Club Nursery Programme

The GAA, the Camogie Association, the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, GAA Handball and the GAA Rounders Association are delighted to announce the launch of the new Nursery Programme including a workshop to assist coaches in delivering and facilitating an introduction to Gaelic Games in a safe and fun environment for children aged 4-6 years of age.

The Club Nursery is one of the most vibrant areas within our clubs and for most it is a child’s, and possibly parents, first introduction to Gaelic Games and sports and exercise in a planned and structured environment. It allows children develop at their own pace in a fun, inclusive, and social environment.

Nursery Programmes in clubs are aligned to the F1 stage of the Gaelic Games Player Pathway, providing a series of fun-based exercises to develop movement and motor skills for children aged 4 to 6 years old. These skills form the basis for the later development of the specific skills for Gaelic Games. The level of competency with which one can perform these skills is referred to as their Level of Physical Literacy.

 

What is a Nursery Programme?

• A Nursery is the best way to introduce children aged 4-6 to Gaelic Games
• It’s all about fun, being involved in exciting activities and developing children’s movement and motor skills
• The Nursery Programme aims to develop essential Fundamental Movements which are the building blocks for future skill development in our games
• The Nursery Programme is in many cases a child’s, and possibly parents/guardians, first introduction to sports and exercise in a planned and structured environment
• It may also be their first introduction to your club

 

We are proud as Associations to say that we are contributing in a meaningful way to the physical literacy of the nation through this programme – which is currently active in over 1,000 clubs, comprising of more than 50,000 children supported by almost 10,000 coaches and volunteers.

 

Nursery Coach Workshop

To improve and enhance the programme we have developed a coach education element specifically for the volunteer working in this stage of the pathway. The workshop aligns with our coach development framework in that it meets the need of the player, the coach and is accessible i.e. ‘Just in Time-Just for Me’.

The workshop has been informed and influenced by our ongoing research into Coach Education, which identifies a lack of time, work/life balance, family commitments and course availability as some of the main barriers for potential coaches in upskilling. The workshop has been developed to mitigate these factors and to potentially bring more coaches into the area and transition more into the more formal coaching ranks.

To become a qualified nursery coach, the participant must complete a 90 minute in person workshop and a 15-minute online recap along with their mandatory Safeguarding and Garda Vetting/Access NI requirements. This new workshop has been developed to cater for the needs of coaches that will coach at Nursery level (F1 Phase of the pathway). To book a workshop for your club or county you can email developmentsupport@lgfa.ie for details.

Tobar, the eLearning platform, has been updated to include a full series of activities to help all clubs and coaches to plan their nursery sessions using the activity planner. These resources are available to participants following their attendance at the 90 minute workshop.

 

For more information on how to get started visit our F1 Nursery Online Hub by clicking here.

 

 

For further details contact Vinny Whelan, Head of Growth and Participation, vincent.whelan@lgfa.ie

 

Download the LGFA Nursery Programme Guide

 

Videos of all activities are available HERE

 

Watch our Webinar on Establishing Your Club Nursery