All our staff are parents and as preschool teachers our experiences combined are 40 years.

We fully understand and know the anxiety for you and your child for the first day/week/month. We encourage a settling in period, we will, together, “figure it out”.  It’s a new situation, new building, new people and a lot to take in, for you all. We promise that it will all work out, please be confident that your child will be cared for and happy.  We will keep you up dated and if a need arises  we will ring you or your  authorised contact person.

To help your child on their first few days we have put together some tips.

Do not sneak out of the room, you might feel that this is a good option and they wont notice you go but when they do look for you they think you have left them behind.

Do say goodbye, give them a hug and a kiss, let them know you will be back to collect them, they will learn to accept this. If you would like to wait in the car for a few minutes , let us know and we will let you know that everything is ok

Don’t look sad and scared,  try and hold the tears until you get to the car, difficult I know, especially if this is your first child. Its your first time away from each other. Once you have said good bye and explained that you will be back, it is time to go, I promise, we will take great care and everything will be ok.

Do  give lots of smiles, and tell them they are going to have a great time.

Don’t ignore the tears, they are showing that they are scared and anxious.

Do give lots of cuddles,  tell them its going to be ok and you understand that they are scared, tell them you will be back and that ye can get a treat together or go to the park.

Remember, as overwhelmed as you are on these first days, eventually your child will run in the door without a second glance, then you will be overwhelmed by a whole new set of emotions.

A little extra information

Your child will need a change of clothes, socks, underwear, vest, top and ends. Please put in a plastic bag with name on bag and we will keep it in the bathroom.

Please put their name on their coats, some children have the same coats.

Lunch, sandwich, yogurt, fruit, crackers. Water, juice or milk .Please no nuts, Nutella, popocorn , fizzy drinks. FRIDAY IS TREAT DAY, A FUNSIZE BAR OR SOMETHING Similar AS A TREAT, the children love treat day.

We promote healthy eating and we do have a fruit break. If possible could you put another piece of fruit in your childs lunch and we all share on a fruit plate. It encourages new tastes and an opportunity to share.If you would like your child to celebrate their birthday we would love this, please let us know and we will arrange this with you.

During the year we will organise an outing, we ask for parents to join us if possible.

We organise a photographer for graduation photos, cap and gown.

Visitors come to the setting such as postman, garda, dentist etc. we photograph these visits and they are published in the local paper.

During the year we have opportunity to display our work on Mallow Library window, the children love this.

We are part of Rahan National School community.

We participate in Pyjama Day and we raise funds for local charity.