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Big Toddle: Design Your Own Little Hero Cape
No full textActivityColouring in activity for young children
Cyberbullying: in Children’s Own Words
Get PDFReportThe Barnardos Online Safety Programme has delivered workshops about online safety to primary aged children and their parents since 2014. In September 2019, Barnardos partnered with Google.org to expand our programme and to reach more schools. Our goal is to reach 1,000 schools or 82,000 children by October 2024. At Barnardos, we believe in children’s rights and the right of children to be heard. In the everchanging landscape of online safety, it is important that we ensure our workshops are current, relevant and up to date for the children we deliver our workshops to. This is why we host focus groups with children and young people in an effort to hear their lived experiences online
ChildLinks Issue 1: Mixed Age Groups in Early Learning and Care
No full textBarnardos Journal ChildLinksThroughout our lives we engage, interact and socialise with people of all ages, learning from and supporting those both older and younger than ourselves, and benefitting from their different experiences, understanding, knowledge level, abilities and skills. In most Western countries, including Ireland, however, many children spend much of their time outside the home with other children the same age. It is the norm in the primary and secondary school system, for example, for children to be segregated into classes based solely on age. In centre-based Early Learning and Care (ELC) settings this is also often the case, with children grouped into babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers, to be cared for and educated separately in different rooms. By not being given the opportunity to play with and socialise with others of different ages, children are being denied the positive relationships, enhanced learning experiences, and social and emotional development that would come from such engagement. This issue of ChildLinks considers the benefits of mixed age groupings, particularly in Early Learning and Care, where children engage with children at least 2 or 3 years older and younger, supporting, nurturing and learning from one another. In the first article in this issue, Sandra J. Stone, Founder of the National Multiage Institute and Professor Emeritus at the Northern Arizona University in the US, considers the myriad benefits of mixed age groupings in maximising every child’s overall well-being while preparing them now and for a future, mixed-age, diverse society. Following this, Barbara Gavagan, Early Years Inspector in the Department of Education, discusses effective pedagogy with mixed age groups in Early Learning and Care settings, drawing on both the content of the Early Years Education Inspection Quality Framework and the findings from inspections in settings across Ireland. Tina Dunstan then gives an overview of her experiences as owner of Cherryblossoms Childcare Ltd, a service that espouses mixed age groupings, and highlights the benefits this approach has had for the children in her care. An article from Barnardos then looks specifically at the positive impacts of mixed age groups on children social and emotional development. Finally, Dr Miriam O’Regan, Regional Childminding Development Officer with Dublin City Childcare Committee, explores mixed age groupings in childminding settings in Ireland
Supporting the Wellbeing of Children from Ukraine: Promoting Resilience and Recovery in Early Learning and Care
No full textInformation sheetThe outbreak of war in Ukraine has resulted in the mass movement of people from Ukraine to neighbouring countries. Children moving to Ireland from Ukraine will have had a range of different experiences in recent times, and these experiences may have threatened their view of the world as a safe and predictable place. All of the children arriving into Early Learning and Care (ELC) settings in Ireland will have experienced significant disruption to their lives. They, along with their caregivers, have been forced to leave their homes, communities, extended families and friends, and all that they know. They are facing many changes and new challenges, and are having to adjust to a new country, a new language, and unfamiliar living arrangements. Although children coming from Ukraine will have had different experiences before and during their journey to Ireland, all will have experienced separation and loss. Some will have been in very frightening situations and experienced the loss of loved ones while others may have had early adverse experiences prior to the outbreak of this war
Back to School Survey 2022
Get PDFReportA child’s right to education is enshrined in the Irish constitution. However, the substantial financial cost of sending a child to school means access to education is anything but free. For over a decade, Barnardos has highlighted the costs incurred by parents in preparing their children to return to school each September. Each year, parents describe the substantial costs imposed on them and the impact that this financial burden has on their family and household budget. Given the recent cost of living increases, it is vital now more than ever for government to set out plans to provide a truly free education to children and remove unreasonable financial pressures from struggling families across the country
Body, Mind and Heart. Secondary School Lesson Plan
No full textPlanBarnardos Big Active supported by ALDI has been created to develop students appreciation of their wellbeing and to support their ability to be as physically, socially, emotionally healthy as they can be
Big Active Information Booklet
No full textBookletThe Barnardos Big Active is a brand new, schools-focused initiative launched with the kind support of Aldi. The initiative aims to get children active all over the country as part of a month-long challenge that takes a holistic approach to supporting the wellbeing of your students. It contains three components that focus on their physical wellbeing, their mental health and the community around them. We call those ‘Body’, ‘Mind’ and ‘Heart’ respectively. The key activity encourages students to complete a physical challenge such as walking or running a mini marathon in one month, which is the Body component. This physical challenge, which encourages children to develop and strengthen their body and self-confidence, can take place wherever and whenever suits during your Big Active month. To encourage a holistic approach we provide classroom exercises for the Mind component. These include specific classroom based anxiety reducing strategies such as muscle relaxation, breathing and positive self-talk — all to support the Mind. Participating students are encouraged to donate a nominal fee of €2 to Barnardos of participants have the option to raise money for our core work with vulnerable families and children through a class-sponsored challenge. This is a wonderful way to introduce children to the positive activity of fundraising and the importance of charity - which supports the Heart. By taking part in this uplifting campaign your students will learn to observe the effect that exercise has on their mental and physical health. They will discover how to incorporate age-appropriate exercises specifically designed to reduce anxiety, stress and worry in their daily lives. They will also learn how giving back to their community can be just as rewarding for them as for others, why giving to charity feels great and how to do it in an informed way
Food Poverty: The Impact on Vulnerable Children and Families
No full textReportNew research launched by national children’s charity Barnardos and leading grocery retailer Aldi Ireland, found that 25% of parents often worry about not being able to provide food for their children and nearly three in 10 people in Ireland have witnessed child food poverty first-hand. The research comes as Barnardos hosts a forum on child food poverty today, supported by Aldi Ireland. The new research, conducted by Amárach Research on behalf of Barnardos and Aldi Ireland, explores both the prevalence and impact of food poverty in Ireland on vulnerable children and families. The study found that 9% of parents feel “close” to food povert