PJ’s Playschool was a positive experience for local councillor

AFTER 17 years and having cared for hundreds of children, PJ’s Playschool in Templeogue closed its doors for the last time in recent weeks, as the owner said it had gotten “harder to run a small, community-based childcare service”.

Pamela Kearns, who is also a Labour councillor for Rathfarnham-Templeogue, had operated the playschool out of her house for almost two decades.

However, she made the decision to close the service on June 30, after increasing requirements and paperwork for the business made it difficult for her to run it, alongside her staff members Emma Satelle and Amalia Barlean.

“There’s quite a lot of paperwork involved with running a playschool, particularly with Covid, and I understand why,” Cllr Kearns told The Echo.

While larger childcare service chains can employ dedicated administrative staff, this isn’t practical for smaller services, according to Cllr Kearns, along with increased requirements during inspections.

“It’s my firm belief that there’s a long-term objective to do away with community-based playschools,” she explained.

“The playschool was literally at the back of my house, with two big doors that opened out to the garden, and in previous inspections I was told that was OK.

“At the last inspection, I was told I’d need to install a wired fire alarm connected to electricity in the house. Every inspection has been getting harder and harder.

“I was only ever going to give running the playschool another two or three years, because of my age, but I did it this year because it’s just gotten harder as a small, community-based service.

“This has pushed me to go earlier than I would have liked to. Any small childcare provider I know is finding it really difficult.”

Cllr Kearns praised the parents of the 14 children who attended her playschool this year as being “amazing” and conscientious throughout the pandemic, but she said that she was disappointed by the fact that childcare staff weren’t considered frontline workers and so didn’t get vaccines as a priority.

All of these issues combined led Cllr Kearns to the decision to close PJ’s Playschool, which was marked by a chocolate-filled celebration for the children and parents on the final day of the service on June 30.

“The last day was very emotional,” explained Cllr Kearns. “The kids were here. We just played with them, like we always do, and then we had a party where the kids got to stuff their faces with chocolate!

“The parents all applauded me and got me gifts, and I got a gift from the principal of the local school, Bishop Shanahan National School, thanking me for my help over the years.”

Reflecting on what it’s been like to mind hundreds of children in the locality and form strong bonds with the children and their families, Cllr Kearns said: “I still have kids who come up to me on the street and say hi to me or come up to me for a hug.

“I’ve had kids who, ten years later, came back to the playschool to do their work experience for TY.”

Looking ahead, Cllr Kearns said she’s planning to devote more time to her role in local government, and also hopes to explore Government policy related to childcare in the State, as she believes it should be more affordable and accessible.

However, she’ll still fondly look back on her time running PJ’s Playschool and the positive experiences she had.

“I’ve had great staff over the years,” said Cllr Kearns. “They loved the kids and they always enjoyed playing with them.

“All we ever wanted to do was look after the children, and let them know that they were loved and cared for.”