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Go for Gold for Sport Relief!
Celebrate Sport Relief in style with a Dubble Fairtrade milk chocolate gold medal: smooth & creamy milk chocolate encased in golden foil. The perfect prize for all of those who are rising to the challenge and doing the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile! |
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Visit a Farm on Open Farm Sunday
The Allen-Stevens family are third generation farmers of Wicklesham Farm. Mum and dad, Cheryl and Tom, along with children Georgie (16), Annabel (14), Ted (11) and Freddie (10) live on the 370 acre farm, set in the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside. |
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All aboard the Train Walk for autism
This spring The National Autistic Society (NAS) invites you to take part in Train Walk (21-24 May), a family-friendly Thomas & Friends™ themed sponsored walk to raise funds for people with autism. |
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Do you have the skills to foster?
There are 53,000 children in the UK living with foster families. For many of these children, this will be their first positive experience of family life, and a stable and secure home for as long as they need it.
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Strip for Shelter
Shelter and Nationwide encourage schools across the UK to get involved and 'Strip4Shelter' by replacing their school uniform with their football teams strip or colours during the World Cup 2010. |
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WIN £6000 TOWARDS AN ETHICAL KIDS PROJECT
We are on the look out for kids who have been sitting up and taking action against climate change, who are learning to respect their environment and see the importance its plays in their future. |
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National Lottery Awards 2010
We are calling on the readers of Primary Times to nominate their favourite Lottery-funded projects for The National Lottery Awards 2010. |
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TENS OF THOUSANDS PLAN MEGA SLEEPOVER
The date has been announced and 10,000 participants are already registered to take part in the Giant Sleepover, the world’s largest sleepover over 24 hours on the 19th June 2010. |
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DO YOU HAVE BRITAIN'S MOST ADVENTUROUS FAMILY
A nationwide search is on for Britain’s Most Adventurous Family! To launch its brand new land, Wild Asia, Chessington World of Adventures has teamed up with wildlife enthusiast and broadcaster Nick Baker and tourist board VisitEngland to find families that take adventure to a different level. |
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British Wildlife Young Photography Awards
Established to celebrate British wildlife and highlight the great diversity and wealth of British Natural history, these awards also aim toraise awareness, encourage discovery, exploration and conservation. There are two special awards for young people. |
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Big Sports Day
The Big Sports Day gives your pupils the opportunity to take part in fun, sporting activities while raising invaluable funds to help the two million people living with cancer in the UK today. Simply hold your sports day (or PE lesson or lunchtime club) as usual and incorporate a fundraising challenge for Macmillan. |
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Gas Fitters - Know the Facts
20 million households across the country use gas for heating, hot water and cooking, yet we often take it for granted that our boilers, cookers and gas fires are safe. It is only when there is a problem with an appliance that many of us take any notice at all. |
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CELEBRITY POETRY BOOK TO RAISE A SMILE FOR CHILDREN'S CHARITY
A book of children’s poems, selected by famous personalities including Phil Tufnell, Richard Hammond and Sienna Miller as their ‘childhood favourite’, has been launched in aid of The Children’s Trust, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009. |
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Shoe Aid 2009
The Shoe Aid for Africa campaign was launched for the first time last year by shoe care experts Kiwi, to give UK families a chance to change lives in Africa. A selection of schools, Sure Start centres and Scout groups kindly donated over 20,000 pairs of shoes last year. |
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JOIN THE NATIONWIDE SEARCH FOR A BRAND NEW SWIMMING STROKE
Change4Life are asking kids up and down the country to get in the pool this summer and invent a new swimming stroke – they can be as creative as they like and who knows, we might find a rival for the breast stroke or front crawl! The winner will be announced to the whole country in September by Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham.
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Over 10,000 people in the UK desperately need a transplant. Three of which die every day waiting. The Wall of Life is an online mosaic created from people's photos posted on the site, showing their support for organ donation |
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Get On Your Bike!
