School Age Childcare

28/05/2026

🎈🌍 Celebrate International Day of Play with NCN! 🌍🎈

Participating in the National Childhood Network’s “Stay and Play” session is a wonderful opportunity for Early Years, Childminders, and School Age services to champion every child’s right to play 🧸✨

By opening your doors to families 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦, you help build strong partnerships between parents and educators while creating a warm sense of community 💛

🛝 This year’s theme is:🌱 “Protect Play, Protect Childhood” 🌱

Play is not “just play” 💫
It supports:
🧠 Cognitive development
💪 Physical wellbeing
❤️ Social & emotional growth
🎨 Creativity & imagination
🤝 Confidence, belonging & connection

Hosting a Stay and Play session is a fantastic way to:
✨ Showcase your play-based practice
✨ Promote screen-free exploration
✨ Support lifelong learning foundations
✨ Align with Aistear, Síolta & EDI
✨ Celebrate the incredible work educators do every day 🌟

🎉 Please join NCN and celebrate the power of play together!
📅 International Day of Play
🗓️ Thursday, 11 June 2026

Register: https://ncn.ie/events/stay-play-campaign/

🌈🧩🎨

28/05/2026

17/05/2026

☀️ Summer of Play – Fun & Creative Ideas for School Age Childcare 🎨🌈🎲

Join us for our Summer of Play CPD Workshop on Zoom, packed with creative, hands-on ideas to help make your Summer Camps 2026 full of fun, laughter, and happy campers!

Discover engaging activities, playful inspiration, and practical ideas that you can bring straight into your summer programme.

📅 Date: Tuesday 19th May 2026
🕖 Time: 7pm – 8.30pm
💶 Cost: €20 per person

To Book: https://ncn.ie/events/

14/05/2026

🚀 Become a Play Champion in Monaghan & Cavan!

Are you passionate about play and making a difference in children’s lives? Join this exciting initiative and become part of a growing network of Play Champions across Monaghan and Cavan!

Open to anyone aged 18+

Why Become a Play Champion?

✅ Advocate for play across all age ranges (Birth – 14 years)
✅ Inbuilt peer learning and support
✅ Advance your career opportunities
✅ Competitive rates of pay
✅ Flexible, occasional play events that can fit around your other commitments

Join Our Online Information Session

📍 Location: via Zoom
📅 Date: Monday, 25th May 2026
🕖 Time: 7pm – 8pm

To Book: https://ncn.ie/events/online-information-session-becoming-a-play-champion-in-monaghan-cavan/

📞 Telephone: 047 72469

We look forward to seeing you there!

Monaghan County Childcare Committee
Cavan County Childcare Committee

06/05/2026

SAC Art Workshop with the National Gallery of Ireland 🎨

13th May

Join the National Gallery of Ireland for a fun online workshop for school-age children via Zoom at 4pm!
Artist Mags Harnett will explore Two Ballet Dancers in a Dressing Room by Edgar Degas.

Do you enjoy dancing or playing sports with your friends? Take inspiration from this beautiful drawing and create your own picture of your favourite activity.

👉 Book your place and join us on Zoom at 4pm! https://ncn.ie/events/

28/04/2026

28/04/2026

(13th May) – Free school age children’s workshop with the National Gallery of Ireland at 4pm 🎨✨

👉 To Book: https://ncn.ie/events/

✨ Childhood Services Week | 11–15 May 2026 ✨

Sustain the Spark 🔥

Join us for a week of FREE Live Children’s Workshops celebrating creativity, imagination, and the arts! 🎨🎶

📅 What’s on:

🎤 Music Monday – Sing, dance, and explore with Sinéad Connolly (Music Generation Cavan/Monaghan)

💃 Toe Tapping Tuesday – Get moving with Oran Leong, dancer extraordinaire (Ceol Connected)

🖼️ Wondrous Wednesday – Creative art workshops for preschool and school aged children, led by artist Mags Harnett (National Gallery of Ireland)

📚 Tales on Thursday – Join Patricia Forde, Laureate na nÓg, for a live read-along (Children’s Books Ireland)

🎭 Fantasy Friday – A day of storytelling, dress-up, drama, and puppetry

🕚 Live workshops run Monday to Thursday at 11am

👉 Book your place: https://ncn.ie/events/

Let’s keep the creative light on for every child and Sustain the Spark! ✨

📸 Tag us and share your activities!



Music Generation Cavan / Monaghan Ceol Connected National Gallery Children's Books Ireland
Department of Children, Disability and Equality Leadership for INClusion in the Early Years Better Start

28/04/2026

To celebrate Childhood Services Week, NCN is hosting a series of FREE CPD webinars to support educators in their continuing professional development in the lead-up to this special week 🎉📚🎨

Please see the list of available webinars below

👉Book your place here: https://ncn.ie/events/



Department of Children, Disability and Equality
Leadership for INClusion in the Early Years
Better Start

23/04/2026

Schools encouraged to celebrate the International Day of Play on 11 June with ‘Play 31 Challenge’

Play organisations across the UK and Ireland are calling on all schools to join the Play 31 Challenge on 11 June, marking the International Day of Play and celebrating every child’s right to play.

The United Nations has designated 11 June as the International Day of Play, recognising the power of play at the heart of a happy, healthy childhood. Inspired by Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that every child has the right to play, schools are encouraged to allow 31 extra minutes for play in the school day.

This year’s campaign theme is Protect play, protect childhood. By extending break times, supporting playful outdoor learning, or creating a giant ‘31’ from loose parts, schools can show their support for the power of play.

Evidence shows that happy and healthy childhoods are built on play. Play isn’t just fun, it’s essential. Schools have a unique and vital role in supporting children’s ability to learn, play, be active and experience nature.

Through play, children learn to forge connections with others, build a wide range of leadership skills, develop resilience, navigate relationships and social challenges, and conquer their fears. Play helps children to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Marguerite Hunter Blair, Chair of the UK Children’s Play Policy Forum, said:
“We are calling on schools to take on the Play 31 Challenge and make more time for play. At a time when children’s access to play is increasingly restricted, school environments can provide a range of rich play experiences which contribute to children’s improved health, happiness and life chances. And everyone can have some FUN!”

Robyn Monro-Miller, President of the International Play Association, said:
“International Day of Play serves to drive global awareness so all children can be beneficiaries of playful childhoods. It is wonderful to see the range of organisations collaborating to work with schools to drive this awareness across the UK and Ireland”.

This is a UK Children’s Play Policy Forum call to action and collaboration with IPA Cymru Wales, IPA England, IPA Ireland, IPA Northern Ireland, and IPA Scotland.

Find out more at: https://childrensplaypolicyforum.wordpress.com
IPA Ireland https://www.linkedin.com/company/ipa-ireland/