About Us

 

Sure Start is a government led initiative funded by the Department of Education aimed at giving every child the best possible start in life.  Sure Start works in partnership with statutory, voluntary and community sectors and parents to promote the physical, intellectual and social development of babies and young children.

Clogher Valley Sure Start has been offering a range of services to families and children to help them reach their full potential since 2001. Services are offered both in your own home and in local venues. The Clogher Valley Sure Start staff are a dedicated and enthusiastic multi-disciplinary team consisting of Family Support, Health and Early Years Professionals.

Clogher Valley Sure Start services are available to all families with at least one child under 4 years who lives in the following electoral wards: Augher, Aughnacloy, Ballygawley, Clogher and Fivemiletown.

 
 

Core Services

Outreach and home visiting services, to make contact as early as possible in the child's life and draw families into using other services

 

Family support, including befriending, social support and parenting information, both group and home based

 

Good quality play, learning and child care experiences for children, both group and home based

 

Primary and community healthcare and advice

 

Support for children with special needs, both within the Sure Start services offered and through signposting to more specialised services where necessary

 How Clogher Valley Sure Start embed the Reggio Emilia Approach

The Reggio Emilia approach is based around fundamental principles that each individual setting draws from and adapts according to their unique environment and community. The philosophy is flexible, and no two settings will be the same. Clogher Valley Sure Start Pedagogy combines elements of the Reggio Emilia approach and our project’s outcomes and values and embed this in the 4 key areas: Community/Parental involvement and building relationships, the environment as third teacher, the child is unique and co-constructs their own learning, and by using 100 languages and documentation.

 Community and Parents Involvement

The Reggio Emilia approach is based on the belief that we learn through making connections between things, concepts, and experiences. We make connections through our interaction with others and through creating community links. The participation of our parents and community is one of the most distinctive features of the Reggio Emilia approach. Parents are represented on our Parents Group, Board of Management, and through regular evaluations with over 70% of our parents who participate in programmes. We have strong community links and deliver programmes across 5 wards: Augher, Clogher, Fivemiletown, Ballygawley, and Aughnacloy. We have a directory of local businesses who give us their recyclable materials to use in our projects and we have created what is known in Reggio as a Remidi library, giving parents access to these materials for play and art.

 Environment as Third Teacher

The Reggio Emilia Approach sees the environment as a third teacher that influences the child daily. Clogher Valley Sure Start environment is very inviting, with thought-provoking displays and documentation of programmes and events. We have a wonderful space in our SPRING Centre where many programmes are delivered daily. Our play programmes are set up as invitations to play and are developed based on the interests of each group of children who attend. Our role is to learn alongside the child, to listen, observe, involve ourselves in children’s learning, and to provide what is needed to extend their curiosity. Our parents’ programmes are delivered in a warm welcoming room where parents can attend knowing their child is receiving the most engaging care next door in our Reggio inspired crèche.

View a Child as Unique, Capable, and Competent with 100 Languages

The Reggio Emilia approach is a theory that centers learning around the child. Children are viewed as having unlimited potential and being eager to interact with and contribute to the world. This means learning is driven by the child who takes an active role in co-constructing their own knowledge and giving them control of their learning. Clogher Valley Sure Start encourages self-expression, teamwork, thinking, and problem-solving in the child. We believe that the learning process is of much higher importance than the final product.

We believe in the ‘100 Languages of children’ allowing children to express themselves, communicate their understanding, learning, and thinking through verbal and non-verbal languages, through gestures, glances, and emotions. This can be done in a wide range of expressive arts, dramatic play, dancing, singing, sculpting, constructing, shadow, and light. We take time to explain these processes to parents, helping them to understand and appreciate the importance of play. Children have wonderful imagination so therefore we provide them with natural materials that have limitless potential to be anything of the child’s choosing. A toy is only 10% toy and 90% child.

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