An astonishing one-in-three UK homes are now bike-free zones and three quarters (74%) of British parents agree that watching TV and playing computer games has now replaced learning to ride a bike as a childhood rite of passage. |
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New Website to help Childcare Providers
A new online tool will be launched on Thursday 16th April to help childcare providers to check whether they may be required to be registered on either of the two Childcare Registers. |
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GET MORE OUT OF LIFE, GET CYCLING
Bike Week, the UK’s biggest mass participation cycling event, is this year challenging families to get more out of life by swapping their four wheels for two and exploring new places in their local community. |
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10 Million Children’s Lives Are At Risk
Sierra Leone and its West African neighbour Liberia are beautiful countries with rich cultural and academic traditions. But as they strive to emerge from the effects of civil war, their inhabitants are struggling against official corruption, poverty and disease. |
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Parents Missing Out On Childcare Cash Entitlement
As the recession begins to bite, money worries are amongst the biggest concerns for parents across the UK - yet many remain unaware that they could be entitled to thousands of pounds from the Government to help with childcare costs.
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NSPCC introduce a new service for deaf and hard of hearing adults
This new service comes at a time of real significance for the NSPCC helplines. The ‘Child’s Voice’ appeal, a major new appeal for funds to develop the helplines, aims to raise £50million over the next three years to continue to run and develop the services provided by ChildLine and the NSPCC helpline for adults. |
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'ICE' (In Case of Emergency) Campaign
We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory. If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? |
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The Giving Machine
Four dads and a bright idea give schools and charities a regular income without asking anyone for a penny. “It’s like seeing a collection box for your favourite charity or your child’s school and putting in someone else’s money,” says Richard Morris. He’s the member of the quartet who manages the day to day contact with beneficiaries and givers. |
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Video trailers to get kids reading
We've all sat in the cinema, munching our popcorn while watching movie trailers that showcase all the latest blockbusters. The back of book blurb has been the traditional method of capturing the imagination of readers…until now. The launch of the first ever book trailers are set to change the industry for good and bring books to life before they are even published.
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Making a difference with the Food Partnership
The Food Partnership is part of the national Food in Schools programme funded by the Department for Children, Schools & Families and supported by the Department of Health. It is managed on their behalf by the Design & Technology Association and British Nutrition Foundation and provides an exciting opportunity for primary teachers to receive free training with a particular emphasis on developing their practical food skills.
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Ireland-specific articles
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FOUR sports-mad Irish boys, all aged 11 to 14, are training around the clock and hoping to bring a coveted World Championships title back to their native Limerick, Kilkenny, Galway and Laois next month. |
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This section will be updated regularly with information and news we believe is useful to parents and teachers - so check it out often! |
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A further 70 schools from Cork , Kerry, Limerick and Waterford were awarded the Green Flag by An Taisce last month in the Lifetime Lab, Lee Road, Cork bringing the number of Green Flags flying in the area to an impressive 358! 29 schools will also be renewing their Green Flags for their work on Energy and Water conservation. Has Green-Schools made a difference to your school? Tell Green Schools Ireland all about here.
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Barnardos Dungarvan Family Support Centre is one of three local projects in the running to win €5,000 in the AIB Better Ireland Awards. |
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On February 26th, 2010 at 6pm Ireland’s newest jazz group CROSSBONES will be launching their self-titled debut album. The venue is the atrium of the Cork School of Music, Union Quay, Cork City. The band will be performing a selection of tunes from the album.
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Our mission is to help restore communications to the local authorities as well as the civilian population to encourage coordination and order. |
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A show packed with science, action, logic, strategy and explosions! Do you have the brains, brawn, stamina and strength to reach the summit and conquer The Mountain? Are you into science adventure?
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Special Olympics Ireland needs to recruit 3,500 volunteers to help run the 2010 Special Olympics Ireland Games, which will take place in Limerick from 9-13th June.
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A SURF and Adventure centre which shares a love of surfing and the local environment is going back to its roots, promoting the use of Irish while having the craic and enjoying the South East coastline.
