Parent Information

At Wee Care we believe that the first years of a child’s life are fundamentally important. These are the cornerstone years that shape a child’s future.

We believe that children grow, learn and develop rapidly when they receive love, warmth, attention, encouragement, mental stimulation and nutritious well balanced meals, with this in mind we promote in all of our nurseries:

  • a happy, fun-loving and relaxed atmosphere
  • a warm, loving, safe and caring environment
  • the use of positive language and behaviour at all times
  • dedicated, professional, long-term and highly qualified staff
  • healthy eating
  • the creation of a home from home-like environment
  • flexibility in childcare options
  • equality, irrespective of gender, race, religion or disability

Download Forms



Registration
 
Consent

FAQs that we hope will answer some of your questions...

Finance

Tax-Free Childcare has been rolled out gradually since its launch in April 2017 and is now available to all eligible families with children under 12 (under 17 if the child has a disability).

The Government launched a website www.childcarechoices.gov.uk to help parents understand what support is available. You can use this website to apply for Tax-Free Childcare.

While the Government's website contains information on another new scheme, one that gives access to 30 hours free childcare, this scheme is not available in Northern Ireland.

If you are a working parent you will need to open a Government Gateway account through the childcare service. https://www.gov.uk/get-tax-free-childcare

  • You will need to have the following information to hand:
  • Your National Insurance Number and date of birth
  • Your partner’s National Insurance Number and date of birth (if applicable)
  • A payslip, P60 form or your passport
  • Each child’s date of birth
  • The date you and your partner (if applicable) started your most recent employment (this can be an approximate date provided the employment has been for more than three months).

Your application will be assessed by HMRC who will let you know if you are eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. This can take up to 10 days. You will need to reconfirm that you are still eligible for Tax-Free Childcare every 3 months using your childcare service account.

You can do this by ticking a box to confirm that your details have not changed. You will be reminded to do this 4 weeks before the reconfirmation deadline.

If you have any queries regarding the process, you can contact the Childcare Service Helpline on 0300 123 4097.

Visiting, Booking and General Enquiries

We are open between 7.30am and 6:00pm.

We are open Monday to Friday 7:15am to 6.30pm at our Monkstown branch
and Monday to Friday 7.45am to 6.30pm at the RTE childcare site.

As soon as possible as spaces are limited.

All children have a minimum of one week to settle in. We gradually lengthen the duration of the visits as the week progresses. We do this the week preceding your official start date and there is no charge for settling in visits.

Monkstown- Contact Wee Care Monkstown on 01-2808144 or monkstown@weecare.ie and we will arrange a viewing of the nursery. We will then require a non-refundable enrolment fee of €500 which will be deducted from your first month’s fees to secure a place.

RTE Childcare- Application forms can be found on the HUB alternatively you can contact the office on 012082383 or creche@rte.ie. A deposit of € 418 will be required to hold your place. This will be deducted from your first two weeks fee’s. RTE Childcare caters for RTE employees only.

The routine varies according to age, you can speak to the relevant staff in each room for more advice. There are scheduled appropriate rest and mealtimes, as well as planned activities to support the Aistear curriculum, which is the early childhood curriculum framework for all children from birth to six years in Ireland. Also, very importantly, there are outdoor play and free play times to allow your child to explore, be active and make decisions for themselves. Carers in each room will be happy to discuss this with you.

On your baby’s first day you should bring in nappies and wipes, pre-prepared bottles, (formula/breast milk) and anything else you feel your child may need for comfort i.e. teddy bear/blanket/ soother etc. We also recommend you either send a change of clothes daily or leave a spare set in nursery.

We are happy to keep children in the nursery who have minor coughs and colds, however more serious illnesses e.g. high temperature that cannot be controlled with fever reducing medications, vomiting, diarrhoea and chicken pox, and the first 48 hours following the prescription of oral antibiotics will necessitate an exclusion period.

We have large outdoor areas and all groups from fledgling’s upwards aim to get out both in the morning and afternoon, weather permitting. The younger children who are not yet walking go out to the garden in appropriate weather.

Yes, our afterschool children are given the opportunity to do their written homework when they get in from school, a member off staff will sit with them and supervise/ help when needed or appropriate. Reading homework and spellings should be done at home.

Yes, we take the afterschool children out in the community during our Easter and Summer camps when we get the opportunity to go to local parks, libraries. Our Montessori children are creating wonderful intergenerational connections by visiting a nursing home in the area throughout the year.

Monkstown- The first contact for you are the early years educators in your child’s room, then if you need more assistance you can visit Caitriona, Rebecca or Karen in our office, or alternatively you can contact 01-2808144 or email monkstown@weecare.ie

RTE Childcare - the first contact for you is the early years educators in your child’s room, then if you need more assistance you can visit Rosheen or Linda in our office, or alternatively you can contact 01-2082383 or email creche@rte.ie

Staffing, Qualifications and Inspections

The ratios are as follows:

  • 0-1 year is 1 adult:3 children
  • 1-2-year-old is 1:5
  • 2-3-year-old is 1:6
  • 3:5-year-old is 1:8
  • ECCE – 1:11
  • Afterschool children is 1:12

Annually by the Early Years team. All our branches consistently receive excellent reports from our inspections.

All our staff are Garda vetted and subject to two reference checks before commencing employment with us.

We pride ourselves on the continual professional development of our staff. All our staff hold the relevant qualifications required. We also train our staff in First Aid, Child Protection, Fire Safety, Manual Handling and Food Safety.

Nutrition

Our main meals are cooked off site in a professional kitchen with a five-star rating from the Environmental Health Agency. It is brought in hot and all the staff need to do is serve up. Snacks are prepared in house by staff who hold the relevant food safety qualification.

We provide breakfast clubs in some branches, morning snack, a two-course healthy lunch and an afternoon snack. Please see our section on nutrition. Until your child has moved onto milk or a substitute such as Soya milk you need to provide bottles and formula. Water is available throughout the day.

Individual meals are prepared and sealed individually by our caterers. The children with allergies are identified in the food preparation and serving areas so all staff have a visual alert of any requirements. All our staff are trained in First Aid which includes the use of Epi-Pens.

Education, Curriculum and Reporting to Parents & Carers.

Wee Care is an inclusive nursery and afterschool. We endeavour to provide appropriate care for every child. If your child has complex needs, please telephone and speak to the manager for more advice; we do not offer a 1:1 service therefore it may not be appropriate for your child to attend our facility.

Our weekly activity plans are designed to help your child meet all their goals and milestones. The staff complete observations to track this and to use in designing challenging play opportunities. These are available for you to see on our reporting app Child Diary. It also will show you how these developmental milestones link to the Aistear Curriculum.

All your child’s food, bottles, changes/toileting and activities are logged as they happen. You can sign in at any stage to see what they have been doing. We try to get plenty of photos too, especially in the early weeks, as we understand how reassuring it is to see your child engaged in play. You can also chat to the staff at the end of the day for more information.