The Genesis Programme in conjunction with its four Area Coordination Teams (ACTs) is hosting a series of Parent Forums in Dundalk and Drogheda as follows:

Wednesday 25th April 
9.15am – 12.00noon

All parents are welcome to attend and to bring their smartphones, iPads etc.

The idea of bringing parents together or a Parent Forum came about as a result of a group of parents wanting to continue to meet following completion of a Parent Programme in Muirhevnamór, Dundalk in 2011.

It was pretty obvious from their meetings that these parents were gaining a lot of support and learning from each other.  So, the idea developed into bringing all parents together who had completed a parent programme.  We started off with Parent Forums in Dundalk and then in Drogheda.

In May, 2017, The Genesis Programme held a number of Focus Groups with parents  to find out how they wanted the Parent Forums to operate and parents were clearly saying that they wanted a Parent Forum to be localised, in their own communities – hence the reason, we are having 4 Parent Forums in Co. Louth next week – one in North Drogheda, one in South Drogheda, one in South Dundalk and one in North Dundalk.

When parents were asked which the issues they would most like to discuss at the Parent Forums, all four areas agreed that bullying was the main issue impacting on children and parents lives at the moment.  The issue of mental health will also be addressed. That is the reason why all four Parent Forums are focusing on bullying and mental well-being,

Tea/Coffee/Scones will be served from 9.15am and a Light Lunch will be provided at the conclusion of each forum.

At the University of Turku on Monday 5th March 2018, The Genesis Programme and Finland University formally signed a Licence Agreement for the delivery of the KiVa Programme in Ireland.

Pictured are Pasi Kaskinen, Executive Vice President of Finland University and Hugh Doogan, Programme Manager with The Genesis Programme.

Also pictured above is Johanna Alanen, International Project Manager with KiVa.

Five members of The Genesis Programme team are now certified Kiva Trainers. They are:  Alice Malone, Hugh Doogan, Claire Gleeson, Yvonne Forde and Laura Sherry.

The Genesis Programme made a small presentation to our hosts and partners in the form of a framed print with the inscription ‘Mol an Óige agus Tiocfaidh Sí’ (Praise the Young and They will Flourish).

For more information on the KiVa Anti-Bullying Programme please click here KiVa Anti-Bullying Programme

Good coverage of The Changing Lives Initiative in Co Louth in the Dundalk Democrat this week (Week beginning 12th February 2018). For more information email The Changing Lives Initiative Louth

The Genesis Programme will commence implementation of the KiVa Anti-Bullying Programme in April 2018 with the project team first undertaking training next month.

Click on the link to watch a short video on what KiVa is all about The KiVa Programme

The Genesis Programme (with Louth Leader Partnership as Lead Agency) is seeking to recruit a part-time Development Officer (3 days per week) to coordinate the delivery of the Incredible Years and the KiVa Anti-Bullying Programme through primary schools in Monaghan, subject to funding.

Duration

Fixed-Term contract to 31^st August 2019 subject to satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period.

Employer                 

Louth Leader Partnership

Reporting to           

Programme Manager, The Genesis Programme

Purpose of the Role

The role of the position is to support the delivery and implementation of The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Programme and The KiVa Anti-Bullying Programme in primary schools in Co. Monaghan as part of a Peace IV project (subject to funding)..

For more details please see www.activelink.ie/content/vacancies/education-training/35330

Partners have a key role to play supporting mums who struggle with their mental health after having a baby but little is known about their experience.

If your partner has recently given birth and experienced a postnatal mental health problem PMD Partners’ Study would like to hear from you.

If you would like more information, or would like to take part, please contact Jill Atkinson by email atkinsje@tcd.ie  or call 087 0629892

A very Happy Christmas to all the children and families who have engaged with The Genesis Programme over the last three years and to all the early years practitioners, teachers, community workers and Group Leaders who make that happen.

We wish all of the partner organisation staff and all the stakeholders who support the consortium a very Happy Christmas as well and we look forward to working with everyone in 2018.

Nollaig Shona.

The Genesis Programme’s online newsletter UPDATE #6 is available now. Click on the link below to catch up with all the recent news and activities.

UPDATE #6

To mark the 3rd Birthday of The Genesis Programme on December 1st 2017, a short video entitled ‘We are The Genesis Programme!’, filmed and edited by the project team was put together. Did you spot yourself or someone you know? Enjoy and feel free to share. Click on the link below

We are The Genesis Programme! Video

The Genesis Programme has been up and running three years as of today – 1st December 2017!

Yes it’s The Genesis Programme’s birthday.

All the children and the families who have engaged with the programme, all of the partner organisations and the leadership from so many brilliant people, the early years practitioners, the HSCLs and the teachers, the community workers, the Group Leaders, the Project Team, the Facebook and Twitter followers, all the other stakeholders – everyone take a moment and give yourself a clap on the back or a thumbs up to someone today. You and they deserve it.

‘How Are They Doing? A Community Perspective on Child Well-Being’ is the 1^st survey of its kind in Ireland and indicates that children from traditionally disadvantaged areas are performing better than the national norm.

The study, which was carried out by Clondalkin-based organisation Archways and commissioned by the Blue Skies Initiative and The Genesis Programme, was conducted in two separate phases and examined the well-being of children aged 7, 10 and 12 years living in Drogheda, Dundalk and Clondalkin, was launched by John Lonergan on Monday 20^th November in the Mont Clare Hotel in Dublin to mark Universal Children’s Day. 850 children, their parents and teachers were surveyed in total.

The event was kicked off by a brilliant performance from the Redeemer Boys’ School Choir.

The children themselves answered questions on their well-being, self-concept, their cognitive abilities and academic performance. Parents and teachers were also quizzed about their perspective on how well these children were doing.

Some key findings from the report, which will be launched on November 20^th, show that children locally are performing better than the national norm and are particularly resilient – highly unexpected results given the previous research which indicates that children in marginalised communities are exposed to greater challenges which impact their development.

Hugh Doogan, Programme Manager with The Genesis Programme “This research goes towards giving a voice to children and it’s important that we listen.  The children in this study are exceeding expectations academically, are resilient and confident in themselves.  However, some children are beginning to struggle emotionally and psychologically as they get older.”

“The results of this current study show that investment in the children of Louth and indeed North and Southwest Clondalkin has made a difference. It is vital that we continue to invest in their futures and provide them with the resources needed to continue to do well and overcome any difficulties they may face.”

This research challenges the assumption of poor outcomes for children living in areas that have been typically identified as disadvantaged – with these findings expected to change the current dialogue around education and well-being of children in demographically disadvantaged areas.

Alice Malone, Quality Assurance Coordinator with The Genesis Programme said: “This study is the first of its kind to be carried out in Co. Louth in which children from 14 schools from Dundalk and Drogheda participated. It gives us a great insight into how parents and teachers view the well-being of our children.  More importantly, it gives children aged 7, 10 and 12 an opportunity to have their voice heard and to tell us how they view themselves.  It is very encouraging to hear that the children’s sense of self is up there with children nationally and that they have high levels of resilience and are doing well academically.”

Other key findings suggest that there is strong positive correlation between the children’s sense of resilience and perceived well-being. The study also indicates that previous analysis regarding performance outcomes for children from demographically deprived areas needs to be examined and that further research is needed to explore the contextual and environmental contributions which have led to local children succeeding at a higher level than expected.