Frequently Asked Questions

Breakfast Club: 8am-9am

Buttercup childcare is committed to promoting children’s health and encouraging healthy habits. Fruit and fresh water are always available to the children.Snack time will be enjoyed and socialisation and interaction encouraged.Children with allergies and special diets will be carefully supervised.We do not allow fizzy drinks, sweets, chocolate, crisps, popcorn, chewing gum, nuts or nut spreads.Preferred drinks are milk and water. Children will always be supervised at snack time and will never be forced to eat.Children will be encouraged to feed themselves as appropriate for their age and development, and will be assisted as required.Please refer to our healthy eating policy.

Only the named person on the child registration form can collect your child. This person must be over 18 years of age. Parents/guardians must collect their child by the agreed collection time. Parents will be asked to give the names of at least two other people who are authorised to collect the child. If the parent is late arriving the Pre-School Leader, After-School Leader or Manager will contact the other named persons authorised to collect the child.Children will not be released into the care of a person under the age of 18 years; or to a person who appears to be incapable of caring for the child. Should this arise staff will contact an authorised collector. If no one is available then the staff will contact the Duty Social Worker with the Child and Family Agency (Tusla).No child will be released to anyone unknown to staff without prior arrangement. This person will be asked for identification to confirm who they are. This is to ensure the child’s safety.Prior arrangement must be made in the event of a parent collecting a fellow child. Please refer to our collections policy.

We ask that parents let us know if they are picking up their child early. This is to allow us to have the child ready for home and minimise disrupting the class.

We understand that sometimes a parent is unavoidably delayed when coming to collect their child. Parents must contact the Pre-School/After-School Leader to say that they will be late and arrange with staff what to do.

Yes, our practitioners have training in the procedure of administering certain medicines for certain conditions. We only administer medicines with the correct signed permission. Medicines must only be brought into the service for administration by the staff when it is essential. This means where it would be detrimental to the child’s health if it were not to be administered. We also have a policy for administration of medicine on the premises. Please refer to our policy.

Only necessary medications will be administered by our practitioners when the appropriate permissions are signed by the parent. Please refer to our policy.

Yes, we do have an annual school tour that we take our preschool children on and occasionally, we visit our local village park. After school children, currently don’t go on an annual school tour with us because usually, they have one with the primary school, but we do visit the village park on occasion.

Adult child ratios are as follows:

Yes, the child care regulation states that a minimum of level 5 childcare is required for a person to work in a preschool setting. Level 6 childcare, is required to be in charge of the room (Room Leader)Since 2019 after school has been regulated and there is no stated education requirement for a person to be in charge of after school children, However, at Buttercup Childcare we promote best practice and have fully qualified staff in place in the after school room.

Yes, all childcare staff are Garda vetted and must have a minimum of 2 references from previous employers.

Parents are requested to provide a change of clothes. Comfortable clothes are best for play. Please do not let your child wear tight jeans or belts as these are awkward at toilet time.Our extensive outdoor space is an integral part of our learning environment. Outdoor play is a major feature of the curriculum throughout the year so warm clothing, rain wear and wellie boots are essential at all times.Please be aware children will get messy and dirty at times.We do recommend that all children attending afterschool do have spare clothes to change into, as uniforms may get wet or dirty during activity. If spare clothes are provided by the service can you please return them, washed, within a reasonable time.

No, we prefer not to give our resources out on loan.

Birthday parties can be arranged for your child at school. You may bring in a birthday cake and some healthy treats for the whole group. We will take photos of the party and give them to you.

We respect the right for all information, records and observations to be treated with respect and with due attention to confidentiality and privacy. Information will not be shared with third parties, unless required under law or Child Protection Guidelines. For more information please see our full policy.

Parents and children must not post any photos or videos containing other children, parents or staff of the service onto social networking sites as it may cause offence. It is our preferred policy that you do not take photos while inside the gate.

Upon registration Buttercup Pre & After School will require two emergency contact numbers, addresses and phone numbers. It is vital these are kept updated. Parents will need to inform the service of any revised contact details.

