CES jobs at Kilcullen Community Childcare

Several positions are open as Community Employment opportunities at the Kilcullen Community Childcare & Education Centre. They are operational through the KARE Community Employment Scheme.

KCCEC provides a caring, progressive and inclusive environment for the children who attend, and the staff who work there.

The Community Employment Scheme enables participants to gain a funded, recognised qualification whilst they gain valuable on-the-job experience.

No experience is necessary. The jobs are advertised on JobsIreland.ie. They include Assistant Cook (#CES - 2392685).

For anyone interested or with any informal questions, contact: Mairead or Deirdre 045 448700.

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Childcare kids get stuck into handprints colour

Children from the Kilcullen Community Childcare Centre took part in a decorating session with artist Cian Mekitarian today on a local utility box, writes Brian Byrne. They used their handprints to create a colourful image on the box in front of Teach na nDaoine.

It's the latest in a number of such additions of colour to Kilcullen by Cian, in association with Kilcullen Community Action and Cnoc na Greine residents.

Photographs courtesy of Ann Cashman.

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KCCEC AGM upcoming

Members of staff and Board of Management at last year’s celebration of 50 years since foundation of Naomh Bhride Community Playschool.

The AGM of the Kilcullen Community Childcare & Education Centre will be held on Monday next, 26 May, at 6.15pm, writes Brian Byrne. Everyone in the community is welcome to attend.

The Centre was opened in 2014 and has more than 220 children registered for the various services on offer. Last August, it celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the original Naomh Bhride playgroup by Peggy Walker and Maureen Keogh, the group which subsequently evolved into KCCEC.

In December, the first Peggy Walker Childcare Bursary was awarded to Emma Woods, a second-year student at Maynooth University studying a BA in Early Childhood Teaching and Learning.

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St Patrick's snake in the Valley

The children of Crann Óg Forest School at KCCEC are making a very special St Patrick’s Snake, writes Eilis Keogh. Every day this week, children from each of our four classrooms will head down to the Valley to add a stone, making our snake Slither longer and longer. 

We warmly invite everyone in the community to join in — bring a stone and help us build this growing symbol of unity and celebration. Let's make our St Patrick’s Snake a true community masterpiece!

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Find a Valentine Stickman in Kilcullen

These are Valentine Stickmen made by the children of Kilcullen Community Childcare Centre, and they are hiding around town this week, writes Brian Byrne. If you find one, take a selfie with it and tag KCCEC on Instagram.

They have been created from branches of trees by the children taking part in the Crann Óg Forest School programme which they began last October. There are eight to be found around Kilcullen.

"Our base is in the back garden where we have shelter and activities set up," says KCCEC's Eilis Keogh. "We don’t have a dedicated wooded area but we make use of what our community has to offer. This gives the children an opportunity to familiarise themselves with our town and introduce them to nature and the varied wildlife that surrounds us."

Each Stickman has a little verse attached: 

Made by the Forest School children of KCCEC

We created our stickman from a branch of a tree

He is not lost, he’s just all alone

And if he makes you smile, then please take him home.

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CE employment at Childcare Centre

Several positions are open as Community Employment opportunities at the Kilcullen Community Childcare & Education Centre. They include Assistant Childcare Support Worker (Job Ref: #CES - 2368232) and Assistant Cook (#CES - 2371695), and are operational through the KARE Community Employment Scheme.

KCCEC provides a caring, progressive and inclusive environment for the children who attend, and the staff who work there. 

The Community Employment Scheme enables participants to gain a funded, recognised qualification whilst they gain valuable on the job experience. 

No experience is necessary. The jobs are advertised on JobsIreland.ie.

For anyone interested or with any informal questions, contact: Mairead or Deirdre 045 448700.

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Peggy Walker Childcare Bursary 2024 awarded

The recipient of the inaugural Peggy Walker Childcare Bursary is Emma Woods, a second-year student at Maynooth University studying a BA in Early Childhood Teaching and Learning. Emma was presented with the €2,000 award recently at the Kilcullen Community Childcare and Education Centre, which organises the funding.

The Bursary is in memory of the late Peggy Walker, a co-founder of the original Naomh Bhride playgroup in 1974 which subsequently evolved into KCCEC. It was open for applications from local students, school leavers and adult learners on any early years course from NFQ Level 5 and upwards. Applicants were reviewed and candidates interviewed by the KCCED Board of Management members.

"We wish Emma all the best in her studies and are thrilled that this award will help her throughout her remaining years at college," says the centre's Board chair, Sinead Forde. "We also wish to thank everyone who applied for this bursary."

The initiative was announced at the 50th anniversary celebrations held at the Centre earlier this year.

Pictured are Una Bernard (Treasurer BOM), Niamh Haydon (Peggy Walker's daughter), Emma Woods, Sinéad Forde (Chairperson BOM), and Iseult O'Donoghue (Secretary BOM).

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Smiling faces reflect ethos of Kilcullen childcare

“It’s all about the smiling faces,” Kilcullen Childcare Centre manager Emma McEvoy told those attending the 50th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the original Naomh Bhride playgroup, writes Brian Byrne. “We have a happy place to come to every day, thanks to the wonderful children and the wonderful staff team who come here to work every day.”

Since the current Kilcullen Community Childcare and Education Centre was opened in 2014, the staff numbers have grown to 19 and there are some 220 children registered for the various services offered. “KCCEC is a great success story, and it is important that we have a day like this to mark that,” Emma McEvoy continued, thanking the Board of Management for their support, and for giving the staff opportunities to bring new ideas to their work. An upcoming ‘forest school’ outdoor facility is the next project planned.

