Equality & Diversity Awareness Raising Training in County Clare

Clare County Childcare Committee hosted Equality and Diversity Awareness Raising Training  in the Inagh Ark Community Creche. Thirteen participants from numerous early years services attended the training, which was facilitated by Clare County Childcares’ Development Worker, Miranda Cooke. The training involved four three hour sessions plus two follow up sessions.Participants represented the following early years services:

Spraoi Community Childcare Centre, Miltown Malbay

Inagh Ark Community Creche, Inagh

Redeemers Playgroup, Ennis

Liscannor Childcare Services, Liscannor

Tullyglass Preschool & Afterschool, Shannon

Little Acorns Daycare, Shannon

Clare County Childcare Committee – Development Worker Nuala Roche

Back Row L to R: Miranda Cooke (Facilitator) Patricia Mulcahy, Patricia Curtain, Catherine Malone & Caroline Halpin.

Front Row L to R: Tricia Clair, Bernie Foudy, Caroline Rodgers & Maura Considine.

Not all staff in attendance were present for the above group photograph.

The training was very interactive involving lots of break away discussions which participants found to be beneficial to their learning.

Participants explore the book display as part of the Dominant Walk exercise (designed by the éist project).

The above picture represents Display Boards which were used for the Dominant Walk exercise. The exercise involves participants been given persona’s reflecting a range of children that may avail of a childcare service. The participants are given a set of questions and asked to keep the persona in mind as they explore the display of recent articles, adverts, various magazines and a typical assortment of children’s books.

At the end of the exercise the participants provided feedback based on the messages they received from the display boards in relation to the persona they were given and what it might feel like to be ‘this child’ in today’s society.  To their surprise through examination, It soon became apparent to the participants that common themes and depictions were emerging from the display boards.  In conclusion all of the participants found the exercise extremely beneficial, as it gave them the opportunity to take on ‘a child’s perspective’ of every day life within today’s society.