The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme provides early childhood care and education for children of pre-school age. Children can start ECCE when they are 2 years and 8 months of age and continue until they transfer to primary school (provided that they are not older than 5 years and 6 months at the end of the pre-school year). The programme is available to children who have turned 2 years and 8 months of age before 1 September. The ECCE Scheme is for three hours a day for 38 weeks of the year. The scheme will generally track the school year.

The NCS provides financial support to help families with their early learning and childcare costs. There are two types of subsidies available for children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years of age: A universal subsidy which is not means tested and provides €1.40 per hour for a maximum of 45 hours per week; An income-assessed subsidy which is means tested and will be calculated based on your family’s individual circumstances. Rates will vary depending on your level of family income, your child’s age and educational stage, and the number of children in your family. You should apply for whichever subsidy is of the greatest benefit to you and your family. A subsidy calculator is available here which will help you estimate how much you may be eligible for before you apply. How do I apply for the NCS? You can apply online for the subsidy here using a verified MyGovID. Should you need guidance, please see our online Application guide, here. Alternatively, you can contact the Parent Support Centre on 01 906 8530 to request a postal application. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. When your application has been approved, you will receive an NCS award for each child, containing their unique CHICK key (Childcare Identifier Code Key) and details of rate & number of eligible hours. You will need to share this with us so that we can register your child on the NCS portal (called HIVE) and enter the number of hours that your child attends. After Mary's House registers your child and the hours, you will receive a notification from the government’s HIVE registration system asking you to confirm that the details entered are correct. Once you send your confirmation, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs will pay the subsidy to us on your behalf, and we will, in turn, subtract this amount from your monthly fee. If you do not validate our registration on the HIVE Portal we cannot deduct the subsidy from your fees.

The children at our centre are very busy which means there is often a need for parents to pack a few extra things. We recommend packing the following named items: Two or three complete changes of clothes, including underwear and socks Sunhat in summer Warm hat in winter Drink bottle Appropriate footwear Nappies if necessary

To make the transition as stress-free as possible, we recommend several short visits prior to the start date, where you stay with your child as they familiarise themselves with their new environment. Our teachers will work together in ensuring both you and your child have a great experience right from the start. Teachers will be responsive to your child’s needs during the settling in process, through reassurance and supporting both yourself and your child in those early days. Teachers will work with you individually to ensure your child's transition is stress free. We do understand some situations do not allow parents to attend multiple centre visits and we will work with your where required. Once your child starts with us, feel free to visit or phone the centre at any time to find out how they are getting on – you might find this unnecessary once you see how much they love our centre!

We have learnt from experience that it is best to devise a regular routine for saying goodbye and discuss it with your child before arriving at the centre. Some tips to make it a bit easier include: Talk to your child about what activity you are going to do with them before saying goodbye. (such as staying to complete a puzzle or reading a story) Be positive, maintain an upbeat tone. Your child will follow your lead. Keep the goodbye process short to minimise stress. Let your child know you are going to leave but will be back later to pick them up. If your child gets upset at this point, we recommend sticking to your routine. Leave them with one of the teachers or some other children rather than just on their own. Give your child the biggest hug you can. Leave as soon as you have said your goodbyes. Crying is normal when you leave, however rest assured this usually stops soon afterwards as they get on with their day! Children will pick up on your emotions about coming to the centre. Make sure you have positive conversations about the centre and always ask them how their day was when you pick them up. If concerned, ask the teachers to call you. eg 15 minutes after you left and update you on your child's well-being.

We love to build close relationships with all our families and use an online tool called TeachKloud to share your child’s learning with you. Please ask your centre about signing up and using this app which is FREE. We also create profile books, which provide a hard copy for children to look through with their friends and family. Staff and management are always available to discuss any matter regarding your child. Please keep us updated whenever your child is absent or when you immunise your child. This can be done via a phone call, text or email.

Please phone the centre and let us know (you can just leave a message if no one picks up the phone).

In conjunction with parents, our teachers will begin to coach children towards achievement of toileting independence from the age of 2 - 3 years or when the child indicates they are ready. Toilet training is always more successful when the child is ready, and both the teachers and parents are following the same process.

If the accident is serious and/or involves your child's head, we will contact you and/or your child’s emergency contact and arrange an ambulance if necessary. We will care for your child until you or the ambulance arrives and if necessary, will accompany them to A & E. Parents will also be advised of minor accidents and accidents reports are completed for all accidents. Parents are required to sign the accident report and a copy can either be emailed or printed for you.