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National Collection Day
Get PDFBookletBooklet for those participating in Barnardos National Collection Day 2019
Arts Experiences for Young Children
Get PDFBookletWhen the arts are mentioned, some people might initially be put off, thinking of what they see as highbrow activities such as opera or ballet that are created and enjoyed by only a select few. But the arts are any expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, and include any opportunities to create and to enjoy creativity in yourself and others. This might be literature, including poetry and prose, performing arts such as dance, music and drama, or visual arts including drawing, painting, photography and sculpting. When we talk of arts experiences for young children, therefore, we mean any experiences that children take part in through their play that allows them to creatively express their own ideas and share with others in their delight in discovery. We know that all early experiences have an impact on brain development. It is not surprising, therefore, that several studies have uncovered significant positive long-term impacts of creative environments and arts experiences on children’s cognitive development by enhancing language development, numeracy, literacy and understanding of other people. Arts experiences in early childhood are all about exploration. Your child’s natural curiosity to try things out and use materials in many different ways is a foundation for the development of imagination and creativity. Using open-ended materials such as sand, water, twigs and mud, for example, will give your child opportunities to experiment and to try and try again with no right or wrong answers. Engaging in arts experiences can also help your child to understand that there is not just one way of doing something – there are many ways to create a picture or model of a person, to move and dance, or to sing. Through the arts, your child will therefore learn a ‘can do’ disposition that will support them when solving problems and facing new situations. By encouraging creativity and imagination, you can promote your child’s ability to understand their world, which will support their developing independence, thus increasing their self-confidence.
As your child explores a variety of arts experiences, they will come to know themselves better. Using materials they have found as costumes and props in imaginative play will also support them to know and understand others, as they imagine what it might be like to be an animal or a character in a story, a doctor, librarian, ambulance driver, shopkeeper or rocket scientist, or even someone they know like granny, baby sister or daddy. As they put themselves into the shoes of other people, your child is taking steps to develop empathy. Arts experiences will also support your child’s physical development, including both fine motor skills developed through holding a crayon, using scissors and threading beads, and gross motor skills that come from big movements such as dancing or large actions to nursery rhymes. Other benefits to be gained from activities such as movement and dance include a deepening of your child’s awareness of their own body and the space around them, and a joy from being in control of and challenging their body. Experiencing arts activities with adults and other children will support your child’s ability to express and control feelings, to help others, and to negotiate and interact with the environment and others in it. This will also provide opportunities for your child to see themselves as capable and competent as they develop secure relationships with those around them. Children who are secure in these relationships are generally happy to explore their environments extensively and develop interests that they can build on in the future
School Costs Survey 2019: Briefing Paper
Get PDFPaperA child’s right to primary education is enshrined in the Irish constitution yet, the substantial financial cost of sending a child to primary school means access to education is not free and anything but equal1 . Since 2005, Barnardos has been highlighting the costs incurred by parents in preparing their children to return to school in September. Each year, parents describe the substantial costs imposed on them and the impact that this financial burden has on them and on their household budget. In doing so, they clearly demonstrate that the mantra of free education rings hollow
The Real Cost of School in 2019 (Infographic)
No full textInfographicInfographic about the School Costs Survey 2019
Early Years eNews: Issue 3
No full textNewsletterIn this issue of eNews we bring you information about Barnardos new publication, produced in partnership with National Childhood Network, Explore, Play and Learn through the Arts in Pre-school Settings. There is news of other recent launches too, including the implementation plan for First 5, The Universal Guidelines for Early Learning and Care Settings, a new publication on transitions and the LINC Programme Interim Evaluation Report. There is also information about consultations taking place on school age childcare and early years education inspections, and updates on both the review of the QQI awards in early childhood education and care and capital funding
Submission to HIQA on a Scoping Consultation to Inform the Development of Draft National Standards for Children’s Social Services
Get PDFPaperSubmission to HIQA on a Scoping Consultation to Inform the Development of Draft National Standards for Children’s Social Service
School Costs Survey 2019: Factsheet
No full textInformation sheetIn total, 1,402 parents completed the Barnardos School Costs Survey 2019. The majority of respondents (885) had children in primary school, while the remaining 517 respondents’ children attend secondary school. There was a broad geographic spread – 65 % of respondents are from Leinster, 21 % from Munster, 10 % from Connaught and 4 % from Ulster – which was broadly in line
with the national population proportions
Early Years eNews: Issue 4
No full textNewsletterFollowing on from the RTÉ Investigates: Crèches, Behind Closed Doors programme broadcast in July, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. Katherine Zappone, made a number of announcements over the summer in an effort to strengthen quality requirements for early years services and in this issue of Early Years eNews we bring you details of some of these. Barnardos welcomes these developments along with the news of a working group to explore the establishment of a professional body, which will strengthen a system of quality early learning and care for all children as well as supporting providers and practitioners in the early years sector. Also to be welcomed is the news of the formal initiation of a project to develop a new Funding Model for Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare and the establishment of an Expert Group to lead this work
Barnardos Online Safety Workshop for Parents
No full textFlyerBarnardos Online Safety Programme has been developed based on research, current thinking and best practice in relation to promoting online safety among children. The aim of the workshops are to offer parents an opportunity to consider how they can increase their child’s online safety and respond to any instances of negative online behaviour. Parents can access Google’s ‘Be Internet Legends’ programme and resources for additional information
Professionalism in the Early Years
Get PDFPresentationPresentation looking at the importance of professional development of the early years workforce