She also paid tribute to those in the Kilcullen community who volunteer to help with chores like cutting the grass and provide other supports. “This Centre will continue to grow because of the people who work alongside us.”

That sentiment was echoed by Iseult O’Donoghue from the BOM, who noted that over the decades of the playgroup, there had been ‘some fantastic achievements and some very trying times’. “But every time we have gone to the community to say we need help, everyone has responded in a positive way,” she said. “The amount of goodwill that the project has had from the very start, from 1974 onwards, has been amazing, and we are very lucky to have benefited from that.”

Recalling the particular difficulties when grant funding was lost in 2010 due to lease issues, she said the project had then seemed ‘dead in the water’. “The idea of having a dedicated building and a full service, including a breakfast club and after-school facilities, then seemed unfeasible. But the ground had literally been prepared by so many in the community — women mostly — who had worked tirelessly since 1974 right up to ten or 12 years ago when this had become more of a reality. We were standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Presentations of bouquets were made to Emma as the 'captain of the ship' ("we are so so lucky to have a fantastic manager"), to Iseult for her longtime contributions as a BOM member (“she is part of that Kilcullen spirit that we all love”), to Orla O’Neill for her professional expertise in the re-ignition of the project (“without her tenacity we would not be in this building or in this marquee today”), to Christine Nugent for being 'the backbone' of the playgroup for 25 years ("meeting and greeting the 3- and 4-year olds for all those years, she's a rock star when they now meet her on the street"), and to Niamh Headon, daughter of Peggy Walker who co-founded the Naomh Bhride playgroup with Maureen Keogh.

On behalf of the Board of Management, chairperson Sinead Forde thanked everyone for coming to the celebration. "It's hard to believe the playgroup is 50 years old," she said. "This is our way of saying 'thank you' to the community."

READ: Bursary honours early education campaigner

READ: Rainbow of remembering at playgroup celebration 

READ: Playgroup celebrates 50th anniversary 

VIEW: Photos from the celebration

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Bursary honours early education campaigner

Niamh Headon recalling the lifetime work of her mother Peggy Walker.

A bursary for childcare education announced by Kilcullen Childcare Centre is an opportunity to 'give something back' to a community which 'gave so much' to the project every time support was sought, writes Brian Byrne.

Named in honour of the late Peggy Walker, founder of the original Naomh Bhride playgroup in 1974, the bursary has a value of €2,000 and applications are open to local students, school leavers and adult learners who have a proven place on any early years course from NFQ Level 5 and upwards.

The initiative was announced at the 50th anniversary celebrations held at the Centre on Friday evening.

Iseult O'Donoghue announcing the Peggy Walker bursary.

Recalling Peggy Walker's expertise and 'incredible knowledge' in the area of early education and childcare, Kilcullen Childcare Centre board member Iseult O'Donoghue noted how she had gone from founding Naomh Bhride in Kilcullen to becoming Director of Information with the national organisation Early Childhood Ireland.

Speaking on behalf of the Walker family, Peggy and Liam Walker's daughter Niamh Headon reminded those present that when Peggy had to leave her civil service job after she got married, she had studied to be a Montessori teacher and then opened a playgroup at the behest of then curate in Kilcullen Fr Murphy. "She established it on behalf of the parish, not as a personal business," she said. "It was for the community and that ethos has remained with the playgroup project ever since."

Niamh remembered her mother spending so much time in promotion of the concept of early education in playgroups. "Whether it was Newbridge, Galway or Cork, it didn't matter what time of the day it was, or the day of the week, she was there answering people's questions. She spent a lot of time campaigning for children's rights, and was enabled by the government to do so, at the same time trying to keep the family show on the road."

She paid tribute to her father Liam for his unwavering support of Peggy's work, and for also outlining the bursary initiative. "Peggy believed strongly in education, and all the time she was working at local and national level, she was also studying. If you’re a school leaver thinking about childcare, if you’re in your 40s and want to do something different, this bursary may be of help. I think it’s a fabulous way to continue her work in early childhood education."

The deadline for receipt of applications is 28 September 2024 at 5pm. A shortlist from all applications will be selected by the bursary committee for interview.

Liam Walker with co-founder of the Naomh Bhride Playgroup Maureen Keogh.

READ: Rainbow of remembering at playgroup celebration 

READ: Playgroup celebrates 50th anniversary 

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Rainbow of remembering at playgroup celebration

Members of staff and Board of Management.

A rainbow appeared over Kilcullen during last evening's 50th anniversary celebrations at the Kilcullen Community Childcare Centre, writes Brian Byrne. Appropriate, because a rainbow has been part of the Centre's logo for many years.

The event in a marquee in the recently completed garden and play area of the building first opened in 2014 was a happy occasion, and one to share many memories of generations who were either children from the original Naomh Bhride Community Playschool established by Maureen Keogh and Peggy Walker, or who have as adults been part of the development and management of the playgroup towards and as its current facility.

There was ice-cream, face-painting, food and sweet goodies, and a few short speeches and presentations. Most of all, though, it was an evening of happy reminiscence.

There was also the announcement of a new bursary which can be applied for by a student on any early years course from NFQ Level 5 and upwards. named in memory of Peggy Walker.

We have some of the pictures posted here, all are available as usual at this link.

And we'll have a more comprehensive report in due course.

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