Peace of mind for parents with ‘app’ connection for childcare
By Hayden Moore
THE FUTURE of childcare is here with Lily’s Before and After School Childcare, who use an app specifically designed for parents to keep track of what their little ones are up to.
Established by former Shamrock Rovers and current Bradford City professional footballer Eoin Doyle and Blackpool FC’s Daniel Ventre, Lily’s is designed around giving working parents some peace of mind by enabling them to stay connected to their children’s activities throughout the day.
Deirdre Cleary (SDCC), Julian Moore (Chairperson, of The Park Community Centre), Eoin Doyle (Lily’s), Jennifer Hedderman (Lily’s), Cllr Mary Seery Kearney, Lorraine Kelly (Manager, The Park) and Daniel Ventre (Lily’s)
Located in The Park Community Centre in Ballycullen, it will service the families of the surrounding areas with students from Holy Rosary Primary School, Gaelscoil na Giúise, Firhouse Educate Together, Scoil Treasa Firhouse, Scoil Carmel Firhouse and St Colmcille’s Knocklyon able to enrol.
Established by two professional athletes, the service will also be particularly focused on healthy living and “getting kids active”.
Speaking to The Echo after their launch event, manager Jennifer Hedderman let us know how the app works.
“It’s the only before-and-after school care in Ireland that has an app,” she emphasised.
“It’s a real-time app, so as things are happening with the children, their parents get a ping to their phone. When they’ve arrived, they get a ping, or when they’re eating, they get a ping – so anything that the children are up to, the parents get a notification to their phones through the Cheqdin app.
“If the parents are running a few minutes late they can message one of the staff members through the app by pressing the pick-up button, it’s all done through the app on our iPad.
“When a message is sent in, a member of staff is assigned to it, so there is always a level of communication there.”
Currently hiring, Lily’s aims to build a roster of highly trained and experienced members of staff to accommodate for the students.
At €675 a month for the service, Lily’s promises to deliver HSE-approved hot dinners, three extra-curricular activities, breakfast club, supervised homework, the Walking School Bus and the childcare app.
The Walking School Bus is part of their healthy living plan, with the drop-off and collection service encouraging children to walk some of the way.
Lily’s Before and After School Childcare will open its doors at the end of August and is still enrolling, although there is limited availability.
For those interested, visit www.lilys.ie, email info@lilys.ie or call Jennifer at 0879041516.
