ParentChild+ is coordinated by the Daughters of Charity Community Services (DoCCS) who visit 10 families in the area.
The aim of the ParentChild+ Programme is to prevent potential early school leaving by reaching out to children before they have even started school. ParentChild+ recognises that parents and the home environment are key to promoting school readiness and academic success. The programme focuses on:
- Strengthening parent-child verbal interaction
- Supporting reading and play activities in the home
- Building language and literacy-rich home environments
- Providing children with the language, early literacy, and socio-emotional skills they need to enter school ready to be successful students
Programme
The ParentChild+ Programme is “learning through play experience” for parents and their pre-school children. It is designed to strengthen the natural bond between parent and child and to encourage a love of learning. It employs a non-directive approach and encourages the parent as the child’s first and best teacher. The 2-year programme prepares children for later success in school. ParentChild+ employs specially trained local women as Home Visitors to model verbal interaction for the parent and child. The Home Visitor meets the family twice a week for short visits (30 minutes) in their own home during the primary school year.
The Role of the Home Visitor
The Home Visitor brings suitable books and toys to the home. Each week a new book or toy is introduced, and the Home Visitor models reading and play for the parent and child. The books and toys are then left as a gift to the family to continue the learning in their own time. On the second visit of the week, the same book or toy is used again to encourage and promote the use of materials. A weekly report recording the child’s development is written by the Home Visitor.
Advertising and recruitment of families
Grangegorman ABC has taken a targeted approach to the recruitment of families to the ParentChild+ programme in order to reach the most appropriate families. Information on the programme was circulated to parents through a variety of channels including local early years services, word of mouth, Public Health Nurses, primary schools and community organisations in the Grangegorman area.
Further Information:
Coordination: Daughters of Charity Community Services.
Contact: Sarah Kearney T: 0858204063 or +353 (0) 1 887 4100 Email: skearney@doccs.ie
grangegormanabc.com 