Pre-school Education
This is the first step in your children’s education and it is a fun, lively environment which teaches them many useful things. It is the work of Comhairle nan Sgoiltean Àraich (the Gaelic pre-school group) which is responsible in no small part for the growth in this sector. CNSA was established in 1982 and they have nearly 120 associated groups which give pre-school education to more than 2,000 children in Scotland. They have a variety of groups for children of all ages before they go to school, and the children do not have to have Gaelic when they first go to a CNSA-run pre-school group. Neither do the parents have to have Gaelic. There were only four playgroups when they started, but since then pre-school education has mushroomed, as has every other area of Gaelic education.
The different groups run by Comhairle nan Sgoiltean Àraich include: Bumps and Babies groups (for expectant mothers and children up to six months); Parent and Child Groups (for children up to two years); playgroups (for children between two and three years); and nursery units (for children aged three to five years).
In addition to the CNSA groups the local authorities themselves run pre-school groups. There are 60 nursery units (pre-school groups for children aged three and older) in the different local authority areas which contain a total of 701 children according to the latest figures (2006-07).
With regard to training for pre-school teachers, those who are employed by local authorities must have an appropriate qualification, and Comhairle nan Sgoiltean Àraich also train staff in their pre-school groups and suggest that they should have the appropriate qualifications. A Disclosure Scotland check must be carried out before anyone can become involved in a pre-school group.
CNSA also run ‘Gaelic in the Home’ courses when there is demand, these courses teach parents and other adults Gaelic in the informal environment of the home. There is no writing, reading or grammar, only conversation in Gaelic – a strategy which brings people to fluency very quickly according to CNSA.