Overview of Incredible Years
Incredible Years is an integrated series of teacher, parent and child training programmes. The overall aim of Incredible Years is to support positive social and emotional learning in primary-school aged children. The Incredible Years service in Ballymun is designed in collaboration with schools and community organisations and is delivered in partnership with Archways, the national promoter of Incredible Years in Ireland. Incredible Years focuses on positive behaviour management that coaches children in sharing, building relationships, recognising and managing feelings, choosing appropriate behaviours and dealing with anger and conflict. The programme works both in school and home settings.
In School – Child Programmes
Children in Junior and Senior Classes in “Incredible Years Schools” participate in the child programme- Dina in the Classroom, fondly called Dina School. The curriculum in Dina School strengthens children’s social and emotional competencies such as understanding and communicating feelings, using effective problem-solving strategies, managing anger, practising friendship and conversational skills, as well as appropriate classroom behaviours. Class teachers, Special Needs Assistants and personnel from Ballymun Educational Support Team (BEST) and Whitehall School Programme have been trained to facilitate Dina School. Dina School consists of two twenty minutes sessions each week where children are introduced to life sized puppets; Dina Dinosaur and her friends Wally, Molly and Tiny Turtle! These puppets are a fun teaching tool serving to promote children’s problem solving, discussion and sharing and to trigger role play and skills building activities.
Teacher Training Programme
Incredible Years is not just for children; in fact the teachers are training too! The Teacher Classroom Management Programme can be used as a companion to the Dina in the Classroom Programme. The teacher programme is a five day programme delivered once a month over five months. This allows teachers to return to the classroom to implement and test the Incredible Years strategies. The teacher training programme aims to equip teachers with skills and strategies which promote children’s social and emotional development and focuses on positive communication, limit-setting, problem-solving, anger- management, communication with parents.
Parent Programme
Parents are key to fostering young children’s social and emotional development and the parent training programme is a group-based versatile programme which focuses on strengthening parenting skills such as : effective use of play, social and emotional coaching, praise, encouragement, appropriate limit setting, problem–solving and positive involvement with teachers and schools. The Parent Training Programme is delivered in schools and local centres by trained Group Leaders from CAFTA (Ballymun Family and Community Training Agency).
The consistency of approach among school staff, parents and other professionals towards the child’s behavior is what makes a real difference.
