This is the former website of the Irish Steiner Kindergarten Association (ISKA), Ireland's national voluntary association of Steiner Waldorf childcare practitioners. The new website is at iskaireland.org.

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW WEBSITE.

A copy of the previous ISKA archive of important and interesting articles and research pertaining to early childhood education can still be explored HERE.

ISKA Members are based throughout the 32 counties of Ireland. Associate membership is open to all who support the work of the Association.

The ISKA website is Ireland's primary source of information about Steiner Waldorf education in early childhood for parents, our members, government and funding agencies, childcare practitioners and other childcare organisations.

Our activities
ISKA provides support for members as well as responding to the increasing level of interest in Steiner Waldorf early childhood education more generally in Ireland. The association has established a programme of workshops on aspects of Steiner Waldorf education for childcare practitioners and it runs a three-year part-time training programme (the Early Childhood Education Programme). ISKA and its activities are supported through the National Childcare Investment Programme.

The ISKA National Co-ordinator, Sinead Duignan, provides general advice, support and information on ISKA services, talks, workshops, annual conference, newsletters and maintains the mailing list.  She is based in the ISKA Office in County Clare and can be contacted on info@steinerireland.org.  The National Development Officer and Siolta Co-ordinator Ulrike Farnleitner provides pedagogical and quality assurance support and mentoring for Kindergartens and members nationally and can be contacted on ndo.iska@gmail.com.

Further information on Siolta the national early years quality assurance process here: www.siolta.ie, and the free preschool year here: www.omc.gov.ie. More general information on Childcare supports and regulations in Ireland may also be found at www.omc.gov.ie.

Kindling Journal available
Kinding, the Journal for the Steiner Waldorf Early Years Education (UK) is be printed twice yearly (Spring and Autumn) and subscriptions are available from ISKA. Subscribe online...

Early Writing and the Nursery School Gender Gap
Here is an article (PDF) in the UK Independent that describes new government measures designed to accelerate readiness to write among boys in nursery school. Meanwhile multiple current studies, described here, indicate that, by age 11, there is no difference between children who are taught to read at ages 5 and 7!

see list of other articles