Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework

Aistear is the early childhood curriculum framework for all children from birth to 6 years in Ireland. The framework uses four interconnected themes to describe children’s learning and development: Well-being; Identity and Belonging; Communicating; and Exploring and Thinking. A recent addition to the framework (2024) has been the addition of a new Aim in the Theme of Exploring and Thinking: ‘Babies, toddlers and young children will have opportunities to learn, to connect with dúlra (nature) and to spend meaningful time in the outdoors’.