Little people are well looked after in Barna

An Irishwoman whose nursery school in London was listed as one of the 300 best establishments for toddlers in the British Good Nursery Guide has set up a pre-school at Fairy Grove, Trusky West, in Barna, Co Galway.

A Connemara native, Irish speaker, and a trained nurse, Molly Molloy returned to Ireland recently after spending 23 years in London where she set up the original Little People in her home in Highgate. It was not until the birth of her own daughter, Sarah, that she was faced with the task of finding suitable childcare. She was not happy with what she could find and opened her own nursery with Sarah - now in secondary school in Galway - and a friend's child as her only pupils.

That was 1990 and by the time she left London, she had been profiled in newspapers and on BBC television. Back in Ireland, she converted a spacious house in Barna and engaged Eilis O'Flynn, a primary schoolteacher with many years' experience, including Montessori methods.

Molly drew on natural woods and bright, cheerful primary and pastel colours to create a child-friendly world of miniature furniture, including tot-sized toilets and sinks. Part of her gentle approach towards "settling in" new children is to encourage parents to remain on the premises for some days.

There is a "dolphin room", full of animals, an art room, where splattered paintings and drawings are pinned to the skyblue walls, and the bathroom is also part of the training in independence. The main classroom - light-filled with big windows looking out to a large garden - houses all the teaching equipment. Whenever possible, the children are out learning in the fresh Connemara air.

Little People offers a six-hour daily bilingual programme for children over two years old, from 8.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. As several of its charges are due to "graduate" at the end of this month, it has some vacancies, to be filled by the end of July.

The current group of parents is so enthusiastic about the concept that they are hosting this year's open day - on Saturday, July 15th, at Trusky West, Barna from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

For more information on enrolments, Little People can be contacted at (091)590809.