Aistear: the Early Childhood
Curriculum Framework
Principles and Themes
Overview of presentation
Purpose
• To introduce Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum
Framework
• To look in detail at the Framework’s
 Principles
 Themes
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Aistear, a journey ....
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For whom? Why?
Aistear
• is for all children from birth to six years.
• can be used in the range of settings:
 childminding settings
 sessional services
 full and part-time daycare settings
 infant classes in primary schools
 children’s own homes.
• helps children to grow and develop as
confident and competent learners.
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Aistear - What’s in it?
Principles and Themes –
WHAT?
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Well-being
Identity and Belonging
Communicating
Exploring and Thinking
Guidelines for Good
Practice – HOW?
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Partnerships
Interactions
Play
Assessment
User Guide
 Using Aistear alongside Síolta, the Infant Curriculum
and the Child Care (Pre-School) Regulations
Key Messages from the Research Papers
 Summarising key points from research which underpin
Aistear
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Principles and
Themes
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Aistear’s 12 principles
Early childhood
 Uniqueness
 Equality and
diversity
 Citizenship
Connections
with others
 Relationships
 The role of the
adult
 Parents and
families
Learning and
developing
 Holistic
 Active
 Play; hands-on
experiences
 Relevant and
meaningful
 Communication
and language
 Learning
environment
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Principle: Play and
hands-on experiences
Much of children’s early learning and
development takes place through play and
hands-on experiences. Through these,
children explore social, physical and
imaginary worlds. These experiences help
them to manage their feelings, develop as
thinkers and language users, develop
socially, be creative and imaginative, and
lay the foundations for becoming effective
communicators and learners.
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Principle: From the child’s
perspective
 Play is important to me, and it is important for my learning
and development. … Watch how I play, and see how you can
support me.
 Give me time and space to play with other children. When I
play with them I learn about co-operation, about how to deal
with conflict, about how others think and feel, and what
different actions and things mean. … You can help me to learn
… when we play together.
 Provide me with objects, toys and equipment that reflect my
own and others’ cultures. … Let me experience the different
types of play …
 Involve me in lots of meaningful, hands-on experiences in
order to learn, to develop, and to become independent. ...
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Aistear’s themes
Identity and
Belonging
Well-being
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Aistear’s themes
Exploring and
Thinking
Communicating
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Presenting
children’s learning
and development
through themes:
a) dispositions
b) skills
c) attitudes and
values
d) knowledge and
understandings
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Theme: Well-being
Children will
 be strong psychologically and
socially
 be as healthy and fit as can
be
 be creative and spiritual
 develop positive outlooks on
learning and on life
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Theme: Identity and
Belonging
Children will
• develop strong self-identities and
feel respected and affirmed as
individuals
• have a sense of group identity where
links with their family and
community are acknowledged and
extended
• express their rights and respect the
identity, rights and views of others
• see themselves as capable learners
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Theme: Communicating
Children will
• develop non-verbal communication
skills
• use language with growing
confidence and competence
• make sense of their experiences
through language
• express themselves creatively and
imaginatively
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Theme: Exploring and
Thinking
Children will
• develop increasingly complex
strategies for observing, thinking,
exploring, understanding, and
problem-solving
• use symbolic representation
• learn about and make sense of the
world
• develop a positive image of
themselves as learners, and come to
see themselves as explorers and
thinkers
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Sample learning
opportunities
Each theme
• has ideas and suggestions for experiences and activities
• presents sample learning opportunities for 3 overlapping age
groups
Toddlers:
12 months to 3 years
Babies:
birth to 18 months
Young children:
2½ to 6 years
Find out more
National Council for Curriculum and
Assessment (NCCA)
24 Merrion Square, Dublin 2
W: www.ncca.ie/earlylearning and
www.ncca.ie/aisteartoolkit
E: earlylearning@ncca.ie