Abstract

Síolta is an Irish word meaning “seeds”. It has been adopted as the name of the National framework for quality in Early Childhood Education in Ireland as it conceptualizes the potential for growth and development contained within the framework. This paper presents the story of the journey, to date, towards the provision of quality in early education in Ireland. It describes the unique process of consultation with a diverse range of stakeholders which formed the core of the framework development process. In addition it discusses the contents of the framework materials and briefly outlines the future plans for development into practice.