Welcome To Our Blog
Welcome to our first blog! This is new territory for us so please let us know what you think and what sort of information you would like to see on our blog. Crawford Childcare first opened its doors towards the end of 2008. A custom built crèche located in the on the outskirts of Glanmire, Crawford Childcare was built as part of the Crawford Woods housing estate. At the time we saw an opportunity to open a crèche which would suit the needs of working parents while providing the best possible care for children in a caring and secure environment.
As parents of small children we wanted to create an environment that was safe and fun where parents would feel happy and confident leaving their children, secure in the knowledge that they would be looked after by caring, kind and experienced staff. We were very fortunate in Crawford to in a be involved in the planning stages of the crèche and are proud today of what we have achieved in terms of the layout of the building and our large, secure outdoor play area. Our panel of in house testers (our 4 children) were called upon when decisions on toys and play equipment had to be made!
We were fortunate to be able to take staff from our existing crèche to Crawford when we opened. Their experience and knowledge proved invaluable in setting up the new crèche at the time and many of them are still with us today. Our Manager Sarah Twohig heads up a team of 14 staff who are committed and caring people who love being with children. We have 3 rooms each catering for different age groups.
Our baby room has it’s own dedicated sleep room for under ones and we can look after up to 13 babies at any one time .We adhere to HSE ratios of 1 adult to 3 babies in this room and we are very fortunate to have a dedicated outdoor play area. This area is separate to the main play area and allows the babies to be outside as much as possible – weather permitting! We have a unique outdoor surface here which is easy to clean and soft enough for the babies to crawl on.
Our Toddler room is a large and bright room with direct access to the main garden area. We can accommodate 20 children in this room at any one time. We have a sleep room connected to the room and lots of areas of interest within the room. In this room the ratio of adults to children is one adult to every 5 children.
Our Montessori room is the final step before our children leave for ‘Big School’. Again we can take 20 children in this room (22 during ECCE time) and the ratio of adults to children is one adult to 8 children. Again this room is directly connected to the outdoor play area and we follow the Montessori principles of letting children develop at their own pace.
It wasn’t easy setting up a crèche from start but it has been a labour of love in many ways and it will always be a ‘work in progress’. We are always on the look out for new ideas and ways to improve the crèche and welcome input and feedback from parents.