Play bus of the western world

The mobile play bus service in Galway is the first of its kind in Ireland

A GROUP OF excited preschoolers clamber on board a brightly painted double-decker bus in the church car park of a sprawling Galway suburb. The bus, which in a former life travelled the streets and roads of London city, won't actually be moving anywhere but the kids don't mind because for them it's all about the novelty of playing on a bus.

The mobile play bus service, which covers Galway city and county, is the first of its kind in Ireland and since its introduction in 2002, it has been a hit with parents and children alike.

In fact, the success of the award-winning service has led the Government to recently announce the provision of dormant-account funding for at least 10 new mobile play buses across the State.

Memie Uí Chualáin, manager of the mobile play bus service in Galway, says it's a simple idea that works very well.

"It's a specially adapted double-decker bus that visits different areas around Galway. Not only do we provide a childcare facility on board, but we also offer educational, parenting and personal development courses for parents. The buses are important for those who use the service directly and also for the wider community."

Happily waving goodbye to their parents, the children climb on board, hanging their coats up on hooks by the driver's seat, before racing up the winding staircase to the upper floor and the main play area.

Some head straight for the "home corner", where they can play dress up and read books, while others seek out their favourite playthings and settle down in the main play area.

Half an hour before their two-hour session is over, the children tidy up the toys and head back downstairs to eat lunch at a table at the rear of the bus. Two qualified childcare workers stay with the children at all times.

Uí Chualáin explains that an audit carried out by the Galway City and County Childcare Committee in 2000 identified the need for this kind of service to deliver pre-school and afterschool services to rural and isolated parts of Connemara, as well as certain areas of the city.

The services are offered to families who otherwise would not be in a position to avail of them due to financial problems, isolation or other constraints.

The HSE donated €100,000 for the purchase and renovation of two second-hand double-decker buses, which were brought from London as none were available in Ireland. The buses were painted in vivid primary colours and kitted out as preschools with advice from the Playbus Association in Britain.

"The buses are fully compliant with the preschool childcare regulations and are on the HSE preschool register. The staff were funded through the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme Childcare (EOCP) investment programme and this continues to date," says Uí Chualáin.

Once the buses were ready, meetings were set up with communities in the city and county to find out which areas were interested in having the service, and it took off from there. They began delivering preschool and afterschool programmes to areas in Connemara, such as Roundstone, Carraroe and Camus, where there was no existing service.

Uí Chualáin says: "There was no preschool education in Roundstone when we started there but after a year and a half, we encouraged parents to get their own separate preschool service up and running in a room in a local national school.

"Part of my job as a development officer is to help communities source suitable buildings to set up their own services."

The city mobile play bus serves new urban communities, ethnic minorities, Traveller families and low-income families. Until last September, the bus was used to provide afterschool services to children at the Carrowbrowne halting site on the outskirts of the city.

However, the afterschool service has now been moved to its own prefab on the site while the mobile play bus still provides preschool services to the site. The city bus also serves Baile an Choiste, a young, mixed housing development on the Headford Road, as well as the expanding suburb of Doughiska, on the east side of the city, and the new urban community in Knocknacarra on the west.

"The preschool sessions last for two hours and the curriculum focuses on preschool education including all the activities you would find in any preschool setting, such as free play, cognitive activities, ie jigsaws, arts and crafts, and storytime. When the weather is good, we are insured to take the kids outside."

Since the beginning, there has been a strong demand for the play bus service, which serves 200 children a year and there is currently a waiting list. While the children are playing upstairs, training is provided downstairs for parents, in collaboration with the VEC, in a range of courses, from adult learning and language to arts and crafts and personal development.

Uí Chualáin says: "The service is accessible to all children and is affordable. We charge a minimal fee of €2-€3 per family and if they can't afford it, it's not a problem. It couldn't have been so successful without the backing of the HSE and other interests.

The benefits of the service to the children, explains Uí Chualáin, include access to childcare and education, improvement in social and language skills, preparation for mainstream education and the well recognised long-term benefits of early intervention.

Meanwhile, the benefits for parents include the opportunity for training and personal development delivered on-site with childcare provided.

The Galway mobile play bus service recently won the Effective Practice in Education award at the National Awards for Services to Children and Young People 2008, announced in Dublin by Minister for Children Brendan Smith.