Aistear - Dun Laoghaire County Childcare Committee

What is Aistear?

Aistear is the Irish early years curriculum framework designed specifically for early years practitioners, parents and infant class teachers to assist with planning and implementing appropriate learning experiences for children from birth to 6 years of age. It is designed for use in all early childhood care and education settings including the home, crèche, nursery, play-schools, pre-schools (for example, High-Scope, Montessori or Froebel approaches), Naíonraí and Infant classes.

What does Aistear consist of?

The 2 main parts of Aistear are 1) Principles and Themes and 2) Guidelines for Good Practice. Other elements to Aistear include The User Guide and Key Messages from the Research Papers

Principles and Themes

Aistear is based on 12 principles presented in 3 groups which are crucial to and underpin early learning and development. They are:

Children and their Lives in Early Childhood

The Child’s Uniqueness
Equality and Diversity
Children as Citizens

Children’s Connections with Others

Relationships
Parents, family and community
The adult’s role

How Children Learn and Develop

Holistic Learning and Development
Active Learning
Play and Hands-on experiences
Relevant and Meaningful Experiences
Communication and Language
The Learning Environment

Early learning and development is presented in 4 inter-connected themes in Aistear:

Well-Being
Identity and Belonging
Communicating
Exploring and Thinking

Aistear moves away from the compartmentalised view of early learning such as Physical, Intellectual, Emotional development etc and approaches learning from a more holistic way. The themes describe what children develop and learn such as dispositions, attitudes, values, skills, knowledge and understanding.