which we work. Throughout this process we have been working closely with a Siolta Mentor on a monthly basis reviewing and further implementing good practice guidelines

Siolta is a set of national standards for Early Childhood Education involving a quality assurance programme (QAP) which is intended to provide support and guidance for all those working with, and on behalf, of children.

The framework is applicable to different types of childcare services working with children from 0-6 years.

It is a unifying Framework for the diverse range of Early Year’s provision in Ireland and different manuals are available for different types of settings:

• Full and Part-time Daycare
• Sessional Services
• Infant Classes
• Childminding

It is intended that Síolta can add value at many levels in practice situations.

For example as:

A support for individual professional practice and development
A focus for team work and team development
A tool for management, strategic planning and policy development

It is extremely important to us as practitioners that we approach Siolta & HighScope in an integrated way in order to have the best possible opportunity for successful implementation resulting in lasting quality. Through this integrated approach we offer children evidence based outcomes in various life skills that will carry them through to adulthood.