At Beaumont Community Pre-school, we’ve been working with children and parents for a long time. We know many of the questions that parents have about sending their child to pre-school for the first time. If any of your questions aren’t answered below, just drop us an e-mail or a call, and we’ll be happy to answer any of your questions. 

Q. How is Beaumont Community Pre-school different to Montessori?

A. Montessori favours a more formal teaching structure, whereas, Beaumont Community Pre-school uses a combination of the High/Scope and Aistear programmes with encourages a less structured learning environment.

With the High/Scope and Aistear programmes, children are encouraged to explore for themselves, moving around the various learning stimulus and interacting with the staff in the pre-school. This helps children to explore the areas they are interested in, while learning problem-solving skills through activity and building relationships with other children and the adults working at the pre-school.

For more information on our curriculum, please click here. 

Q. How do I Apply? 

A. Applications are accepted at any time of the year, applications are accepted by e-mail, phone and in person by calling in during the pre-school opening hours. Click here for more on applications.

Q. How much are preschool fees?

For qualifying ECCE children there are no fees.
For non-ECCE for 4 days (Mon-Thurs) fees are €56.
For non-ECCE for 5 days fees are €69. 

Q. Can I view the pre-school facilities and meet the staff before my child starts preschool?

A. We hold an annual open day for parents and children to visit the pre-school after places have been allocated. Should you wish to visit the pre-school before making a decision to apply, appointments can be arranged by contacting the pre-school directly. 

Q. What are your food and drink policies?

A. The children are encouraged to bring a healthy lunch with healthy drinks such as juice, water or milk – we do not allow fizzy drinks. For safety reasons, nuts and products containing nuts cannot be brought to pre-school. 

Q How often will I receive updates on my child?

A. While regular feedback is provided on an ad hoc and informal basis throughout the year, a written review of your child’s progress will be issued to you during the year in the form of observations in order to keep you up-to-date on your child’s development. 

Q. What are your adult-to-child ratios?

A. Our adult-to-child ratios are always within the TUSLa recommended level of one adult to every eleven children.  

Q. What should I do if my child is ill?

A. If your child is suffering from vomiting, diarrhoea or a high temperature, please keep them at home for 48 hours, or until the symptoms have been gone. Pre-school staff must be advised if your child is suffering from any infectious illnesses, such as chicken pox, as soon as possible so that other parents can be notified to monitor their children for symptoms of the illness.

At Beaumont Community Pre-school, we believe prevention is better than cure in relation to head lice and ask that children with long hair come to pre-school with hair tied up as a preventative measure. However, should your child get head lice, it is important to notify pre-school staff in order to ensure that parents can be notified anonymously to monitor or treat their children as a preventative measure.

Q. What if my child is ill while at pre-school?

A. Should your child feel ill during pre-school hours, you or the nominated day-time contact will be notified immediately, and the child should be collected. 

Q. What are your staff turnover rates?

A. Beaumont Community Pre-school strives to keep turnover to a minimum. Turnover is kept low by creating a positive work environment for all staff, ensuring a happier play and learning environment for your child. 

Q. My child has special requirements such as an allergy, disorder, illness or other special needs – what should I do?

A. At Beaumont Community Pre-school we strive to make sure that every child is safe, happy and feels like they belong. We will always do our utmost to work with parents and children with special requirements and will always do what we can to accommodate you and help you. Please ensure you outline any special requirements on your child’s application form, and we will talk to you about how we might be able to help. 

Q. Can I have access to the premises at any time to see my child?

A. While it is preferable that disruptions are kept to a minimum should an emergency arise or should you need to take your child out of pre-school early for appointments, please let us know, and we’ll be happy to assist you. 

Q. My child is shy or doesn’t like it when I’m not there, will that be a problem?

A. While many children overcome these problems early on, some children take longer to adjust, particularly if they are not used to being away from parents or being with other children. Where this is the case we will always work with you to help ease your child into the new environment with a number of solutions such as coming in with your child or starting your child on a shorter day until they become comfortable, you can stay with your child for as long as you feel necessary.

Your child will build up trust and confidence over time and as they engage in activities that they’re interested in or make new friends with other children, they usually become more comfortable being away from their parents. 

Q. My child doesn’t speak English – will that be a problem?

A. We’ve had several children with us who do not speak English at the start, and it has yet to be a problem. Most children understand tone, body language and other non-verbal communication such as hand signs and pointing. Play with other children crosses all language barriers, and they naturally will pick up words as they integrate into the group.

We do encourage you to speak English to your child at home as much as possible. To help their progress, it is important to try to speak English to your child at home particularly with important words such as ‘toilet, lunch, coat, cold, hot, sick...etc’ giving them basic words to help them. 

Q. Can my child bring a soother or a comfort blanket?

A. While we do not encourage children to bring soothers, comfort blankets or any of their own toys, this is often not a problem after a few weeks. So if you find your child needs something that they use for comfort purposes please let us know, and they can keep it in their school bag, so it’s available should they need it.