You have entrusted your child into our care. We aim to ensure this environment is as healthy as possible and we want to minimise your child’s risk of infection. We encourage you to get your child immunised according to the HSE recommendations.Children with the following cannot be admitted to the service:

All children can avail of two years of preschool under the universal Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme. Children can start this Programme when they are 2 years and 8 months of age by the start date of a given Programme year and continue until in the Programme until they transfer to primary school (provided that they are not older than 5 years and 6 months at the end of the Programme year).The State pays participating early learning and childcare services a set amount per child to offer the ECCE Programme. In return, participating services provide a preschool service that is free of charge to all children within the qualifying age range. The service is for a set number of hours over a set period of weeks.

Your child can avail of preschool from 2 years and 8 months, as long as they are this age before 1st September on that year. Please refer to the ECCE calculator here

Yes, your child can stay for up to 5 hours on any day as we are a part time service. Please refer to our fees for additional charges. Preschool Extension 12-2pm daily

Yes, your child can start once they are 2 years and 8 months, paying the daily rate (please refer to our rates here and you can apply for the UNIVERSAL SUBSIDY)

From September 2017 there is a Universal Subsidy for children between the ages of 6 months and the time at which they may start ECCE (free preschool) programme and who are not receiving any CCS subvention. This is not means-tested and is available to families with children in Tusla-registered childcare. Please see Universal subsidy FAQs for further information.

Preschool helps children:·

Make sure your child can:

The ECCE Programme offers both indoor and outdoor learning experiences, as well as opportunities for solo play and group play.

Because children have spent so much time at home, some children will find it more difficult than usual to separate from their parents when the ECCE Programme commences in September. Be assured that this is perfectly normal and slow and gradual introduction to preschool will be necessary for some children. The preschool staff will be prepared for this and will offer advice and support. Knowing it is difficult, we do encourage parents to slip away as soon as the opportunity arise to allow the child to begin their short time with us.

At Buttercup Childcare we aim to ensure children feel safe and secure in the absence of their parents/carers. We will therefore endeavour to make the settling in process a positive experience for children and will work closely in partnership with parents/carers to ensure this is achieved. We invite and welcome all new parents and children to visit the service before the first day. We offer phased/staggered settling in. This can be extended if necessary. The settling in period will be guided by the child and their response to their new environment. Therefore individual arrangements will be made with parents. If children are upset staff will text or telephone the parents to let them know. Please refer to our settling in policy. Due to COVID-19 there are restricted guidelines in place for the settling in process.

We will give you regular information about your child’s progress and welcome your contribution- please share information with us. We have a preschool Home/Service Book that is routinely updated and will be sent home on a regular basis. Please update with information on your child’s care at home to facilitate shared communication between the parent and service. Please tell us of any difficulties that your child is experiencing at home such as bereavement, illness, relationship breakdown, a new baby – all these can change a child’s behaviour and we want to help. If a parent needs to be contacted in relation to a concern about behaviour we will do this in a helpful rather than a complaining manner and we will try to resolve the situation.Please refer to our policy for partnership with families.

Speak to the preschool Leader and your concerns will be discussed and followed up to establish the supports required. In general, our experienced practioneer, will contact you if we feel that your child would benefit from additional supports that are available.

Yes, we do liaise with all health professionals to support your child's needs. Given parental consent we can share observations with the professionals involved and support your child with the feedback that they give us.

Better Start & Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) This supports access to the preschool programme (ECCE) for Children with a Disability. It is a child-centred model of support and the initiative can be accessed without the input of a healthcare professional and with a focus on the strengths and abilities of the child rather than a diagnosis. It recognises that many children may not have a formal diagnosis at the time of presenting to preschool. As a parent if you think your child will need additional support to access or participate in preschool, please come and speak to the Leader in Inclusion (LINC) Coordinator at Buttercup Pre-School, Margo O’ Dwyer. Full details here.

Yes, the practitioners at Buttercup Childcare remind the whole group to use the toilet on a regular basis throughout the session.

