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The child care unit

The Child-Care project within the Shankill Women’s Centre implements the High-Scope programme.

High-Scope is an early learning plan for pre-school children based on the idea that children learn best from activities, which they plan and carry out them-selves.

High-Scope which is being implemented within our project is based on a balance between activities initiated by the children and those arranged by the adults. It is important to build on children’s strengths, interests, and abilities, and to develop their self-esteem and problem solving skills, and to help them to understand and accept differences in a wider social setting. This approach has worked well with positive results. Children have the opportunity to play in a stimulating safe and nurturing environment. The parents have also gained from this working in partnership with the unit to assess how their child’s development is progressing

Parents are involved in their children’s learning through workshops, information sharing, and meetings.

The programme, which the staff are working on at present enables them to build up the children’s intellectual, verbal, cognitive, social, and emotional skills and prepare them to move from our Baby room to our pre-nursery room and then on to nursery school.

The unit takes part in a number of activities throughout the year.

1.      Barnardo’s Big Toddle

2.      Parents Week

3.      Seasonal Activities

The childcare unit has been taking part in the Barnardo’s Toddle for the past four years. The toddle can take place at a venue set by Barnardo’s or you can do the toddle within your own setting. The unit this year raised the sum of £450.00. A proportion of which was sent to Barnardo’s and the remainder goes to a charity of our choice.

Parenting Week this year is taking place from 16th to 22nd October and the childcare would run activities within this week. We hold coffee mornings where parents can get to know each other and have an opportunity to see the unit were their children play and learn each day.

At all times throughout the year the children are working on seasonal activities spring, summer, autumn, winter to take home or to decorate the unit.

The child-Care Unit within the centre provides an invaluable resource to the parents through the provision of high quality care for the children and their parents. It is also there to help and support parents either if they are working or taking part in Education classes, training or the young women’s project. Parents expectations of their children rise and so too their confidence in themselves as parents.

It is hoped that we can continue to carry on with this important work and to know that the unit has been involved in the development of a number of children and have been a support to those parents in the Greater Shankill area.