Tír na nÓg Preschool in Longford honoured for well-being promotion

Harmony House Community Centre: Tír na nÓg Preschool in Longford town was honoured at a National Healthy Ireland awards ceremony held recently in Mullingar by the HSE and the National Childhood Network (NCN).

The award recognises pre-school services that participated in the HSEs Healthy Ireland Smart Start programme delivered by NCN.  The award acknowledges the role and influence the pre-school setting has in promoting children’s health and well-being.

This most recent achievement for Harmony House Community Centre: Tír na nÓg Preschool marked a double success for the service. Three years ago, they were one of the first pre-school services in Ireland to achieve the award. And this year, they are one of the first services to receive Healthy Ireland revalidation for their continued work in promoting children's health and well-being.

Ola Ogunsakin said, “We are so proud of what we do. The children we look after and working with all our parents.
“I want to say a big thank you to the staff and all the parents that went through the process with us. We can assure you that with or without the award our standard still remain the same.”

The Healthy Ireland Smart Start Programme is built upon the Government’s Healthy Ireland strategic framework and was developed by the HSEs Health and Wellbeing Division. The focus of the programme is building the capacity of staff in the pre-school sector to encourage the adoption of positive health behaviours in children from as early an age as possible.

The programme is specifically designed for pre-school children aged between 3-5 years and encompasses all aspects of a healthy lifestyle: nutrition & healthy eating, oral health, physical activity, emotional well-being and health and safety.

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