The Owner Manager
My name is Clare Cassidy and I work side by side with your child every day. I have been a part of our local community down the years as a local newsagent and I also have a background in nursing. With the 5 C’s of caring in nursing – commitment, conscience, competence, compassion and confidence equally applicable to the early years’ profession, I feel I have come full circle.
It is incredible how much our children learn in the first few years of their lives and as a mother myself I know how utterly amazing, precious and special this time is. Becoming a parent we learn so much about ourselves, how much love we have within us, how patient we are and above all we each want the absolute best for each of our own children. I know I wanted to send my child to a place that I could trust, a place where he would be happy, motivated, get to engage in a wide variety of play experiences and have opportunities to mix with other children. Above all I wanted my child to be cared for with pure kindness in a place where he would blossom.
And here in our inspiring learning environment at Little Stars that is exactly what we set out to achieve with every child in our care. Our homely nurturing service provides the highest quality childhood care and education for children. We are about children having fun, feeling happy and secure, that they feel they fully belong and get every opportunity to flourish.
What I absolutely love the most about my role in Clare’s Little Stars is that I am a part of such a special time in children’s lives. I get to know, love, cherish and to be a part of helping our youngest citizens grow up with a strong sense of well-being. I get to encourage children to have pride in themselves, their families and communities, to be confident communicators, creative, curious, strong and happy and of course make special memories.
Children deserve to play, they need to play in order to develop and research shows the more that they play the more they develop. In an age, where the actual time children spend playing and social circles continue to decrease, making sure your child has opportunities to learn through meaningful playful contexts could not be more important. So I would say to parents and guardians, together, let’s do what we can to spark children’s learning, development and enjoyment.
The Educator Team
Highly motivated, our team of staff greatly enrich children’s learning opportunities and their skills such as inquiry, expression, experimentation and teamwork. They are expert at capturing learning moments, scaffolding children’s play by joining in the fun as a co-player, asking thoughtful questions, commenting on children’s discoveries, encouraging further exploration or new features to the child’s activity.
- BA (Honours) degree in Children and Early Childhood Education (Teesside University)
- BSc (Honours) degree in Early Childhood Care, Health and Education (LYIT)
- Leadership for Inclusion – Special Purpose Award (University of Limerick)
- Higher National Diploma in Advanced Practice in Work with Children and Families (BTEC)
- National Diploma in Children’s Care, Learning and Development (BTEC)
- Early Childhood Care and Education Major Award (FETAC)
- Advanced Certificate in Early Childhood and Supervision (FETAC)
- Certificate In Supervision Theory and Practice (IT Sligo)
- Diploma in Special Needs Education
- Diploma in Personal Coaching (ICI)
- Practical Supports for Young Children with Autism Training
- Sensory Processing Training
- Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Charter Training Programme
- Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council First Aid Response Training
- Always Children First Safeguarding Awareness Training
- Keeping Safe, Children First Child Protection Training
- Safety Training Solutions – Manual Handling Course
- Fire Safety Training
- Introduction to Aistear Siolta Practice
- Aistear in Practice Training
- Making Links Learning Stories and Emergent Curriculum Planning
- Building Pictures of Learning Training Programme
- Developing Transition Statements Training
- Supporting Positive Behaviour Training Programme
- Look, Listen, Learn – Observing Children at Play Workshops
- Naionain le Cheile Identity & Belonging Programme
- Early Reading Initiative – Creating Lifelong Readers
- Having Fun with Irish Rhymes Training Programme
- Simon and Friends Road Safety Awareness Programme
- Mini Me Yoga Training Programme
- Kids Active Learning Programme
- Healthy Ireland Smart Start Training Programme
- Infection Prevention & Control Award (FETAC)