Little questions, gently answered

Common questions about workshops, pricing and booking

• How much is a Roots of Wonder workshop?

  Public tickets are €20 per person online and €35 in person, with €5 off when you book at least two weeks ahead. Private 1:1 sessions are €25 for 30 minutes or €50 for an hour. Private groups are €35 per person online and €45 in person. Setting packages are €399 to €799.

• How long is a workshop and what is included?

  Every workshop is one hour. You get the live session with Amy, space to ask about your own child or your own room, and a take-home booklet with the ideas, prompts and reflections written up so nothing is lost afterwards. In-person attendees also receive a dated certificate of attendance.

• Is there VAT on top of the price?

  No. Roots of Wonder is not VAT registered, so the price you see is the price you pay. A public online ticket is €20 per person, in person is €35, and a setting package is €399, €599 or €799 as a flat fee for the whole setting. Nothing is added at checkout.

• Are there booking fees?

  No booking fees, no card surcharge and no per-person admin charge. You pay the ticket or package price only. An itemised receipt is emailed to you the moment payment goes through, and settings can request a formal invoice before booking so it can go through your own accounts process first.

• Do staff get certificates, and do they count towards a Quality Action Plan?

  Every participant receives a dated certificate of attendance naming the workshop, the date and the hour completed. Settings routinely file these as evidence of ongoing professional development in a Síolta Quality Action Plan. They are not CPD points, because that requires separate registration with an awarding body.

• Are you Children First trained and insured?

  Yes. Amy Byrne has completed Children First training through Tusla and acts as a Mandated Person, and Roots of Wonder carries public liability and professional indemnity insurance. Certificates and insurance details are available on request before you book, which most settings need for their own compliance file.

• Are the workshops Aistear and Síolta aligned?

  Yes. Every educator workshop names where the content sits in Aistear, the national early childhood curriculum framework from the NCCA, and in the Síolta quality standards. Parent workshops use the same evidence base in plain language, without the framework vocabulary, so nothing feels like jargon.

• Which counties do you cover?

  In-person workshops run across Leinster and Munster from a base in Gorey, County Wexford — Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Louth, Wexford, Kilkenny, Waterford, Tipperary and Cork. Galway, Limerick, Clare, Westmeath, Mayo and Donegal are served online, and travel further afield can be arranged for setting packages.

• What is the difference between a public ticket and a private group?

  A public ticket books you one seat at a scheduled workshop alongside other parents and educators, at €20 online or €35 in person. A private group is your own closed session on a date and topic you choose, at €35 per person online with a minimum of five, or €45 per person in person with a minimum of six.

• How many people do I need for a private group workshop?

  Five people minimum for a private online group and six for a private in-person group. A two-hour team bonding creative event needs four people at €39.99 each with all supplies included. If you are short of the minimum, book a 1:1 instead or ask about joining a public date.

• What is in a setting package, and how do Seedling, Sapling and Oak differ?

  All three are a two-day on-site programme: observation in your own rooms, a written strengths report, a workshop and bespoke booklet for each room, and dated staff certificates. They differ only by size — Seedling €399 covers up to two rooms, Sapling €599 covers three to four, and Oak €799 covers five or more.

• Can I book a 1:1 about my own child, and what happens in 30 minutes?

  Yes. A 30-minute in-person 1:1 costs €25. You describe what is happening at home, Amy asks questions about routines, triggers and what has already been tried, and you leave with two or three specific things to try that week. It is practical support and education, not therapy, assessment or diagnosis.

• Can I get an invoice before booking, and what is your refund policy?

  Yes — request an invoice by email at info@rootsofwonder.ie and pay by card or bank transfer once it has been approved. Tickets can be refunded in full up to seven days before the date, or moved to another date at any time. Full terms are set out on the refund policy page.

• How long is each workshop and what do I take home?

  One hour, every time. Each session ends with a take-home booklet covering the ideas, prompts and reflections from the hour, so you are not relying on memory or notes. Educators also receive a dated certificate of attendance naming the workshop, the date and the hour completed.

• Can I book online, or does it have to be in person?

  Both formats run every month. Online workshops are live over a video link at €20 per person and reach every county in Ireland. In-person workshops are €35 per person and run across Leinster and Munster, either at your own setting or in a community venue near you.

• Are the workshops Aistear aligned?

  Yes. Each educator workshop states which Aistear themes it supports — Wellbeing, Identity and Belonging, Communicating, or Exploring and Thinking — and how the content maps to the Síolta standards, so the hour can be recorded directly against your setting's own planning and quality documentation.

• Can you run a parent evening at our preschool?

  Yes, and it is one of the most popular bookings. A parent evening is a private group workshop hosted at your setting, priced at €45 per person in person with a minimum of six, or €35 per person if you would rather run it online so working parents can join from home after bedtime.

• Who leads the workshops?

