Crèche enquiries in Ireland: how to answer every parent quickly and keep a fair record

Most Irish crèches get enquiries every week by phone, email, a website form and Facebook Messenger. If each one is handled a bit differently, parents get mixed answers and your list goes stale. Here's a practical way to answer every parent quickly and keep a fair record. Practical tips below are good practice, not a legal rule, unless a regulation or official source is cited.

Updated 5 November 2026.

Answer every channel the same way

Write a short enquiry script (two minutes on the phone, or a short reply template) and use it on every channel.

• Phone. Take the child's date of birth, wanted start date, days needed and parent contact details. Tell them the same core facts you would put in an email (see below). If you can't talk properly during drop-off, offer a callback time the same day.
• Email and web form. Reply within one working day if you can. Use the same template every time so fees, ECCE, NCS and vacancies don't drift.
• Facebook or other social messages. Treat them like email. Don't leave answers only in a private message thread that nobody else on the team can see; copy the enquiry into your log.

One person (or a named backup) should own enquiries each day, so nothing sits unread in a personal inbox.

What to tell parents up front

Regulation 17 says a registered provider must ensure that a parent or guardian of a child proposing to attend the service is given the information in Regulation 16(1)(a) to (g). That includes staff names, roles, qualifications and experience (16(1)(a)), the class of service and age profile, adult:child ratios, the type of care or programme, the facilities, the opening hours and fees, and the policies and statements the service must keep under Regulation 10 (S.I. No. 221 of 2016).

Your statement of purpose and function (a Schedule 5 document) already covers who the service is for, the class of service, hours, age range and how many children you can take (Schedule 5). At enquiry stage, give parents a clear, plain version of:

• Ages and rooms. Which ages you take, and which room a child would join based on their date of birth and start date.
• Hours and calendar. Opening times, term dates or year-round pattern, and how holidays work.
• ECCE. If you offer the Early Childhood Care and Education programme, say so. ECCE is free for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, over 38 weeks (or 182 days on the provider's ECCE calendar). Children who have turned 2 years and 8 months by 31 August, and who are not older than 5 years and 6 months on or before 30 June of the programme year, can take part (gov.ie, ECCE).
• NCS. If you participate in the National Childcare Scheme, say so. Parents with children from 24 weeks to under 15 can apply for a universal or income-assessed subsidy towards a Tusla-registered place (ncs.gov.ie, types of subsidy; Citizens Information, NCS). Children on ECCE can also use NCS for hours outside ECCE where you offer both (ECCE Programme Rules 2026/2027).
• Fees. Point parents to your current fee table. ECCE Approved Providers must keep up-to-date calendars and fee tables on display in the service and on any online platform they keep for parents (gov.ie, ECCE). Providers set their own fees, sessions and admissions policies under NCS (ncs.gov.ie).
• Current vacancies. Be honest. "No place until September in Wobblers, but we can add you to the list" is better than a vague "we'll see."

Citizens Information also reminds parents to check fees, hours and holiday periods, and to visit when children are present (Citizens Information, your childcare options).

Book visits, then follow up

Don't leave visits as a casual "drop in sometime."

1. Offer two or three slots in the next fortnight, when children will be in the rooms.
2. Confirm in writing (email or message) with the time, parking or door entry notes, and who they'll meet.
3. After the visit, send a short follow-up the same day or next morning: thanks for coming, whether a place is available, and how to join the waiting list if it isn't.
4. Record the visit on the enquiry log (date offered, date attended, outcome).

Tusla's leaflet for parents choosing an early years service suggests making an appointment so the manager has time to talk, preparing questions, and checking that the service is Tusla-registered and that an inspection report is available (Tusla, choosing an early years service).

Keep a simple enquiry log, then move people onto the waiting list fairly

Every enquiry, whatever the channel, gets one row with:

• date and channel (phone, email, web, Facebook)
• parent name and contact details
• child's date of birth and wanted start date
• days or sessions needed
• ECCE or NCS interest
• visit booked or attended (if any)
• outcome (waiting list, place offered, not proceeding)

When the family wants to stay on for a place, move them onto your waiting list under the written order you already use. Don't invent a second, unofficial queue for Facebook enquiries. Our guide to a crèche waiting list in Ireland covers what to record on the list, how to prioritise fairly, and how to keep it current. This post doesn't repeat that detail.

Link enquiries to your written policies

Admissions and waiting list rules are not themselves listed in Schedule 5. What Schedule 5 does require is a set of written policies, procedures and statements under Regulation 10, including a statement of purpose and function, an inclusion policy and a settling-in policy (S.I. No. 221 of 2016, Schedule 5; our overview of Tusla's Schedule 5 written policies).

Keep a short written admissions or waiting list note that matches what you tell parents on enquiry, sits beside those Schedule 5 documents, and is applied the same way every time. Under NCS, providers continue to decide their own admissions policies (ncs.gov.ie).

GDPR basics for enquiry data

An enquiry log holds personal data about children and parents, so GDPR applies.

• Only ask for what you need. Personal data must be "adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary" for the purpose (DPC, principles of data protection).
• Tell parents why you hold it. When you collect personal data, you have to tell people the purpose, the lawful basis, and how long you keep it, or the criteria you use to decide (DPC, the right to be informed). A short privacy note on your enquiry form or first reply covers this.
• Set a retention period. The law doesn't fix a period for enquiry lists. You set time limits for erasure or periodic review (DPC, principles).
• Delete stale enquiries. Once a family starts, finds a place elsewhere, or stops responding after a fair reminder, remove what you no longer need (DPC, right to erasure; DPC, principles).
• Keep it secure. Don't leave parent numbers only in a personal Facebook inbox or a shared spreadsheet emailed around the team (DPC, integrity and confidentiality).

Where a tool helps

If enquiries are landing in inboxes, notebooks and Messenger threads, TinyOrbit can keep them in one place beside your waiting list and rooms.