January 2027
Start the new term with chess already organised
A January start is organised in November, because Garda Vetting takes four to six weeks and Christmas slows everything down. Here is the whole path, in dates, and the few things your school actually has to do.
January 2027
Taking bookings for January 2027. To start in the week of 11 January, enquire by 20 November.
Garda Vetting goes through the school and takes four to six weeks, longer around Christmas, which is what sets the date. Schools already running a club this term are offered their January afternoon first, and the rest go in the order enquiries arrive. Enquiries received by 20 November are quoted at the current programme rates for January 2027, held for 14 days while the school confirms the details.
Prefer it in class time, paid by the school? How that works
Enquiries are quoted at the current January 2027 rate until Friday 20 November 2026.
January 2027 · taking bookings
Enquire to start in January
Closes Friday 20 November 2026
23:59 Irish time
Enquiring does not commit your school to book. Programme dates are agreed separately, and availability depends on timetable, location and group configuration.
The path
From enquiry to first session
Step 1
By Friday 20 November
You enquire
A few minutes: which classes, roughly how many children, which afternoon could work. Nothing is sent from the page and nothing is stored.
Step 2
Next
You get a proposal in writing
Dates, group sizes and what it would cost families. The rate quoted is held for 14 days while you decide, and enquiring commits you to nothing.
Step 3
Four to six weeks
Garda Vetting
Completed through your school's own vetting contact or patron body. It is the one step with a lead time, and it is why the date is what it is.
Step 4
Before Christmas
Families are told
Day, time and how to sign up, sent while there is still a term to talk about it. Families sign up with us or through your school, whichever you prefer.
Step 5
Week of 11 January
First sessions
Schools reopen on Wednesday 6 January, so the first full week back is the week of 11 January. A group that does not reach its minimum does not run, and nobody is charged.
Enquiring after 20 November still works; it is quoted for February, because the vetting weeks cannot be shortened.
Why Little Chess Explorers
What your school gets
One pathway, three programmes
Junior Infants and 6th Class get genuinely different sessions, written for their age, instead of one lesson with easier words.
One person plans and teaches
Every session, in person, by somebody with degrees in primary education and early childhood education. One contact for the whole block.
Nothing for your office to run
A room and a named contact. Families enrol and pay, or the school does, as you prefer. Lesson materials always included.
Nobody is charged if it does not fill
No contract, no notice period, no automatic renewal. A block that is not working stops at the end of the block.
In writing, before and after
A plan with aims before the block, a four-line note after every session, a report on every child at the end. The sample is on the site.
Papers a Board asks for, ready
Child Safeguarding Statement under the Children First Act, Garda Vetting through the usual bodies, public liability insurance, and a one-page briefing for the Board.
Clubs are being taught in Dublin primary schools this term. No school and no child is named on this site.
Schools running a club this term
Your January afternoon is held for you first
If we already teach at your school, tell us whether you would like to carry on. Your afternoon is offered to you before it is offered anywhere else.
Who does what
Four things from the school. Everything else is ours
After-school activities usually fail on administration rather than on the activity. Here is the honest split.
The school provides
- A roomWith tables and chairs for the group size, straight after school.
- A time slotOne afternoon. Groups run back to back, so three groups is still one afternoon.
- A named contactOne person we can reach during the block. Usually the after-school organiser.
- AccessAgreed arrival, set-up and finish times, so nobody is waiting at a locked door.
Little Chess Explorers handles
- Programme planningWritten for the class group, not adapted on the day from a generic plan.
- The teachingEvery session, delivered in person.
- Lesson materialsIncluded in every programme, whatever its length.
- Equipment arrangementAgreed in writing before anything starts, from your own sets to a full service.
- Parent communicationHandled for you, or kept inside whatever system your school already uses. Your choice.
- EnrolmentRun by us or run by the school. Say which you prefer and it is set up that way.
Nothing above requires the school to buy anything, chase anybody, or take on a payment process it does not already run. The full practical detail is on the schools page.
What a Board asks first
Garda Vetting?
Garda Vetting has been 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. If your school vets through one of those three, say so when you enquire and the existing application can be passed to your vetting contact, which can save the school a form. Otherwise vetting is completed through your Board of Management before the first session, at no cost to the school. It takes four to six weeks, so it sets the start date.
Insurance and documentation?
Public liability insurance is in place, and the certificate goes to your school before a booking is finalised. Vetting confirmation and anything else your school requires are provided in writing before the first session. Send the list your Board of Management works from and it comes back completed rather than partially.
Who pays?
Parent-funded is the standard option, so it does not come out of the school budget. Families book and pay for the term and the school provides a room. The other way is chess in class time, which the school pays for: a session with a whole class during the school day, booked by the morning and invoiced to the school.
What are the group sizes?
Infants run from 8 to 16 with 12 as the target. 1st and 2nd run from 8 to 16 with 14 as the target. 3rd to 6th run from 10 to 18 with 16 as the target. A group that does not reach its minimum is not run, and nobody is charged.
Is there a pilot option?
Yes. A six week block is the normal way to start. It is long enough for children to reach full games and short enough that the school is not committing a full year to an untested activity.
What schools ask first
The three questions, answered before you have to ask them
- Who pays?
- Families, as standard. The programme does not come out of the school budget and the school is not asked to fund it. A school-funded option exists for curricular blocks and one-off workshops if that suits you better.
- What does the school have to provide?
- A room with tables, an agreed afternoon, and a named contact. Equipment is agreed in writing before anything starts, and lesson materials are always included.
- Can complete beginners join?
- Yes, and most do. Every programme is written for children who have never touched a chessboard. Parents do not need to know chess either. Children who already play get harder versions of the same task rather than a separate class.
Everything else, including vetting, safeguarding, group sizes and room requirements, is on the schools page. If you need something to forward internally, there is a briefing written for a Board of Management.
Bring chess to your school
Tell us the class groups you have in mind and you will get a written answer with dates, group sizes and what it would cost your families. No obligation, and the whole thing can be handled in writing if that suits your week better.
Parents can ask for it too. There is a short form for that on the families page.