Guide to Choosing Childcare
Choosing Childcare: Finding the Best Fit for You and Your Child
When the time comes to entrust someone else with your little one’s care, it’s completely natural to feel a mix of excitement and worry. Every parent wants to know their child is happy, safe and supported, having the right information makes that decision much easier.
In Ireland, there are several types of childcare services available to suit different families, routines, and budgets. The best option for you will depend on your family’s needs, your child’s needs and personality, and the type of care environment you prefer.
To learn about Childcare services and what they might offer, Click on the tabs below to reveal information about each.
Making an Informed Decision
Full Day Care
Part-Time Day Care
Sessional Services
Childminders
School Age Childcare
A school age service is a service that provides care, which includes a range of developmental and recreational activities for children under the age of 15 years, who are in primary or post-primary education, outside of school hours. For example; an afterschool service, or a breakfast club service.
Childminders offer a more personalised, home-like environment with flexible hours that can better suit varied work schedules and family needs. A childminder is a self-employed professional who cares for a small group of children in the minder’s own home, providing a home-like childcare setting. They are responsible for the children’s daily needs, such as feeding, playing, safety and care. Childminders offer a flexible and family-oriented service that caters to mixed-age groups and often aligns with parents’ work schedules.
Key characteristics of a childminder
- Location of care: The minder cares for children in their own home.
- Care setting: They provide a home-like, nurturing environment, in contrast to a larger service.
- Group size: Childminders typically care for a small group of children of mixed ages.
- Flexibility: They can offer flexible hours, sometimes accommodating non-traditional work schedules.
- Relationship with parents: Terms, fees, and conditions are negotiated and agreed upon directly between the childminder and the parents.
- Responsibility: The childminder is responsible for the child’s health, safety, and well-being while in their care.
- Self-employed: Childminders are self-employed and handle their own tax arrangements.
A part-time day care service refers to a programme for children over 3.5 hours and less than 5 hours per day.
Breakfast Clubs provide children with a healthy, nutritious meal before the start of the school day in a safe and relaxed environment. They are designed to support families by offering early morning care, often helping parents manage work and school schedules more easily.
What Breakfast Clubs services might offer:
- A nutritious breakfast such as cereal, fruit, toast, and milk.
- A calm, supervised setting where children can eat, socialise, and prepare for the school day.
- Flexible drop-off times to suit parents’ morning routines.
- Opportunities for play, reading, or quiet activities before school begins.
Breakfast Clubs can be offered by:
- School-age childcare services (SAC): Many Tusla-registered private or community childcare services offer Breakfast Clubs as part of their wrap-around care, alongside after-school services.
- Community-based services: Operated by voluntary boards of management or not-for-profit organisations, these often run Breakfast Clubs linked to local schools or as part of a community childcare facility.
- Privately run services: Many privately operated childcare providers offer Breakfast Clubs and after-school care to support working parents who need early morning supervision before school hours.
- Schools: Some primary schools, particularly those participating in the DEIS School Meals Programme, provide Breakfast Clubs on site. In these cases, the meal may be funded through the Department of Social Protection’s school meals initiative.
Making an Informed Decision
Researching various services allows you to make informed decisions when choosing an Early Learning and Care service.
School-Age Childcare services are regulated by the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Registration of School Age Services) Regulations 2018.
Barnardos has a booklet Quality School Age Care-What to look for in a Service to Care for your Child Outside of School which offers guidance to parents on choosing a quality service for their child during the time when they are not available and their child is not in school.
The Early Learning and Care sector is regulated under the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years’ Services) Regulations 2016. Tusla Child and Family Agency has statutory responsibility to support compliance and quality standards through regular inspection.
For more information on the Regulations and Early Years Inspections see the ELC and SAC Regulations and Inspections section of the website here.
To view Tusla registered service’s inspection reports visit: Tusla’s website
The National Child Safeguarding Programme – Early Learning and Care has a leaflet for parents which outlines what parents can expect in relation to Child Safeguarding from Early Learning and Care services, it is available in English and Irish and can be downloaded below: