|
On 30th November 2009 the Partnership hosted the MISS SCHOOL MISS OUT MISSED OPPORTUNITIES Conference at the AXIS arts and community resource centre, Ballymun. The event was attended by 104 delegates from around the country aswell as those working or living in the Ballymun Whitehall Area. The conference’s focus was Education – A Whole town working together and was skillfully Chaired by Fergus Finlay CEO of Barnardos.
Guest Speakers included Aisling Gillen National Specialist Children’s Services, Health Services Executive who spoke about mechanisms to encourage Working Together for Children at National Level and Nuala Doherty Director of Educational Welfare Services, National Educational Welfare Board who spoke about working nationally in an integrated way to promote school attendance. Click here for a full Conference Programme outline. The national presentations were followed by three examples local to the Ballymun Whitehall area on how the community is working together to improve aspects of education. The second session of the conference included a presentation from Dr Paul Downes, Director, Educational Disadvantaged Centre, St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra on Family Involvement in Education; Roisin O’Neill and Amanda Murphy both local parents who spoke of their experiences of supporting their own children through the education
system; and Marian Hackett, Principal of Holy Spirit Girls National School and Mary Brady Director of Tír na nÓg Early Years Service who both spoke on their experiences of working collaboratively to improve education service delivery and to effect change.
Pat Carey TD, Minister of State, Department of the Taoiseach and Government Chief Whip attended the conference and formally launched the Ballymun School Attendance Community Action Initiative. This collaborative School Attendance Promotion Initiative is being led out by the Partnership and is a direct response to a request from schools for community support to tackle the ongoing issue of low school attendance levels. This Initiative will continue into January 2010 with School Attendance Promoters in every Ballymun school and a Community Awareness and Mobilisation Campaign in particular.
Pictured right: Minister Pat Carey TD (right) pictured with Declan Dunne and Colma Nic Lughadha
Deputy Róisín Shortall T. D., Labour Party Spokesperson on Family and Social Affairs provided an all-encompassing summation of the conference drawing the lessons from each of the speakers together and affirming the ongoing work to improve education delivery and outcomes for children and their families.
Presentation 1. Dr. Aisling Gillen, Our Children's Services - A New National Approach to Working Together (1MB) >>
Presentation 2. Nuala Doherty, Promoting School Attendance NEWB, HSCL, VTTS and SCP - A National Example (2MB) >> *
Presentation 3. Colma Nic Lughadha Ballymun School Attendance Community Action Initiative - A Local Example (3MB) >>
Presentation 4. Noirin Coghlan Supporting Successful Transitions From Pre-School To Primary - A Local Example (7MB) >>
Presentation 5. Eleanor McClorey Literacy - A Local Example of Working Together (16MB) >>
Presentation 6. Dr. Paul Downes Family Involvement in Education in Ballymun, Research Study (1.5MB) >>
Presentation 7. Marian Hackett Ballymun Principals Network a Local Example of Working Together (118KB) >>
Conference Programme >>
Slideshow of images from the Conference >>
* NEWB – National Educational Welfare Board, HSCL – Home School Community Liaison, VTTS – Visiting Teachers for Travellers Service, SCP – School Completion Programme
|
Funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2007-2013.
|
| 