Enrolling in Spraoi & Sonas Early Learning Centres
At Spraoi and Sonas we are committed to the smooth transition of the child and the parents/guardian into our childcare services. Settling in should be a positive experience as it will influence children’s self-confidence, attitude to relationships and socialising and will lay the foundation for lifelong learning. Here at our centres, our team of highly qualified childcare professionals aim to make the transition as comfortable and stress-free as possible. These guidelines aim to help children and parent/guardians settle in happily to the service, enabling the children to gain maximum benefits from their experience.
Pre-Admission
Before your little one’s first day, we encourage parents to visit for a tour of the service and to meet our staff. We will learn from parents/guardians about a child’s feeding routine, sleeping routine and rituals, general routine preferences, and create close links with home, encouraging you to bring in familiar items/photos.
Parents/Guardians must complete a registration form with all the relevant details about the child, especially collection and contact details, allergies and medical conditions/concerns and vaccination records.
We have an open-door policy for parents/guardian to encourage them to drop in at various times during opening hours with their children to familiarise the children and themselves with the routine, the crèche and the staff.
1st Day
On the first day, your child joins our childcare facility, a specially assigned key worker will warmly welcome them at the entrance. Throughout the initial one-hour period, our key workers will assess how the child is adapting to the new environment. This observation period is crucial in understanding the child's comfort level and readiness for a more extended stay at the creche. Based on our evaluation, we can then consider the possibility of increasing the hours spent at the creche to ensure a smooth and gradual transition for the child.
It's essential for parents to actively engage with their child and others during this settling-in period to offer reassurance in this new environment. Importantly, there is no expectation for the child to participate in activities during this phase.
We emphasize the importance of prompt collection at the end of the session, whether full or partial. Additionally, we encourage parents never to leave the premises without saying goodbye, ensuring a positive transition for the child.
Our approach prioritizes a gradual and individualized introduction to our childcare setting, fostering a supportive environment for both the child and their parents or guardians.
2nd Day
On your child’s second day attending Spraoi and Sonas Early Learning Centres, parents will be encouraged to extend the separation period at the child’s pace. On the second day we encourage families to attend for 2 hours.
Our childcare service staff will be there to assist parents/guardians through this separation process, as an extended goodbye can distress the children.
3rd Day
Parents will be encouraged to extend the separation period and on the third day we encourage families to attend for 3 hours. We recommend that children attend for a mealtime and a sleep time.
When children are beginning to settle without their parents/guardians, they should be supported in observing, experimenting, and discovering for themselves without any attempts to make them participate in activities.
The settling in time has no time limits and may need to be repeated if a child becomes unsettled.
A Day At Spraoi ELC/Sonas ELC
At Spraoi and Sonas Early Learning Centres, we understand that the child’s wellbeing and development are influenced by the environment around them. Our wonderful team focus on creating a stimulating, supportive and fun environment with enough challenge to keep your child engaged and learning.
The physical environment of each of our centres are purpose-designed to provide ample space both indoors and outdoors for children to explore and learn through their play.
The materials and equipment in our playrooms are designed to present the children with 4 key areas which are relaxation and reading, construction play, home corner and role play and table top area. Playrooms for infants have large soft matted areas to encourage exploration and movement. Each of these areas include a wide variety of games and puzzles to encourage creativity and fun.
Our outdoor areas have climbing frames, role play areas, bikes and trikes and scooters, sensory play centres and lots of open space to enjoy. We incorporate nature through seasonal planting and outdoor activities.
Our Educational Curriculum
Our curriculum is play-based, which means that all of the activities that we plan are fun and focused on the children’s enjoyment and engagement. Each activity will have learning goals and outcomes identified under Aistear and Siolta.
Our curriculum is an emergent curriculum which means that we carefully observe and record these observations on children at play in the playroom. This allows us to plan meaningful activities for the children based on their interests.
Throughout the day, we share meals that are prepared by our chef and which are drawn from our 3-week menu. Our meals are nutritious and delicious and encourage children to try new flavours. We serve breakfast, dinner, and evening tea each day and have a light morning and evening snack.
Each of our crèches have dedicated sleep facilities. Smaller infants sleep in dedicated cots while older children sleep on individual cot beds. We also include rest times throughout the day which include music and low lighting to encourage relaxation.
Keeping track of your child’s activities and their day at crèche is essential for parents and we share all the details of your child’s day in real-time through our parental communication app Childpaths. This provides parents with photographs and information about key points of the day as well as essential information around feeds, sleeping and toileting.
Spraoi and Sonas Early Learning Centres FAQ
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I’m looking for childcare near me- where are you based?Spraoi ELC and Sonas ELC are Galway childcare and Clare childcare providers for kids aged 12 months to 12 years. We span over 8 branches in Galway and Clare, which can be seen from our “find your crèche” and “contact” pages. If you’re unsure of whether we’re in your catchment area, simply get in touch.
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Do you have any childcare jobs available?Here at Spraoi & Sonas ELC, we’re always on the lookout for talented childcare professionals to join our ever-expanding team. If you’re interested in applying for a childcare job at Spraoi or Sonas ELC, visit our careers page or email us in a CV.
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How much do your childcare services cost?The price of our childcare services varies depending on the service you require. We also fulfil the government’s ECCE scheme entitling children of a certain age to free pre-school services. For more information on our pricing and funding options available to parents, get in touch with the team.