  Amy Byrne, who holds a BA (Hons) at NFQ Level 8 in Early Childhood Education and Care, is currently studying a Level 9 postgraduate in play therapy, and has four years of childcare leadership experience. She is Children First trained, a Mandated Person and insured. She is not yet a qualified play therapist.

• How do the online courses work?

  Each course is €20 and self-paced. You create an account, pay once, and the lessons unlock permanently. Work through them in any order, at any hour, on a phone or laptop. Every lesson has a printable worksheet, and your progress is saved automatically so you can stop and come back.

• How long does a course take?

  Most courses take between sixty and ninety minutes of reading and reflection in total, spread across four short lessons. Because the worksheets ask you to observe a real child or a real room over a few days, most people finish comfortably within a week or two rather than in one sitting.

• Who reviews my worksheet?

  Amy Byrne reviews every submitted worksheet personally. You upload your completed answers, she reads them and replies by email with written feedback on what you noticed and what to try next. This is why the courses cannot simply be clicked through — the reflection is the point.

• Do I get a certificate at the end?

  Yes. Once your final worksheet has been reviewed and passed, a dated certificate of completion is emailed to you automatically from courses@rootsofwonder.ie, naming you, the course and the minutes of learning. Settings file these as evidence of professional development in a Quality Action Plan.

• Is a course the same as a live workshop?

  The content overlaps but the experience differs. A course is €20, self-paced and reviewed in writing. A live workshop is one hour with Amy, where you can ask about your own child or your own room and hear from other people in the same situation. Many people do both.

• Is Amy a qualified play therapist?

  Not yet, and it matters to say so plainly. Amy is currently studying a Level 9 postgraduate in play therapy. She holds a BA (Hons) at NFQ Level 8 in Early Childhood Education and Care. Her workshops are education and support for adults, never therapy, assessment or diagnosis for a child.

• What qualifications does Amy hold?

  A BA (Hons) at NFQ Level 8 in Early Childhood Education and Care, a Level 3 diploma in Animal-Assisted Therapy, a certificate in outdoor learning, and Children First training as a Mandated Person. She is currently studying a Level 9 postgraduate in play therapy and has four years of childcare leadership experience.

• What is Forever Home Sanctuary?

  Forever Home Sanctuary is the animal sanctuary Amy runs alongside Roots of Wonder. It shapes the work directly: caring for animals gives children a gentle, unhurried way into empathy, responsibility and regulation, and it is where the nature-based and animal-assisted ideas in the outdoor workshops come from.

• Where is Roots of Wonder based?

  Gorey, County Wexford. In-person workshops run across Leinster and Munster, community evenings are held locally at Gorey Enterprise Centre, and live online workshops reach parents and settings in every county in Ireland, including Galway, Limerick, Mayo, Clare and Donegal.

• Do participants receive anything to take away?

  Yes — every participant receives a take-home booklet with the ideas, prompts and reflections from the session, so nothing is lost after the hour ends. Educators also receive a dated certificate of attendance naming the workshop, the date and the hour completed.

• Can I book a private workshop for a small group?

  Absolutely. Gather friends, a parent-and-toddler group or a small team and Amy will run a private one-hour workshop on the theme of your choice. Private groups are €35 per person online with a minimum of five people, or €45 per person in person with a minimum of six.

• What is your cancellation and refund policy?

  Tickets can be refunded in full up to seven days before the workshop date, or moved to another date at any time. Online course purchases carry the standard fourteen-day EU cooling-off right unless you have already started the lessons. Full details, including cancellation tiers for settings, are on the refund policy page.

• Do you travel outside your local area?

  Yes. Amy is based in Gorey, County Wexford, and travels to settings and community venues nationwide. Travel well outside Leinster and Munster may include a small mileage contribution, always agreed in writing before booking. Live online workshops reach every county with no travel cost at all.

• Are children present at parent workshops?

  Parent workshops are designed for adults so you can focus fully on the ideas and the conversation. A small number of shared, hands-on workshops explicitly invite children to take part — where that is the case it is stated clearly in the workshop description before you book.

• What is play-based learning?

  Play-based learning is an approach in early childhood education where children explore, experiment and make sense of the world through play. It looks like child-led activity, open-ended materials and adults who follow the child's lead — with real learning about language, emotion, problem-solving and relationships happening underneath the fun.

• Why is play-based learning so important?

  Play is how young children build the brain pathways for regulation, curiosity and connection. In Ireland it is also the foundation of Aistear, the national early years curriculum framework. When adults slow down and join a child's play, children feel safe enough to try, fail, express big feelings and learn.

• What do early childhood educators do?

  Early childhood educators care for and support the learning of children from birth to around age six. They plan play-based experiences, observe development, partner with families, and create safe, inclusive environments guided in Ireland by Aistear, Síolta and Children First. Roots of Wonder workshops strengthen that everyday practice.