0-5 Arts & Drama Programme for Donegal Childcare Services

We are delighted to announce that DCCC have successfully attained funding through the Donegal County Development Board (CDB) Peace & Reconciliation Partnership, Peace III Funding for an innovative Arts & Drama Programme of Activities aimed at Pre-school children.

During the past ten years, many services in Donegal have welcomed children from various family backgrounds and diverse communities, often without any additional resources or training.  DCCC consultations with the early childhood sector in Donegal tell us that educators are anxious to gain information, training and resources around providing a fully inclusive curriculum programme suitable for the diverse needs of all children, regardless of their culture or background.  As a programme that promotes equality and embraces diversity have been slow to emerge for the 0-5 year age group, DCCC have been proactive in sourcing funding to develop an initiative to support the Early Childhood sector in this area of their work.

 With this funding, DCCC propose to develop a programme called The Early Childhood Identity and Belonging Initiative, in the coming months. The aim of the initiative is to provide practical training, meaningful activities and suitable resources for early childhood educators working with children 0-5 years around the areas of diversity, respect for difference, identity and belonging through the mediums of art and drama.  The programme will demonstrate clear connections and links to Irelands two new quality and curriculum frameworks Síolta and Aistear, as Identity and Belonging is a central strand within each framework.

We would like to thank Donegal County Council and the Donegal CDB Peace & Reconciliation Partnership for awarding us with the funding and recognising the need for such a programme in the childcare sector for County Donegal.