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Our first league of 2010 commences on February 1st with 32 teams participating. We are in association with Tom Sheridan’s and the Front Door bars and there are fantastic prizes on offer.
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Oxfam Ireland urgently needs volunteers to help raise funds for Haiti.
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Kill International Equestrian Centre in Kill, Co Kildare, would like to welcome all NEW clients by offering one free lesson for Adult or Child (4 yrs up). |
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The Society of St. Vincent de Paul continues to receive a huge volume of calls from the public all over Ireland offering help for the areas effected by the flooding. |
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Libraries around the country are celebrating the most Christmassy book of them all, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.
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Meningitis Research Foundation were honoured when President Mary McAlesse invited staff and members of the Foundation to a private visit at Áras an Uachtaráin to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the set up of the charity. |
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With gales, changeable and inclement weather expected over the weekend, Irish Water Safety is reminding boaters of the importance of taking a good weather forecast and to factor this in to their plans accordingly. |
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The MS READaTHON is a chance for schools and children to help raise money for Multiple Sclerosis by reading books for a month, AND be in with a chance of winning fantastic prizes! |
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Barnardos launched its annual Teddy Bear raffle and is asking companies to take a bear and raffle it amongst staff. This year Barnardos is hoping that 1000 companies will take up the challenge and help raise vital funds for children and families living in crisis situations.
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Mercier Press recently acquired the long established Children's Press imprint. To kick off our marketing campaign for these books, we have undertaken to donate a large quantity of books to the Dept of Education to distribute to school children so that Irish kids will have access to these wonderful Irish books, through their schools
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National charity, the Meningitis Trust, is appealing for toddlers to take part in a Toddle Waddle this month. The event is a fun, sponsored walk or waddle for the under 5s - raising funds to provide ongoing support to individuals and families all over Ireland who have been affected by meningitis.
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The increasing trend of erecting miniature Dolmens is irreversibly damaging the Burren's fragile limestone pavement. That is according to The Burren Connect Project and Clare County Council who today launched a pilot environmental maintenance programme aimed at removing the structures and highlighting the damage caused to the world famous karst landscape, which is listed as a "Priority Habitat" in the European Habitats Directive (1992) and is protected by law.
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Since 1996 the eircom Golden Spider Awards have honoured Irish individuals and organisations for their outstanding achievements online and celebrated the successes of the Irish internet and digital media. Endorsed by the NCTE, the eircom Junior Spider Awards were established as a parallel programme for students at primary and post primary school level |
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Ireland’s flagship Children’s Festival is celebrating its thirteenth year with a sophisticated entry into the world of the adult. For the last twelve years Galway city and county has been alive with the sound and sight of thousands of children and families attending performances, shows, workshops and other activities during Baboró. |
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Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina who saved the lives of over 1200 people by keeping them in his hotel in Rwanda in 1994. Outside over 800,000 people were massacred, visited Summercove national school on September 3rd last organised by the Kinsale peace project
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Though the summer has been a bit of a wash out, the autumn is looking decidedly brighter with Kerry County Museum, Samhlaiocht and Siamsa Tire, the leading artistic and cultural organisations in Kerry partnering to bring Culture Night to Tralee. |
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We have all, at some point, experienced the joy that a new born baby brings to a household….but this immediate joy can be easily tainted. |
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In an orphanage in Warsaw in the early part of the twentieth century a man named Janusz Korczak, a paediatric doctor, created an environment for children that recognised their dignity, their capacity and above all their ability to make a significant and constructive contribution when given the opportunity and support to do so. |
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Paul Rusesabagina [hotel Rwanda} pictured left with president Obama. Paul rusesabagina was the manager of a hotel in Rwanda, who saved over 1200 lives 15years ago, by protecting them feeding them, while outside over 800,000 people were massacred. |
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Gaps in law, policy and practice mean that some children remain vulnerable and are not receiving the full support of the State, according to Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, today (Wednesday) at the launch of her fourth annual report. |
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The Ombudsman for Children’s Office understands that the report of An Bord Snip Nua (the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes) contains a proposal to merge the Ombudsman for Children’s Office with other organisations and to subsume this collective within the Office of the Ombudsman.
