National Childhood Network

What National Childhood Network does

National Childhood Network (NCN) is an Irish registered charity (Charity Number CHY 13061; Company Registration Number 289445) headquartered in Monaghan that supports the development of quality childhood services across Ireland. Its primary function is delivering Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training, workshops, webinars, and events for early childhood educators, preschool staff, school-age childcare practitioners, childminders, and parents. NCN also runs dedicated programmes including Lifestart (family support), PEACEPLUS ASPIRE (cross-border collaboration with Northern Ireland), Childhood Services Week (annual awareness campaign), and thematic safety initiatives such as Hold Hands Water Safety and SunSmart 5 S's.

The organization's technology infrastructure is a standard website platform (WordPress-based, hosted at ncn.ie) featuring an event calendar with booking and payment functionality, plus standard integrations for calendar (Google, iCalendar, Office 365, Outlook Live), video conferencing (Zoom), podcast distribution (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Vimeo), and social media. No proprietary technology, AI capabilities, or mobile applications are developed. The core deliverable is content — workshops, training sessions, podcasts, and newsletters — rather than a software product.

NCN's revenue model is a hybrid of fee-for-service CPD events (€20–40 per attendee per session) and grant/funded programming delivered through partnerships with government bodies (Department of Children, Pobal, Tusla, HSE), cross-border PEACEPLUS ASPIRE funding, and cultural/academic partners (National Gallery of Ireland, Children's Books Ireland, Atlantic Technological University). The customer base is a long tail of individual practitioners and small early years services distributed across Ireland, with a secondary audience of parents and families. The organization operates with 1–10 employees as a nonprofit entity, and its go-to-market is event-driven, community-led, and partnership-supported.

Name

National Childhood Network

Legal name

National Childhood Network

Website

https://ncn.ie

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

National Childhood Network is an Irish registered charity that delivers CPD training, workshops, and community programmes for early childhood educators, childminders, and families across Ireland, including cross-border Northern Ireland work via the PEACEPLUS ASPIRE programme.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Health, Safety & Compliance Training (CPR/First Aid, Safeguarding, Licensing) (EDACAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Early Childhood Development (ECD) & Pre-Primary Education (BPADAKAB)

Keywords

• Early childhood education
• Professional development training
• Childcare support services
• Family support programs
• CPD training events

Headquarters

HQ city

Ireland

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Training and CPD Events: NCN generates revenue through charging fees for CPD (Continuing Professional Development) training events, workshops, and programs for early childhood educators and practitioners. Events range from €20-40 per person for paid sessions, with some events offered free of charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

National Childhood Network (NCN) is an Irish registered charity that delivers Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training, workshops, webinars, and conferences for early childhood educators and practitioners across Ireland. It also runs the Lifestart family support programme, the PEACEPLUS ASPIRE cross-border collaboration initiative, and the annual Childhood Services Week, supported by partnerships with the Department of Children, Tusla, HSE, and Pobal.

Product overview

National Childhood Network (NCN) operates as a not-for-profit organization supporting quality childhood services across Ireland. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected programmes and services including an event-based training and CPD platform hosting workshops, webinars, and conferences for early years educators; the Lifestart family support programme; the cross-border PEACEPLUS ASPIRE collaboration initiative featuring a podcast series; annual Childhood Services Week celebrations; the Play Champion volunteer programme; and a quarterly Stronger Together newsletter. Additional offerings include the Stay & Play campaign for International Day of Play, water safety and sun safety educational programmes, and an online shop. NCN primarily serves preschool services, school age childcare providers, childminders, and parents through its training events, resources, and community-building initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lifestart: A program offered by NCN for family support.
• PEACEPLUS ASPIRE
• Childhood Services Week

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment department providing funding and strategic oversight for national childhood services programmes. NCN displays the department's logo indicating official support and partnership.
• PobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPobal is a not-for-profit organisation that manages programmes on behalf of the Irish Government and EU. They support the implementation of childhood services programmes across Ireland.
• Tusla - Child and Family AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTusla is Ireland's child and family agency responsible for child welfare and protection services. NCN collaborates on safe sleep guidance and regulatory compliance support for early years services.
• HSE (Health Service Executive)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIreland's national health service provider. NCN partners on health and wellbeing initiatives for early childhood, including safety programmes and child health guidance.
• Cavan/Monaghan LCYP (Local Creative Youth Partnership)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing free art packs valued at €150 for educators attending NCN creative arts workshops. Funded initiative supporting creative youth development across Cavan and Monaghan.
• Music Generation Cavan/MonaghanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMusic education programme partnership delivering Music Monday workshops for early childhood settings as part of NCN's training calendar.
• National Gallery of IrelandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural institution partnership delivering Wondrous Wednesday art workshops via Zoom for preschool and school-age children, exploring famous artworks.
• Children's Books IrelandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLiterary organisation partnering on Tales on Thursday read-along events featuring authors like Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde.
• Ceol ConnectedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMusic and arts organisation partnering on Toe Tapping Tuesday dance-along sessions for early childhood practitioners and children.
• Atlantic Technological University Galway and MayominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHigher education partnership featuring lecturers like Dr Rita Melia delivering ocean literacy and early childhood education webinars.
• Longford and Westmeath Community FamiliesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFamily support partnership delivering Preparing Parents for the Journey of Toileting programme, funded by LW CYPSC.
• Creative MonaghanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal creative organisation that invited NCN Play Team to participate in the Create Festival at Hilton Park, celebrating creativity and play.
• EATVminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational audio-visual partnership producing the PEACEPLUS ASPIRE Talks podcast series showcasing shared education across schools.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Foróige: Ireland's national youth development organization working with adolescents and young people. Comparable to NCN as a national training-and-practice organization serving the children's services sector, though focused on older youth.
• Childminding Ireland: National organization supporting registered and non-registered childminders in Ireland — one of NCN's named customer segments — through training, networks, and advocacy. Closely comparable in mission and target audience.
• Early Childhood Ireland: National membership and representative body for the early years sector in Ireland. Directly comparable to NCN as it provides CPD, advocacy, and practitioner support to the same preschool and early years audience.
• National Youth Council of Ireland: Representative umbrella body for voluntary youth organizations in Ireland. Comparable to NCN in its role as a national network that convenes training, advocacy, and member services for child- and youth-focused practitioners.

Regional players

• Rainbows Ireland: Irish peer-support programme for children experiencing bereavement and parental separation. Comparable as a national children's support charity that delivers facilitator training and operates in schools and early years settings.

Others

• Pobal: Not-for-profit that manages Irish Government and EU programmes on behalf of the State. Listed by NCN as a core partner and directly comparable as an Irish early childhood services programme delivery and funding intermediary.
• National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA): Statutory body that advises on early years, primary and post-primary curriculum in Ireland. Comparable as a national authority shaping early childhood practice standards that NCN's CPD programmes help practitioners implement.
• Treoir: National specialist information service for unmarried parents and families in Ireland. Comparable through its family support and parental information remit, an adjacent (not directly competing) area to NCN's Lifestart work.

Broad incumbents

• Barnardo's Ireland: Large Irish children's charity delivering services and training across early years, family support, and child welfare. Comparable to NCN through its work on early childhood training resources and family-facing programmes, but at significantly greater scale.
• ISPCC: Irish children's charity providing child protection services and support. Comparable as a national children's services charity delivering training and advocacy in the same regulatory ecosystem (Tusla-aligned).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ncn4children
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalChildhoodNetwork/?ref=hl
• Instagraminstagram.com/nationalchildhoodnetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-childhood-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Childhood Network