CONTACT DETAILS:
Tír na Sí Preschool and Childcare | Watergrasshill, Co Cork, T56 EF90 | t: 087-2241806 | e: info@tirnasi.com
‘Tír na Sí Preschool and Childcare Facility’ will open at Tír na Sí Farm, Watergrasshill (T56 EF90) in September 2023.
Owned and run by Paul and Julia McCarthy, they are now seeking input from interested parents via an ‘expression of interest form’ available upon request.
Tír na Sí Farm initially opened as a visitor farm in 2011 and is well known for hosting birthday parties, family events, school tours as well as camps during mid-term, Summer, Halloween and Easter.
“Both of us have always had a real interest in farming in a self-sufficient way. We grow our own vegetables, rear our own meats, and keep poultry for eggs. We make our own hay and use animal manure for fertilisation instead of chemicals,” Julia told The Avondhu.
While Julia said that herself and Paul enjoy meeting all the visitors to the farm, they especially love mid-term camps.
During the camps, children are dropped off each morning and collected again at lunchtime and take part in several activities while at Tír na Sí Farm.
“They spend the time on the farm doing a variety of different activities such as helping with the animal feeding, collecting eggs, running through the fields, setting seeds to take home, picking potatoes, train and horse rides, as well as lots of playtime in the play areas.
“We love to watch the children get to experience the freedom to play and explore as we did when we were young. This experience coupled with almost 2 years of closure during the Covid Pandemic led to the idea of the Childcare and Preschool facility so ‘Tír na Sí Preschool and Childcare’ was born,” Julia added.
Work is currently underway to add the preschool and childcare aspect to Tír na Sí and the new facility is to open for business in September 2023.
Tír na Sí Preschool and Childcare will run Monday to Friday, 7.45am until 6pm and will offer the ECCE Scheme. The preschool will run during primary school terms, with an early start and after pre-school childminding also available.
Located 1km from the R639 just off the M8 it is particularly suited to parents commuting to Cork city daily.
Children aged between 2.5 and 5 years old will be catered for and will follow the Aistear curriculum with play-based daily activities aimed at developing social, emotional, cognitive, physical and interaction skills.
“As we gear up to our opening and to enable us to deliver the most relevant service suited to family’s needs we are currently calling on interested parents to contact us to request an ‘Expression of Interest form’,” Julia said.
‘Expression of Interest Forms’ are available by emailing info@tirnasi.com or by messaging Tír na Sí Farm on social media with your email address.
Forms are also available at Tír na Sí Farm during opening hours.
Tír na Sí Preschool and Childcare aim to deliver affordable childcare, however, exact fees are not available yet due to the introduction of the new Core Funding model.
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