Yes, the practitioners at Buttercup Childcare are highly trained and will support you child whilst promoting independence until the child becomes confident on their own in the toilet. We also have a suitable learning exercise in the classroom to educate the child how to do the bum wiping procedure.

In the past, we did allow a child to bring a comfort toy to school, if it was deemed necessary. Currently with the COVID-19 guidelines, we cannot allow this. No items can be allowed into the service other than the lunch box that the child's lunch is in. It is best not to bring toys from home as they can cause upset to other children if children don’t share. We do not accept responsibility for toys that get broken or lost.

It is the policy of Buttercup Childcare to develop an inclusive curriculum that creates a child centred, play based environment, which empowers young children to actively pursue their own learning. Staff will provide appropriate, timely, balanced intervention as well as support, continuity and progression to encourage positive attitudes towards learning.We recognise that the establishment of daily routines is essential for all young children and we strive to provide a programme of activities which encourage the physical, social, emotional, intellectual, creative and linguistic development of all children in our care.Our curriculum is designed to incorporate all aspects of Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework; and Siolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education. Aistear focuses on four areas of development: Well Being, Identity and Belonging, Communication, Exploring and Thinking.The curriculum aims to encourage active learning, problem solving, effective communication, creativity and socialisation. It aims to give children a good start which will benefit long-term success in life. We celebrate and recognise the diversity of experiences and relationships that shape children’s lives.

When children arrive from school, they are given a short time to relax and settle, they will then take part in supervised homework for up to 45 minutes and then they will have a snack or dinner. After this time, there is an organised activity each day and free play. This routine, is not set in stone, we work with the child’s interests and if they need more of one thing and less of the other, we go with this. See here for full details.

Yes, where possible we want to accommodate all parents. Again, you need to inform us about this in good time, as we have adult: child ratios to maintain at all times. It is your responsibility to inform us if your child should not be collected at the booked time. Without this information, in the interest of safety, we have to collect the child at the booked time.

We currently have fibre in Buttercup Childcare, if children require it, yes they can use it. We don’t encourage too much use of internet access, as we have many children to supervise, we have no control over the content any individual child may access. If we find any child accessing inappropriate content, they will no longer be granted access to the internet at any time.

If your child wants to have breakfast in the service, we accommodate this. If you child is having breakfast with us, them must be in before 8.30am to have enough time for them to enjoy their breakfast.

Preschool is FREE if you are eligible under the criteria for the FREE ECCE Preschool Year. Check your eligibility here. For those children who are not yet eligible under the scheme, please check our daily rate here.

Payment for ECCE is made directly from POBAL to the service and covers 3 hours daily 9am to 12pm from September to June for 38 weeks running in line with the school calendar. All ECCE places do require a deposit of €50.00 which is fully refundable in October when the place has been taken. The deposit is non-refundable if a place is not taken.

Fees must be paid monthly in advance. Fees may be paid by bank transfer to Buttercup Childcare account. Online payment: AIB Tipperary Town;BIC: AIBKIE2D; IBAN: IE63AIBK93532820200012; NSC: 935328; Acc. No: 20200012 Please always reference your name, “the parent” in the online transfer.You can now book and pay online through our website here for almost all services that we offer.

After school fees vary, depending on each person’s individual needs, we have many options available. Please refer to our fees list for your options.

Yes, every family can apply for NCS. If you’re combined income is €60,000 or less you will be eligible for this support. Please check here to apply and contact us if you need help with this.

A regular booking is a booking that is made to include attendance in the service every week over the 38 weeks of the service calendar.

A late booking is a booking that is made randomly just for once off childcare. We do not encourage this as Adult: Child ratios apply and we may not be able to accommodate you.

Yes, you can change a booking. Initially, when you book, your booking is made for the 38 weeks of the school year. You can increase number of days or hours at any time, provided we can cater for it within our ratios. You can reduce the days or hours only at the beginning of the term. (After Halloween, Christmas or Easter holidays) Any reduced childcare midterm or outside or the start of the new term will incur an administration fee of €50 per child.

Yes, you can cancel your childcare if you wish. The service will require a minimum of one month written notice to cancel childcare.