Infant and Early Years Mental Health: Parent-Child Relationships
Our Infant and Early Years Mental Health work promotes optimal social and emotional development for young children, preventing mental health difficulties and providing intervention to challenged parent-infant relationships in the crucial period from pregnancy to age three. Focusing on the strengths and capacity of care giving environments, it emphasises both the impact and importance which care giving environments have on a young child’s emerging social and emotional development.
The Infant and Early Years Mental Health Strand of Youngballymun works with both families and practitioners to support positive relationships between parents and their children. It also supports those working with children under five to be aware of the importance of the caring and empathetic environment for the young child and actively nurture it.
Family & Community Language & Literacy
Our Family and Community Language and Literacy work promotes optimal language and literacy development for children. There are four unique elements to the family literacy programmes in Ballymun. The first is parental engagement and the methods employed to encourage participation. Second is the teaching environment to encourage a participative approach. Third, the facilitation skills and the concept of hugging books that allow for the creation of a fun learning environment and last, free high quality resources to all parents attending the programmes to ensure skills supported in the programme are transferred to the home learning environment.
Our Family and Community Language and Literacy programmes are delivered in partnership with Home School Community Liaison Teachers across all 11 primary schools in Ballymun along with Community Practitioners and Speech and Language Therapists.
Social & Emotional Wellbeing
Our Social & Emotional Wellbeing work focuses on supporting parents primarily through the Incredible Years (IY) Programmes within local schools and community settings. The Youngballymun staff work alongside the Home School Community Liaison Teachers, Youth Work staff and those working in Early Years Centres to deliver Incredible Years Programmes. Capacity building, coaching and support for teachers and local practitioners is also provided to actively implement Incredible Years principles and the Incredible Years Dina in the Classroom Programme. Following consultations with parents, Youngballymun also co-ordinates a range of workshops to support specific needs and themes identified by parents.
Prevention & Early Intervention Policy & Partnership
Youngballymun works closely with both local and national organisations, including the Area Based Childhood Programme and others in the field of Prevention and Early Intervention, to develop and share learning about what works in implementing evidence-based approaches to improve outcomes for children and families.