Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education

Síolta was developed and published in 2006 by the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE) on behalf of the Department of Education and Science. It is a quality assurance process which addresses all aspects of practice in early childhood care and education services. It is designed to support practitioners to develop high quality services for children aged birth to six years and is relevant to all settings where children spend time out of their home environment. Detailed information on Síolta can be found at www.siolta.ie

A national implementation plan is currently being developed for Síolta. A central part of this plan involves the recruitment and induction of a number of Síolta Coordinators. These individuals will be qualified to degree level and have significant experience in delivering ECCE service to children and families.

The role of the Síolta Coordinator is to provide mentoring and guidance to services who are engaged in the Síolta Quality Assurance Programme. These individuals will be qualified to degree level and have significant experience in delivering ECCE service to children and families. For further information on the Síolta QAP contact the Early Years Education Policy Unit at earlychildhood@education.gov.ie