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Last week Children in Hospital Ireland’s newly appointed Chairperson, Dympna McMahon, accompanied by Board members and CEO Mary O’Connor, met with Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney TD, and officials from her Department to discuss the development of the new National Paediatric Hospital. |
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As primary schools across the country break up for the summer holidays, Order of Malta Ireland has called for families to make sure that all young people are made first aid aware, which it said could help to save lives. |
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Cork Opera House opened its doors to unveil yet another masterpiece in Cork’s theatre history. This time, it was its patrons in the lime light and the seats they sat in. |
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KNOW HOW TO STAY SAFE AND YOU'LL STAY ALIVE. Irish Water Safety strongly urges people to follow the following steps to ensure that you are safe when swimming in open water. |
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Barnardos, Ireland’s leading children’s charity, responded to reports that more than 6,500 children at risk of abuse or neglect have not been allocated a social worker by calling on the Government to act immediately to adequately resource staffing for social care services.
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Written Out, Written Off highlights the social inequalities that still exist in the Irish education system and the consequences of early school leaving for both children and society. The Written Out, Written Off campaign report also outlines the likely impact of recent cutbacks in education on children. |
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Ireland’s newest business support website www.irishwomeninbusiness.ie was launched today providing an opportunity for women in business to network and promote their businesses in an online network |
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The Ombudsman for Children has said that she has suspended her investigation into the handling of the child protection Audit of Catholic Church Dioceses by the Health Services Executive and the Department of Health due to the failure by the HSE to genuinely cooperate with this process. |
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Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, has today (Monday) announced an independent consultation with Separated Children who have come to Ireland without their parents on the circumstances in which they are living in the care of the State. |
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Barnardos, Ireland’s leading children’s charity, today welcomed the announcement of the introduction of a free pre-school place for all children the year prior to joining primary school. |
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Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, plans to recognise and celebrate good work happening in local communities all over Ireland to improve the lives of children and young people through Connecting Communities, a new initiative undertaken by her Office and launched |
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Because many of the specialist summer camps book out early, it is never too soon to get organised for the summer holidays. One of the most popular of these summer camps each year is Whizzkids |
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Cork and Waterford’s first walk-in, urgent care clinics – are now open in City Gate, Mahon, Cork and at the Whitfield Clinic, Waterford City. Vhi Healthcare, in partnership with Centric Health, has set up Ireland’s 1st minor injury units for all who have minor injuries and illnesses |
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In a new book from the IPA, entitled Education for Citizenship and Diversity in Irish Contexts, the contributors address aspects of the key question: how can children and young people be best educated to live as active citizens in the early years of the twenty-first century? |
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The BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS Dublin last week played host to Irish playground company Go Play Ltd. Linking active bodies and active minds the Go Play Teen Zone showcased the newest cutting edge play equipment with integrated technology to challenge teenagers’ both intellectually and physically as well as having fun competing against each other. |
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This workshop offers people a way of communicating that is more real and more human. The relationship between couples is explored as is the relationship between parents and their children. During the Workshop, there will be an opportunity to share common experiences and learn some techniques that could be useful in deepening communication in the home. |
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A new free-phone number for complaints calls to the Ombudsman for Children’s Office has been launched to make it easier for children and families to contact the Office with their concerns |
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This report presents findings on the self-reported health status and health behaviours of specific groups of children living in Ireland. These groups include students from the Travelling community, students from immigrant families, students with a disability and chronic illness and students that are part of the Department of Education and Science¹s School Support Programme, under the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools action plan, referred to as DEIS schools. |
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Now that the back to school hurdle is over, parents are faced with more stressful times ahead. Not least among parents’ concerns, along with homework battles, dirty uniforms and tired kids, will be the dreaded thought of head lice. |
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Barnardos and the Family Support Agency have produced a series of booklets entitled Parenting Positively that provide information and guidance to parents of children between the ages of 6 and 12.They are available to download from www.barnardos.ie or call 01 453 0355 |
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The European Commission wants to set up an EU-wide scheme to provide free fruit and vegetables to school children. The scheme could begin at the start of the 2009/2010 school year if approved by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. |
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The Ombudsman for Children’s Office saw a 43% increase in demand for its services with 742 complaints coming to the Office in 2007. For the first time since the Office was established, Education is the dominant complaint category representing 44% complaints to the OCO. |
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The call was made at the launch of the annual ‘Be First Aid Prepared – Accidents Happen’ campaign, which is run by leading first aid antiseptic, TCP in conjunction with Order of Malta Ireland. The campaign aims to encourage families to be prepared for accidents that may occur in and around the home and garden during the summer – statistically the time of year when most accidents will happen.
