Training and Workshops
Naas Family and Play Therapy Service have extensive expertise in supporting children, adolescence and foster families to strengthen foster parent/child relationship. Naas Family and Play Therapy Service have developed a series of Training Programmes specifically designed to meet the needs of parents, guardians, foster carers and professionals working with children in a therapeutic manner.
CPD
According to CORU, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the means by which health and social care professionals maintain and improve their knowledge, skills and competence, and develop the professional qualities required throughout their professional life.
CPD is an integral component in the continuing provision of safe and effective services for the benefit of service users. CPD requires engagement by the health and social care professional in a range of learning activities on an on-going basis.
CPD Training
This training is guided by and complements the national policy framework for children & young people 2014 – 2020. In particular through:
- Better supporting parents and families
- Focusing more on children’s early years
- Working together to protect young people at risk
- Promoting positive influences for childhood
- Improving childhood health and wellbeing
Self-Care and Vicarious Trauma Prevention Workshops
Our mental health is as important as our physical health taking time to understand the differences between Compassion Fatigue, Vicarious Trauma and Burnout is essential.
We support professional to attune with their own wellbeing and learn the signs of Physical and psychological Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma. We provide psycho-educational and experiential workshops to learn self-care skills and establish healthy routines.
Parenting Programs
‘Research in Ireland and internationally is increasingly pointing to the benefits of positive parenting and supportive home environments in aiding childhood development and influencing future prospects and social mobility’. (The national policy framework for children & young people 2014 – 2020).
The programme uses videos, role play, modelling and group discussions to help parents rehearse and adopt positive parenting strategies. Parents are encouraged to use praise and incentives to reinforce positive child behaviour and to cope with problem behaviour with non-aversive parenting strategies. Improvements in parent-child relationships are also targeted through the promotion of child-directed play.
Parents learn strategies to:
- Building parents’ approaches for promoting children’s social and emotional competence at home and at school.
- Deal with children’s over-activity and behaviour problems
- Develop coordinated plans for children to improve school readiness and academic success
- Preventing and treating children’s attention seeking, oppositional & aggressive behaviours
Foster Parents and Fostering Agencies Training
The Training Programmes have been identified as meeting needs of carers in order for them to have access to appropriate supports, resources and expand on their repertoire of skills to enhance and support each child’s placement.
This training aims to provide training and support to foster parents and families as Naas Family and Play Therapy Service is aware that while most children are safe and supported, Ireland have over 21,000 child welfare and 19,000 child abuse referrals annually to Tusla, The Child and Family Agency.
We have designed this training based on evidence based supports modified to meet the changing needs of a significant minority of children (15%-20%) in Ireland that are classified as showing significant levels of emotional or behavioural problems.
We are also aware that 25% are overweight or obese and 8% of Children that do not complete secondary school.
This training is co-facilitated to ensure that the transfer of skills and the capacity of learning is maximised. Each participant is guaranteed a quality learning opportunity to ensure that they are equipped and supported to raise their families, to play their role as primary carers, to promote the best possible outcomes for the children and to meet all challenges that may arise. SDQ’s, Parental Stress scales and SCORE forms can be completed to measure outcomes at different stages throughout the training. Organisational training calendars can be devising for the year to meet your foster families’ needs.
Inclusivity of the National Standards for Foster Care have been instrumental in ensuring the standard of both development and delivery of the Training Programmes to ensure quality and best practice in the care and safety of children in foster care.
The Training Programmes have been identified and developed as a result of:
- Therapeutic sessions & discussions with foster carers
- Relevant research
- Experiences of professionals
- The need for appropriate, quality training for foster carers to assist them in their role as carers
- As a dedicated team of professionals who have a genuine interest in supporting foster carers who look after children in care
The following are some books that you may find of interest. Or click on this link for more information: RecommendedBooks
