A highly successful pre-school sports programme, Buntús Start is to be extended to 51 private childcare providers in Donegal, it was announced this week.
Dr. Martin Gormley, Chairman of the Donegal Childcare Committee at the Cairde Le Cheile centre at St. Conal’s Hospital, Letterkenny launched the programme which is sponsored by the Childcare Business Development Network Skillnet and the Irish Sports Council.
This is the first time that children in private childcare facilities will be able to avail of the training and sports equipment provided under the programme. Until now the Buntús Start programme had only been available to community childcare providers in the county.
Myles Sweeney, Coordinator with Donegal Sports Partnership explained the concept behind the programme.
“This investment by the Childcare Business Development Network Skillnet will allow staff and children in the private pre-school sector in Donegal to access a quality multi-sport programme”, he commented.
“It plants the seeds to encourage greater participation in sport and physical activity among our young people.”
The Buntús Start programme was initiated by the Irish Sports Council and was first piloted in Donegal in 2005. The aim is to encourage the development of sport and physical activity among pre-school children using an accessible, fun but high-quality approach. The three main components of the programme are training, sports equipment and resource cards for pre-school childcare providers. The programme supports learning in areas including physical development, basic motor skills, communication, language and literacy, and personal, social and emotional development.