Navigating the Aistear Siolta Practice Guide
The Aistear Síolta Practice Guide is an online resource published by the National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NCCA) designed to help educators and services use Aistear the curriculum framework and Síolta the quality framework together. The practice guide helps educators create, reflect on, and enhance their approach to promote the early learning and development of babies, toddlers, and young children in their services. It does this by offering practical guidance, real-life examples, tools for reflection, and professional development supports.
The Aistear Síolta Practice guide has recently moved to the new Nurturing Skills website. It can be accessed under the Resources tab as seen in this image below.
Curriculum Foundations
The Curriculum Foundations section of the Practice Guide can be a great starting point for helping educators understand what makes a high-quality curriculum.
The Curriculum Foundations are comprised of 4 elements;
- Principles of Síolta and Aistear
- Themes of Aistear
- Developing your curriculum
- Professional Practice
Each of these elements provide educators with opportunities to think about why they do what they do and how to do it well through reflective exercises and informative videos. The Curriculum Foundations is the base that supports the Pillars of Practice.
Reflective exercise that can be completed as part Element 1 Principles of Siolta and Aistear.
Pillars of Practice
There are 6 Pillars of Practice within the Practice Guide;
Learning Environments
Relationships and Interactions
Play
Partnerships and Connections
Transitions
Planning and Assessing
While each of the six pillars focuses on a distinct element of
effective early years practice, they are all interlinked and
support one another.
Educators are encouraged to choose
one pillar at a time to work on based on the needs of their
service or their own professional development.
Each Pillar has a Self-evaluation Tool which prompts educators to think about their practice; what’s working well, challenges and opportunities for growth.
The tool can be used on a regular basis by a staff team or educator individually.
There are numerous fantastic resources available under the Supporting and Inspiring Practice section of each Pillar. These sections are filled with user friendly information and practical ideas with videos which provide examples of effective practice in real settings and experts explaining the theory behind the practice. Engaging with these tools and resources enables educators to strengthen their grasp of the curriculum, evaluate their practice, and make meaningful changes.
The Aistear Siolta Practice Guide is a practical and flexible tool that enables educators to foster a reflective and professional learning environment for the babies, toddlers and young children in their services. It is not intended as a one-time resource but a guide that supports an ongoing cycle of growth, reflection, and teamwork.
Kilkenny County Childcare Committee offer training on the Updated Aistear Curriculum Framework as well as the Síolta Quality standards. We also facilitate a quarterly Community of Professional Practice where educators come together to discuss the principles of early learning and development and practical examples of how they can guide their practice.
If you wish to receive information on our next round of trainings or networking, please contact Kilkenny County Childcare Committee on 056 7752865.
Aisling Heffernan – Development Officer
