Special Needs

Páistí le Chéile - Children Together

Background

Following research commissioned by RCCC and conducted by the Children's Research centre, TCD, an application was made to the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform, under the Enhancing Disability Services Programme (EDSP), Roscommon County Childcare Committee Special Needs/Disability Sub-group developed the Páistí le Chéile Project.

Aim of the Project

The aim of the project was: To enhance the level and quality of access of children with special needs and/or disability to mainstream childcare services in County Roscommon.

The project had four objectives:

Support Workers - Páistí le Chéile contracted experienced Support Workers to provide individualised support to children with special needs and/or disability and to the pre-school they were attending.
Training - Páistí le Chéile provided training for parents, pre-school staff and support workers in areas which were directly related to children with special needs and/or disability.
Protocol Development - With the collaboration of key stakeholders in County Roscommon, a protocol was developed which enhanced the capacity of pre-school providers, professionals and support workers to provide the best possible service to children with special needs and/or disability and their families.
Information - An information resource pack was developed in relation to disability and childcare services for families, professionals and the wider community.

This project was funded until June 2008 and unfortunately, despite the fact that this project was deemed to be a huge success, no further funding was available to continue this valuable service. The Final Evaluation will be posted on our website in the very near future.