Robertstown school is first in Co Kildare to offer new in-house childcare service

Kids can now be minded in creche-like facilities in their own primary school in Robertstown.

Local couple Karl and Donna Barry, who have four kids including twin babies, have bought the local franchise for nationwide childcare service, Sherpa Kids.

Sherpa Kids offers an on-site, flexible and affordable, high quality before and after-school childcare service in partnership with Robertstown National School, Kildare.

The service will also be available on a full day basis during most school closures and holidays.

The Sherpa Kids service eliminates the logistical nightmare and stress that working parents face in trying to organise childcare for their children.

Sherpa Kids allows parents to book their children on an hourly basis with only 24 hours’ notice.

The wide range of activities for kids include arts, crafts, music, drama, sports, baking, technology, and games to ensuring children are kept engaged and challenged while having fun and making new friends.

The service is available for as little as €5.50 per hour.

For those parents who require an early start, Sherpa Kids also opens the school doors early to allow them to drop their children directly to school were breakfast and fun activities kick start the children’s day.

The after school service then allows parents to collect their children directly from the school later in the evening at a time that suits them.

Children will also get a tasty snack and have their homework supervised as part of the service.

Karl Barry explained how he and his wife liked the idea of Sherpa Kids so much that they decided to buy the franchise and make it available to other parents in Kildare.

Karl said: “Sherpa Kids ticked all the boxes for Donna and I, as it provides an invaluable service for working parents, who up until now, have had so few options but so many challenges in relation to childcare for their school-going children.

“This would have been a blessing and an answer to our prayers when we struggled as working parents when our eldest Katelyn was in primary school. We now know that we have a solution for when our younger children reach that stage in a few years.

“We run the franchise but have ensured that the day-to-day care is provided by a highly skilled and creative childcare professional who will make Sherpa Kids an engaging fun-filled home from home for national school children.”

Meanwhile, Robertstown National School principal Mary Dillon said: “We are very proud to be the first school in Kildare to offer a Sherpa Kids onsite childcare facility.

“The variety of programmes that is on offer to our students ensures that they will always be challenged in a fun and entertaining environment with parents content in the knowledge that they are in the safe and familiar surroundings of Robertstown National School.

Bringing in an external childcare service has only served to enhance our school so we're absolutely delighted. It's a pop up Sherpa Kids which doesn't impact on our classroom space, there are no costs to us and there is no additional workload on our staff. It's been seamless."

For more information visit www.sherpakids.ie or call 087 911 6986.