Siolta Guide for Parents

Síolta is a quality assurance programme that relies on a number of people to enhance the quality of early childhood experiences for children aged from birth to six years. As a parent you have a key role in this process, as nobody knows your child, their abilities and their needs better than you do.  It is important that you are happy with and involved in the early years setting your child attends.

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Síolta may help you to decide whether a setting is of high quality and provide you with the information that you need when it comes to making informed decisions about the kind of care and education setting that you choose for your child.  If an early childhood setting can show that it is aware of the standards outlined by Síolta then it is more likely that it will be able to provide quality experiences for your child. Likewise the Síolta framework may provide you with enough information to feel confident asking questions about particular aspects of your child’s care and education.  

How can I as a parent use Síolta to ensure my child is getting the best care and education?

The following are examples of general questions you can ask your child’s service/ school:

1. Does this setting have the Síolta materials available?
2. Can the service discuss how they meet the 16 standards of quality outlined in Síolta?

Parents can also use the framework to ask more specific questions about what happens within the setting every day. For example, the standard on parents and families gives clear statements about what is good practice in this area. If you ask questions based on the statements below it may give you more insight as to the level of quality in the setting.

For example: What is your policy on communicating with parents? Will you provide frequent meetings to update me on my child’s progress? Does the setting have a parent’s notice board with useful, relevant information? How often are newsletters distributed? Do you send information to parents via email or text?
 
Other questions you may wish to ask could include the following:

  • Does the environment promote the safety of all children and adults?
  • Do staff and parents have opportunities for communication about the child?
  • Does the setting make every effort to ensure that children’s need for rest, quiet time and privacy is respected as appropriate?
  • Do interactions between adults act as a model of respect, support and partnership for the child?
  • Is confidentiality a feature of the way staff record, store and share information in the best interests of the child?
  • Does the child spend a significant amount of time in the setting at play/exploration?
  • Does each learning area and each activity in the setting have plenty of equipment and materials for the child?
  • Does the setting promote a strong sense of identity and belonging among both children and adults?