Strategic Plan for Residential Care Services for Children and Young People 2022-2025    

Residents living in smaller, community-based homes experience a better quality of life, live in safer services and are more likely to experience better personal outcomes. 8 August 2022: The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has  published an overview of its inspection and regulation of designated centres for people with disabilities in 2021. HIQA carried out 1,220 inspections in disability services last year. Inspections found that the majority of centres provided a good standard of care and support to people with disabilities. However, the report also outlines concerns over poor findings in relation to governance and management in a number of […]

The Wheel invites you to Introduction to Engaged Research on Tuesday, 27 September at 10am. Join to explore how the community and voluntary sector can benefit from engaged research and to learn about the supports available to your organisation.  Also referred to as citizen science or participatory action research, “engaged research” can be summed up as research that is advanced with community partners rather than for them. Engaged research projects therefore provide an excellent opportunity for civil society groups to influence and shape research in their field, access data to inform their work, and participate in a wide range of funding […]

Parental Engagement and Relationships (PEAR) Training CDI’s ‘Parental Engagement and Relationships’ (PEAR) training supports Early Learning and Care (ELC) practitioners to develop and maintain strong relationships with parents. It is interactive, based on reflective practice and delivered through six 2-hour sessions. The training and accompanying toolkit are based on CDI’s experience providing effective support to parents through ELC services in Tallaght. It has been designed by: Professor Emer Ring, Dean of Early Childhood and Teacher Education at Mary Immaculate College (MIC) Dr Lisha O’Sullivan, Head of the Department of Reflective Pedagogy and Early Childhood Studies, MIC Shirley Heaney, National Programme […]

A message from The Wheel   “Budget 2023 provides an opportunity to build a future shaped by community; one in which charities, community groups, and social enterprises can efficiently and effectively work with those they serve. #FutureIsCommunity We made our Pre-Budget Submission to Government earlier this year.  You can read it in full here. Our  recommendations for Budget 2023  focus on enabling organisations to continue to provide stable, much-needed services in the uncertain economic period ahead. These recommendations include calls on government to: Increase funding for services and supports provided by community and voluntary organisations to enable them to address the […]

A message from “The Wheel”   “We invite our members to sign up for our 1-hour Introduction to Project Management for the Community Sector webinar. Free and exclusive to our members, this new and engrossing session is sure to book up quickly – so make sure to register your free spot today. Facilitated by Keith Whelan, a nonprofit consultant with vast experience across the sector on several different continents, the session will focus on the practicalities of: Clarifying what your project is trying to accomplish Understanding your audience Developing an effective Plan of Action Handling risk and managing your time Getting key […]

If you have anything you would like to share with colleagues through Practice Links (events, publications, websites, reports, blogs, video links, new practice-focused apps, call for papers, videos, etc.), please email details to k.burns@ucc.ie by the 15th September. The next edition of Practice Links will be circulated at the end of September.Submissions should not be more than one A4 page, ideally shorter. There is no charge to include materials, but we don’t accept advertisements. Where possible, include a high-quality PDF or JPG of your images/logos/flyers/poster etc. The PL team reserve the right to not include materials, and we cannot always guarantee inclusion due to space considerations.Practice Links is circulated to c. 1,200 email addresses and read by over double that […]

SCI would like to say a big thank you to Marie Divilly, who took the time to write The Doshel Bond book review.  We greatly appreciate your time and feedback. The Doshel bond – Marie Divilly Jessica O’Donoghue and Martin Shelbourne are half brother and sister. There is nothing half about these two though, they commit to their adventures 100%. Jessica and Martin have a special handshake that they made up from their surnames Donoghue and Shelbourne to celebrate when good stuff happens called “The Do-Shel handshake”. Jessica has to say goodbye to her brother every other week to go […]