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Safer Children in a Digital World |
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Dr. Tanya Byron, clinical psychologist and TV presenter has published her independent review commissioned by the UK Government. Dr. Byron investigated the potentially harmful effects on children and young people from inappropriate content on the Internet and video games. More www.webwise.ie/article.aspx?id=9024 |
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Clonmel Childcare, part of the Best Crèche Group - one of Munster’s leading childcare providers, announced today the launch of the Group’s website. Aimed at providing updates on Clonmel Childcare children’s activities, introductions to the team and information events for parents the website is set to become an important source of information for Clonmel parents. |
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Aupair agency specialising in bringing German Au-pairs to Ireland. The au-pair is a ‘live-in’ childcare provider who will be a part of your family from 2 months to one year |
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The Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) and the National Parents Council (NPC) are carrying out a national survey of parents, to find out how you feel about having to fundraise and give voluntary contributions to support the operating costs of your child’s primary school. |
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Rehab is delighted to announce that it has received recognition from the Department of Education and Science to proceed with the development of a new pre-school and primary school for children with autism in Patrickswell, Limerick. Minister for Education & Science Mary Hanafin T.D |
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A new education programme on internet safety aimed at parents and teachers as well as children has been launched by the Minister for Education and Science- Mary Hanafin and the National Parents Council - Primary. |
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The “Miracle Tree” campaign, run by Vita, an Irish not-for-profit company is designed to emphasise the vital importance of trees, in particular the Moringa tree, to the development of sustainable livelihoods for the people of the Horn of Africa. |
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Half of Irish parents believe that they don’t spend enough time together as a family and over 85% of parents would like to spend more time together, according to the results of a survey released today. |
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The Minister said that Bus Éireann surveyed 150 school bus routes on a date in the Spring and found that the majority of primary school pupils were complying with the new law. However, teenagers who ought to understand the consequences of their actions, were choosing to ignore the safety issues that have been highlighted to them in recent years. |
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The cost of sending children back to school can be a big worry for parents living on a low income. As costs per child for clothing, footwear and school books are considerable it is a very heavy burden on parents who have to fund this cost from their normal household budget. |
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The Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney T.D., and the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin, T.D., have announced the establishment of a School of Podiatry at the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). |
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Dr Martin McAleese today highlighted the importance of fathers to their
children when he attended the launch of an evaluation of Barnardos’ Da
Project in the Civic Centre in Ballyfermot, Dublin. The Da Project was
piloted in Barnardos’ centre in Cherry Orchard, Ballyfermot, to support and
improve the participation of dads in their children’s lives. |
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More than 35% of under 10 year olds would use their mobiles to forward photos of classmates being beaten up, according to the results of the Insafe survey of 21,872 people across Europe. | | |
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Animals Need a Voice In Legislation, Ireland (ANVIL) is a new group, formed to raise the profile of animals in both the public and political arena, thus ensuring adequate legislation for their protection. ANVIL does not support any one political party nor is it a vehicle for any one welfare or interest group. | | |
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