Fáilte go Naíonra Bun Cranncha

We offer full daycare, preschool education to children from 2 years old right up to when they go on to primary school. We focus on each individual child, drawing up individual learning plans and weave these in with our curriculum to create an unique learning environment and experience for each child.

We follow the national Aistear curriculum and through our own experience draw heavily on the Steiner and Montessori approaches which allow us to create a learning environment based around play and our natural environment, both inside during the wet winter and outdoors in our 3 play areas or our nearby parks (Swan Park and Tullyarvan Mill) as often as the rain keeps away 🙂

During the year we also organise many visits from interesting professionals, with the aim to stimulate the children and expose them to real life people and professions outside the Naíonra. Common visitors include the Gardaí, the Fire Brigade, a Dentist, and Art therapist, a Yoga instructor and many local artists focusing on pottery, paintings and music, etc. We believe that these days are memorable for the children and add a wonderful variety to our curriculum thus enriching their educational experience.

We are a Naíonra and that means the the main part of the curriculum is delivered in Irish. This means the staff will speak to the children mostly in Irish and they will learn songs, poems and rhymes as Gaeilge as well. It is important to note that at this age of development children cannot distinguish between languages, or even know what language means and that they only learn words, loads of words. As parents we all know children are absorbing up to 100 new words a day during this part of their childhood and they will learn English and Irish words without distinction, quickly going from baby words to full sentences. At the Naíonra the children learn both English and Irish naturally without knowing it which gives them an even bigger vocabulary and stimulates their communication skills in a unique way.

Also remember that all children will do Irish in primary school, whether that be at the Gaelscoil or at an English speaking school so children attending the Naíonra will have a massive head start compared to other preschools.

Having being founded in 1997 and going strong since then our staff have a combined over 40 years experience educating young minds and have BA Honours Degrees in Early Childhood Education.

This combination of Experience and Education, of Irish and English, of outdoor play with parks on our doorstep and a cosy indoor environment all kitted out for learning shows that Naíonra Bun Cranncha offers the most complete educational experience for your child.

Beir Bua,

Caitríona Mhic Lochlainn,

Stiúrthóir Naíonra Bun Cranncha