Aistear Blogs

Who can believe it is one year since the updated Aistear was published? Since then, the focus has been on helping educators become familiar with the updated Framework and many have attended information sessions with their local City or County Childcare Committees, which have been taking place nationwide. Educators have also been actively engaging with this blog series and exploring updated resources available on both the NCCA website and the Aistear Síolta Practice Guide.

The consistent message that the Framework was updated rather than completely redeveloped has reassured educators that they can hold on to what worked well in the original Framework. At the same time, educators are beginning to embrace ideas from the updated Framework, including a greater focus on a rights-based approach, slow relational pedagogy, diversity, equity and inclusion, global citizenship and the importance of supporting sustainability.  

The four Themes – Wellbeing, Identity and Belonging, Communicating, and Exploring and Thinking – remain, but they have been updated to reflect research and consultation findings. This included cutting the number of Learning Goals from 96 to 48. Positive feedback has already been received on how this change is supporting more effective planning and assessing.  

One of the highlights in 2025 was the Continuing the Aistear Journey: National Early Years Conference, held on 24 May at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. This event marked a pivotal moment for Ireland's early years sector and was organised by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE) in collaboration with the Department of Education and Youth (DEY) and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). It was remarkable to look out the main entrance and see a long row of buses transporting over 400 educators from across the country. The positive energy at the event, reflecting educators’ enthusiasm and curiosity about the updated Framework, was palpable.

As 2025 draws to a close, it also marks one year of the sector’s engagement with the updated Aistear. Anecdotal stories of curriculum change based on the updated Framework have already begun to emerge.

• One setting has removed plastic materials and replaced them with more natural, open-ended materials.
• Another has reduced the number of transitions and started to focus on slow relational pedagogy, particularly during care giving routines.
• A third is helping babies, toddlers and young children to live more sustainably. As part of this, they have joined the local community allotment where little hands have been digging, planting and nurturing seeds to grow their own vegetables - creating a powerful connection to the earth, to food and to life itself.  
• In another setting, educators have created a video showcasing practice and incorporating words as Gaeilge from Aistear, such as grá (love), chlann (family) and cairde (friends) to share with families and with visitors to the setting.

These examples highlight some of the inspiring changes that are happening across settings. 

On its one-year anniversary, perhaps now is a good time for educators to reflect on the impact the updated Aistear has had on them, their practice and on the babies, toddlers and young children they work with by considering the changes made and the progress achieved in creating meaningful learning experiences. From this reflection, educators can also identify practical next steps to build on the progress already made. It is very important to embrace the journey of engaging with the updated Framework supporting our agentic global citizens to thrive and flourish in the months and years ahead.

Enjoy the festive season and let’s look forward to continuing this journey in 2026. 

Read the previous blog in our series here.