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What type of curriculum do you use?We follow an emergent play curriculum linked with Aistear our National Curriculum Framework. Every week is based on a new theme and we link in with the emergent interests of the children. It is important to emphasise that we use a learn through play approach. Each theme links in with daily activities, stories, songs and discussions in circle time.
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Where are your services located?We currently have 8 creche locations in Galway City, Clarinbridge, Tuam, Gort and Ennis.
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How do we communicate with parents?We use an application called Childpaths to communicate with our parents. We will regularly post pictures, activities, observations to this app. You can log on daily to see the sleep times, nappies and food logs from each day. Parents can also communicate with the manager and staff via the app.
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What kind of activities do you provide in your baby and toddler childcare facilities?In our baby and toddler childcare facilities, we offer a wide range of activities including arts & crafts, singing, dancing, dress-up, garden time, role play, physical play, and more. All of these activities are designed to help your little one develop a range of motor skills, communication skills, socialisation skills, and more.
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How do I keep updated when my child is in day-care?Spraoi and Sonas use the Childpaths app in our childcare facilities, allowing you to see real-time information on how your child is doing throughout the day. We also encourage parents to get in touch if they have any queries or concerns.
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What age can I send my child to crèche at?Here at Spraoi and Sonas, we accept babies from the age of six months. Our childcare centres offer facilities to cater for children from twelve months up to twelve years old.
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Does my toddler have to be toilet trained to attend crèche?No, here at Spraoi and Sonas ELC we welcome children who are not toilet trained and help to toilet train kids alongside parents own training at home.
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How do I know when my child is ready to attend day-care?This all depends and varies from child to child. If you’re unsure of whether or not your little one is ready to attend day care, feel free to contact us for a discussion. We provide honest, transparent, and reliable advice to ensure that you’re comfortable, confident, and fully informed before sending your child to our day-care facilities.
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I’m looking for toddlers childcare facilities near me- where are you based?Spraoi ELC and Sonas ELC offers Galway childcare facilities and Clare childcare facilities across 8 branches spanning over both counties. Visit our “contact” page or “find your crèche” page for more info on where we’re located.
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What curriculum do you use in your pre-school?Here at Spraoi and Sonas, we use the Aistear Siolta framework of early education with elements of the Steiner and Montessori methods of teaching. Our curriculum is carefully curated to promote learning and development through play and exploration.
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How much does it cost to send a child to pre-school?Under the Early Childhood Care & Education Scheme (ECCE), children within a certain age bracket are entitled to free pre-school education. Get in touch with the team at Spraoi ELC or Sonas ELC for more information on this.
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I’m looking for a pre-school near me, where are you based?Spraoi ELC and Sonas ELC is a Galway & Clare pre-school service with 8 branches spanning across Clare and Galway. Get in touch or visit our “find your crèche” page to find your nearest pre-school.
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Do you offer hot meals in your after-school services?Yes, absolutely. We pride ourselves on offering nutritious hot meals to each child in our after-school care services. All of our meals are prepared in-house and are available to choose from a menu that is curated by our team of HACCP and Safe Food qualified staff.
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How much does after-school childcare cost?The price of our after-school care varies depending on the services you require. Get in touch today for a free quote on our full range of after-school services or for more information on government supports available to parents availing of after-school care.
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What ages do your after-school services cater for?Our after-school services are suitable for all children in primary school, and cater to kids aged 4 to 12.
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How is the starting of my child arranged?The manager will be in contact with you prior to your start date to arrange times for settling your child. This is usually done over the first week with the time your child attends creche increasing each day. We also give the child opportunity to experience different things in the creche such as meal times, activities and sleep time.
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What should I bring with me on the first day?The manager will be in touch and arrange for you to drop off the essentials before you child’s first day. This will allow the sole focus of the first day being settling the child into the creche.
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What if my child is not settled at the end of the week?The manager and Childcare Practitioners in the room will work closely with you during the first week to work towards a successful settling period. If this needs to be extended for your child you can discuss options with the manager who will find a solution that works for everyone.
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Do you have training opportunities for employees?Yes! We pride ourselves on our extensive training programme for all employees. This includes a thorough induction process including a classroom day on key policies. Ongoing training opportunities are provided to all staff in both classroom and online settings. We also encourage and support staff who wish to seek additional training opportunities to further their career.
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Do you offer work experience placements?Yes we offer placements in all our creches. Please contact hr.spraoi@gmail.com with your CV to enquire if a place is available.
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When should I pay the deposit?In order to confirm your booking you will be asked to pay a deposit. This is refundable with 4 weeks notice at the end of your child’s time in creche.
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What are your opening hours?We are open daily Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm. We are not open bank holidays or weekends.
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My child has a food allergy, what should I do?You will notify us of any allergies in the registration process. We will then notify the kitchen and all staff working with your children. We use clear signage in the creche. All allergies are accommodated in our rotating menu and your child will enjoy a varied choice of meals within the creche.
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Do parents have to supply any dinners or snacks?Parents are asked to bring a morning and afternoon snack for their children. An example of some of the snacks are fruit, sandwiches, yoghurts etc. We follow a healthy eating policy and we are a nut free facility. Our Chef Kathryn cooks dinner and afternoon tea daily for the children on a rotating menu