Good evening all,
Every school week, by the end of it we always say , ‘that was the busiest week ever’! However we have to hand it to the Transition Years this week with their Mercy Mega Mega Mixtape:Movies and Musicals. They sang, danced and somersaulted across the stage to the great amusment of the pupils from Holychild, St. fiachras, Scoil Ide and St John Of God from 9.20 am this morning. It was a delight to see a hall full of young children sing and clap along to the Ghostbuster theme. The TYs have really gone and done it this year. A big thanks to Ms Murphy and Ms Doherty for all the hard work . The show will run tomorrow evening and again on Thursday morning for our junior students. Good luck to all involved.
Easter Egg Painting Workshop for First Years and their Parent/guardians
We are inviting all first year parents/guardians/grandparents to join their daughters for a celebration of all things Easter on Friday. We will be doing an egg painting workshop and all involved will be able to take homr their completed work. Ahot drink and treats also supplied, to helpease our way into the easter hols. The workshop will be at 11.05 on Friday in the school hall.
Parents Association Meetings is postponed this week because of the musical.
School Avoidance
We wish to draw your attention to an excellent support resource developed by Limerick CPYSC andadapted by Cork CYPSC to the Cork context. It is
entitled ‘Working with your child to address school avoidance’ and offers information and advice to parents and guardians who have a child or young
person who has difficulties going to school.Please click the link to get access to the resource. If you are struggling to get your child into school, please get in touch as the school is only too willing to support you in your efforts.
Kinship Care Ireland
‘Kinship Care is the fulltime care of a child by a relative or close family friend, when a parent is unable.’
Kinship Care Ireland (KCI)was founded in 2019 by Caitríona Nic Mhuiris who due to circumstance found herself caring for the children of a relation. The organisation has been funded by Tusla Child & Family Agency since 2020 and is led by a steering Groupwhich includes representation from Family Support organisations, IFCA and those with kinship family experience.
Kindship Care Ireland believes that all children regardless of legal status should have equitable access to support. KCI estimates that there are up to 10,000 children in kinship care arrangements in Ireland and within that number there are three categories of kinship families, these are:
1. Informal Arrangement
Informal Arrangement refers to a family arrangement with no Tusla Child & Family agency involvement. These arrangements are unreported and therefore unsupported and unknown.
2. Informal ‘Private Family Arrangement’
Informal: ‘Private Family Arrangement’ is where Tusla are made aware and a kinship carer steps-in to caring role and subsequently Tusla step-out. In these cases, the situation is known, but unsupported as there is no pathway or access to financial, legal, therapeutic, peer, advocacy, or signposting supports.
3. Formal Kinship Care/Relative Foster Care
Formal Kinship Care/Relative Foster Care refers to cases where there is a Voluntary Care Order and Tusla Child & Family Agency are involved, and a relative foster care assessment has taken place. In such cases the placement is supported by Irish Foster Care Association (IFCA), Empowering People In Care (EPIC) and the carer is eligible to Foster Carer payment and support pathways for the young person.
The first two types of arrangements form the basis of the advocacy work that KCI engage in as these areunsupported kinship care arrangements and are not in receipt of the supports available to the formal kinship care arrangement. Kinship Care are making strides in having all types of kinship carers recognised and supported. In February 2023, the UNCRC recommended that Ireland develop policy on the Rights of Children in Informal Kinship. To this end, Kinship Care are engaging with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth in relation to their policy scoping. If you are a carer and wouldlike more information about Kinship Care. Please click the link.
Free Publications for Parents and Children Experiencing Separation.One Family eLearning Courses for Parents
One Family is a provider of specialist family support services to one parent families since 1972. Theorganisation recognises the unique challenges and needs of people who are parenting alone, sharing parenting and separating. One Family has developed online courses for parents andprofessionals in the following areas:
• Clear and Direct Communication
• Emotional Development and Managing Behaviours
• Family Communications: Parenting Teens
• Family Communications: Separating Well for Children
• Parenting Through Successful Times
Please note that there is a minimal cost for some of these
courses. For more information, please click on the image to
the left.
There are also a number of in person courses for parents based in Dublin:
• Stay and Play commences on Tuesday, April 28th at 10am in 8 Coke Lane, Dublin 7, D07 EN2Y. Stay &Parenting Positively: Coping with Separation for Parents
This eBooklet was created for parents of children aged 6-12 years who have separated. It will help parents to understand the impact of the separation on their children and provide guidance as to what they can do to support their children and respond effectively to issues thatmay arise. The publication is available free of charge via the online shop which you can access by clicking here.
Parenting Positively: Coping with Separation for Children
This eBooklet is for separated parents of children aged 6-12 years to read with their children. It will answer some questions that children
may have about their parents’ separation and support parents and children to talk about the issue together. The publication is available
free of charge via the online shop which you can access by clicking here.
