The ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly Article 12 on children's right to participate in matters affecting them, provides a rationale for including the voices of young children when seeking to better understand their lives. Early childhood educators collaborate and converse with young children in their daily…

Purpose: This secondary data analysis explores the unmet needs of adolescents experiencing maternal cancer in Ireland. Research has shown that one of the challenges adolescents deal with at the time of maternal cancer is having unmet needs that can impact negatively on their experience and their ability to cope through this difficult challenge.…

This article is based on a study of two early years services in the West of Ireland which was attended mostly by asylum seekers. Using a sample of the findings for illustration, we discuss how the study captured an example of culturally sensitive practice that demonstrated an ability to counteract some of the negative effects of being an asylum…

This article outlines parents' struggle to secure adequate educational resources for their child(ren) with special educational needs within the Irish State system. The authors challenge the view that legislation facilitates practical advances that are meaningful to individual families. This small-scale exploratory study reports the findings from…

The Family Welfare Conference (FWC) is a model used within the child protection and welfare services to address concerns about the needs of children and their family's ability to respond to these needs. The FWC model operates in partnership with family members, who participate in identifying both the issues of concern and potential responses to…

EPIC is an independent voluntary organisation in the Republic of Ireland that advocates for the rights of children in care and young people who have care experience. One aspect of EPIC's work is the Aftercare Advocacy and Support Service, which provides confidential advice and support to young people who are preparing to leave care, those in…

The study reported here is the first systematic attempt to examine empirically the needs and characteristics of separated children seeking asylum (SCSA) in Ireland. Case files for a random sample of 100 separated children entering Ireland in 2003-2004 were scrutinised. The findings indicate that SCSA are not a homogeneous group; they face a…

The methodological and empirical literature on measuring the need of child populations is sparse. What does exist is more orientated towards children in receipt of non-universal or specialist services, overlooking those children with similar needs who are not in contact with such services. Further, there is a tendency often for need analyses not…

Describes the launch of Ireland's National Children's Strategy: Our Children -- Their Lives. Examines specifically the process and mechanisms for developing the strategy; the content of the strategy, which includes the vision, an understanding of contemporary childhood, and three national goals including their central policy objectives and key…