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.

United Nations Universal Children’s Day was established in 1954 and is celebrated worldwide on November 20th each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare.

November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Universal Children’s Day offers each of us an inspirational entry-point to advocate, promote and celebrate children’s rights, translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better future for children in Ireland. 

The aim of Universal Children’s Day is to get as many people as possible to create events and activities that highlight and celebrate the Rights and Freedoms of Children. 

The Genesis Programme in partnership with another ABC (Area Based Childhood) Programme, the Blue Skies Initiative (Clondalkin) will launch ‘How are they Doing? A Community Perspective on Child Well-Being’ on the 20th November at 11am in the Mont Clare Hotel, Merrion Street, Dublin 2.

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 Clondalkin, Drogheda and Dundalk.

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.

This is a day that is all about the importance of children and how they have special rights and freedoms that help them to grow into happy, healthy adults.

For more information on events taking place to mark Children’s Day 2017, click Children’s Day 2017

Children’s Day 2017

An innovative new early intervention programme which will help thousands of families affected by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was launched on Monday 6th November 2017 in the Carrickdale Hotel by Mairead McGuinness MEP. 

The Changing Lives Initiative is a new cross border project to support families with children at risk of ADHD. 

The initiative is being supported by an award of €2.7m by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and will be focused on County Louth, West Belfast and the Argyll & Bute region in Scotland.  The programme is set to benefit over 2,000 families in these regions.

As many as 5 to 6% of school aged children are affected by ADHD.  The Changing Lives Initiative is a community-based programme.  It aims to create a better understanding about ADHD and provide an intervention programme for families with children (3-7) experiencing behaviours consistent with ADHD.  As well as working with families the programme will provide training for those working with young children, in particular teachers and early years professionals. The programme will provide internationally recognised good practice models of intervention for children with ADHD.

The new Initiative will be delivered across County Louth, Colin/West Belfast, and the Argyll & Bute region of Scotland.  There are five partner organisations involved: Archways (lead partner), Colin Neighbourhood Partnership, Dundalk Institute of Technology, The Genesis Programme (Louth Leader Partnership) and NHS Highland. The project will be delivered locally by The Genesis Programme.

Launching the initiative Mairead McGuinness, MEP said: “This is an excellent programme that will transform many lives for the better, forever.  It is beyond doubt that early intervention is essential.  The initiative will enable children who may have ADHD reach their full potential and it will help their parents and teachers first understand the challenges and then experience the joy and fulfilment of seeing the children develop their innate skills and talents.”  She congratulated everyone connected with the new service.

Welcoming the project, Gina McIntyre CEO of the SEUPB said: “This is an excellent and much needed project which will directly benefit young people and families affected by ADHD, on a cross-border basis. Best practice early interventions will be delivered by way of new and innovative partnerships across Northern Ireland, Scotland and Ireland, reflecting one of the key objectives of the INTERREG VA Programme which is to improve the health and well-being of citizens by improving access to health and social care services in the most appropriate setting to their needs.”

Hugh Doogan, Programme Manager with The Genesis Programme, who will delivering the initiative in Co Louth said: ‘The Changing Lives Initiative is an innovative new project that will provide a much needed support for families with children aged 3 to 7 years who are concerned about ADHD.   The Initiative aims to significantly reduce dependence on medicalised interventions among this group of children by providing a high quality evidence based programme to the local community.  This project will make a real difference to families locally. We are extremely grateful to the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme for funding this initiative.’

Roll out of the programme has commenced in County Louth and West Belfast, with roll out in Scotland due to commence in Autumn next year.  Further information on how families can avail of the programme is available at www.changinglivesinitiative.com.

Match-funding for the project has been provided by the Department for Health in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health in Ireland and NHS Highland.

What is ADHD?

• ADHD is the chronic, debilitating disorder which has a substantial effect on many aspects of a person’s life, from family and school life to their social environments. It is characterised by considerably high levels of impulsivity, hyperactivity and inattention.

Archways

• Archways is a national organisation working in collaboration with local and national agencies to promote and research evidence based programmes for children & young people.
• Archways provides a bridge between evidence based programmes and communities and supports the development of sustainable linked practices that build on existing strengths and resources.
• Archways was established in 2006. Initially the role of Archways was to promote the roll-out and evaluation of the Incredible Years programme in Ireland. Over the last number of years Archways have begun delivering and supporting other evidence based interventions including the Mentoring for Achievement Programme (MAP) and Functional Family Therapy (FFT).

INTERREG VA Programme

• The Special EU Programmes Body is a North/South Implementation Body sponsored by the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in Ireland. It is responsible for managing two EU Structural Funds Programmes, PEACE IV and INTERREG VA which are designed to enhance cross-border cooperation, promote reconciliation and create a more peaceful and prosperous society.
• The Programmes operate within a clearly defined area including Northern Ireland, the Border Region of Ireland and in the case of INTERREG VA, Western Scotland.
• The INTERREG VA Programme has a value of €283 million and aims to address the economic and social problems which result from the existence of borders.
• For more information on the SEUPB please visit SEUPB 

The Incredible Years in Action Photo Competition was a huge success and now all 100 plus entries can be seen in early years services, schools, community and health settings over the coming months.

The impressive 2.5 metre square banner has every single photograph that entered the competition.

There are pictures taken by the children themselves alongside those taken by their parents as well as  snaps from early years services, schools and community groups.

It really does bring to life the impact that The Genesis Programme has had on the areas in which we work. More venues & dates will be added soon, so keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates.

Launch of The Changing Lives Initiative

To confirm your attendance, please click the link below and register for the event

Register for the Launch of The Changing Lives Initiative

The Genesis Programme and Blueskies Initiative

Cordially invite you to attend the launch of

How are they doing?

A Community Perspective on Child Well Being

By Mr. John Lonergan

On Monday 20^th November 2017 @ 11.00 am

In

O’ Callaghan Mont Clare Hotel, Merrion Street, Dublin 2

A Child Well Being Study carried out by Archways with Children, Parents and Teachers in Clondalkin, Drogheda and Dundalk

RSVP:  info@genesislouth.ie