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County Westmeath

Live online workshops for Westmeath

Westmeath is covered by live online sessions rather than in-person visits, with an on-site setting day possible if travel from the south-east is covered.

Transitions are the theme Westmeath settings return to most. Not the big transition to primary school — although that matters too — but the twenty small ones that make up a day: arrival, hand washing, coats on, coats off, lunch, sleep, home time. Each of those is a point where a child is asked to stop something they chose and start something they did not, and each is where most difficult behaviour in an early years room actually lives.

Sessions for services in Athlone, Mullingar, Moate and Kinnegad take that apart practically. What warning does a child get, and in what form? Is the sequence visible to them, or held only in an adult's head? Who is standing where when the group moves? Teams usually find that redesigning two transitions removes more stress than any behaviour policy they have written, and the visual routine work gives them something concrete to put on the wall by the end of the week.

Delivery for Westmeath is live online. Amy works from Gorey, Co. Wexford, and the midlands are beyond routine travel for a one-hour session — better to say that than to leave a setting waiting on a date that will not come. Online groups get the same hour, the same booklet and a certificate of attendance. Westmeath County Childcare Committee is the local contact for funding, registration and provider supports.

For settings

Staff development for crèches, preschools and ECCE rooms across Westmeath — setting packages from €399.

For parents

Evening online sessions for Westmeath parents — join from home once the children are settled.

Private sessions

One-to-one from €25 for 30 minutes, or a private group around your own schedule.

Most requested by Westmeath groups

Towns in Westmeath we hear from

Parents and educators book from Athlone, Mullingar, Moate, Kinnegad, Castlepollard and right across the county. Because these sessions run live online, where you are in the county makes no difference to whether you can take part.

Local support in Westmeath

For funding, registration and local early years supports, Westmeath County Childcare Committee is the first port of call for settings and childminders in the county. Visit Westmeath County Childcare Committee

What attendees say

“Amy made supporting children through child-led activities and emergent interests so much easier to understand. She sat in the room with us completely non-judgmental and offered guidance that in turn sparked our own ideas.”
Chloe · Room leader, early years setting
“Planning made simple, broken down and fun to discuss.”
Maria · Workshop attendee
“Amy's love for children shines through and her passion is contagious. If you want your fire reignited, Amy will most definitely help you light the match.”
Margaret · Parent

Westmeath questions

Do you make the visual resources for us?
The booklet includes printable templates you can adapt, and the session covers how to photograph your own routine rather than using generic clipart. Children respond far better to a photograph of their actual coat hook than to a stock picture, so making them locally in Mullingar or Athlone is part of the point.
We have children moving to primary in June — when should we book?
March or April tends to work best, which gives a term to embed the routines before the change rather than trying to prepare a child in the last fortnight. Parent sessions on the same theme run in the evening online at €20 per person.
Is there any in-person option in Westmeath at all?
Not as a regular offering. The honest position is that the midlands are outside comfortable travelling distance from Gorey for a single workshop. A setting package delivered on site could be arranged if travel is covered, otherwise everything runs live online with the same content and certificate.
Is there VAT on top of the price?
No. Roots of Wonder is not VAT registered, so the price you see is the price you pay. A public online ticket is €20 per person, in person is €35, and a setting package is €399, €599 or €799 as a flat fee for the whole setting. Nothing is added at checkout.
Are there booking fees?
No booking fees, no card surcharge and no per-person admin charge. You pay the ticket or package price only. An itemised receipt is emailed to you the moment payment goes through, and settings can request a formal invoice before booking so it can go through your own accounts process first.
Do staff get certificates, and do they count towards a Quality Action Plan?
Every participant receives a dated certificate of attendance naming the workshop, the date and the hour completed. Settings routinely file these as evidence of ongoing professional development in a Síolta Quality Action Plan. They are not CPD points, because that requires separate registration with an awarding body.
How long is a workshop and what is included?
One hour, with a take-home booklet for every participant and a dated certificate of attendance for educators. Online sessions are €20 per person and in-person sessions are €35, with €5 off when booked at least two weeks in advance. Private groups and full setting packages are also available.
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Workshop topics for Westmeath

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