Little Chess Explorers
Educational Chess Programme
Summary for a Board of Management
1. What is being proposed
A weekly after-school chess programme for pupils from Junior Infants to 6th Class, delivered in the school by one person, who holds degrees in primary education and in early childhood education. Three separate programmes run for three age bands, and a school may take one, two or all three, in consecutive sessions on the same afternoon.
2. The three programmes
| Programme | Class groups | Session | Group size | What pupils work towards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Moves | Junior & Senior Infants | 45 min | 8 to 16 target 12 | Across a term, pupils work towards naming every piece, moving it correctly, and finishing a short game with a partner. |
| Playing the Game | 1st & 2nd Class | 50 min | 8 to 16 target 14 | Across a term, pupils work towards playing a full legal game, spotting a piece under attack, and finishing with a basic checkmate. |
| Thinking Ahead | 3rd to 6th Class | 60 min | 10 to 18 target 16 | Across a term, pupils work towards recognising common tactics, explaining a plan in their own words, and talking through their own game. |
3. Cost to the school
Nil, under the standard arrangement. Programmes are parent-funded: families book and pay for the block directly, and the school provides a room. The current Dublin range for after-school chess is roughly 10 to 12 euro per child per session, booked as a term block. A school-funded option exists for curricular blocks, whole-class workshops and funded initiatives, and is quoted separately.
A group that does not reach its minimum does not run, and nobody is charged. There is no rolling contract, no notice period and no automatic renewal.
4. What the school provides
- A room with tables, sized for the group.
- A named school contact, reachable during the programme.
- Chess sets, for blocks shorter than 12 weeks. From 12 weeks upward a full equipment service can be arranged as part of the programme, and the exact arrangement is confirmed in writing before anything starts.
Teaching materials are included whatever the length of the block.
5. Who would be delivering it
- Primary Education degree. Bachelor's Degree in Primary Education with a specialisation in English.
- Early Childhood Education degree. Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education.
- Garda Vetting. Completed in Ireland, most recently in 2026 through the Archdiocese of Dublin, Educate Together and Early Childhood Ireland. A disclosure is granted to a relevant organisation and does not transfer between organisations, so each school arranges its own, at no cost to it.
- Children First training. Introduction to Children First, Tusla, October 2025.
- Teaching chess since 2017. Educational and competitive chess taught in schools and clubs since 2017, from complete beginners through to competition preparation.
- Master's in Bilingual Education. Master's Degree in Bilingual Education, awarded 2026.
- Professional educational experience in Ireland. Early Years Educator in Dublin, working to the Aistear and Síolta frameworks and to Tusla Early Years regulations.
6. Safeguarding, vetting and insurance
- Garda Vetting. Completed in Ireland, most recently in 2026 through the Archdiocese of Dublin, Educate Together and Early Childhood Ireland. A vetting disclosure is granted to a relevant organisation and does not transfer between organisations, so a school that vets through another body runs its own before the first session, at no cost to the school.
- Children First. Introduction to Children First completed with Tusla, October 2025.
- No private lessons. Group teaching inside schools only. Individual pupils are not taken privately.
- Photographs. No images of children are taken during sessions. Anything a school wants for its own newsletter runs through the school's consent process.
Public liability insurance is in place, and the certificate goes to your school before a booking is finalised. Vetting confirmation and any other documentation the Board requires are provided in writing before the first session.
7. What the Board is being asked to approve
- Use of a room, after school, on an agreed afternoon.
- A named school contact for the duration of the block.
- Vetting of the instructor through the school, if required.
- Permission for families to be told the programme is available, through whatever channel the school normally uses.
8. What is not claimed
No claim is made that chess raises attainment, raises IQ or develops particular brain regions. The largest school trial of chess, across 100 schools and 4,009 pupils, looked for an effect on maths, reading and science and did not find one. That study is quoted here rather than left out, because a Board should not have to go and find it.
The same trial did find something the programme is built around: the quality of the instructor's teaching and class management decided whether children stayed engaged, and improving it was named as a priority. The case for this programme rests on what children do in the room and on who is running it.