Marist Primary School

The Early Start Pre- School is a Dept. of Education funded pre-school established in the school since 1995. The school has a Full Unit, which is 2 Primary School Teachers and 2 Childcare Workers

60 children access the Early Start each year. 30 children are enrolled in each unit.15 attend the first session of two and a half hours and 15 attend for a similar length of time in the second session. Children must be 3 years of age by the 30th of June to attend.

The curriculum covers 3 main areas of development: Social and Personal Development, Cognitive Development and Language Development. The focus is on children’s learning through play. Aistear, which is the new early childhood curriculum framework for children from birth to 6years of age, is now incorporated into Early Start work in our school.

Children who participate in Early Start are more prepared and equipped for formal schooling the following year. Parental involvement is crucial to the success of Early Start. An ‘open door’ policy operates and parents are kept informed of their children’s progress through formal and informal meetings.

In the spring term a series of parent/child workshops titled ‘Time with Me’ are organised. Over the duration of the 6 weekly workshops parents are given the opportunity to experience at first hand the various activities which the children engage in during the year and to work with their child. Feedback from parents on this initiative has been very positive.

Application forms for Early Start can be obtained from the secretary in the school.