Anecdotal evidence suggests that grandparents provide a substantial amount of childcare support to parents of infants in Ireland yet there has been little attention to the provision of grandparent childcare at policy level. Using nationally representative data on childcare provision in the Republic of Ireland, this study examined the prevalence of…

This article examines the outcomes of care orders from the point of view of social workers. The aim is to cast light on the "black box" of substitute care by analysing the practice-based view on outcome in order to contribute to the complex debate on the relations of care and outcome. The article is based on a study using a survey, focus…

This paper describes efforts to increase the quality in early care and education through targeted coaching. A collaborative including several community agencies and a university developed a framework of support for early care and education providers, using coaching as its foundational basis, called Coaching to Quality (CTQ). This paper provides a…

Although child maltreatment due to abuse or neglect is pervasive within our society, less is known about fabricated or induced illness by carers (FII), which is considered to be a rare form of child abuse. FII occurs when a caregiver (in 93% of cases, the mother) misrepresents the child as ill either by fabricating, or much more rarely, producing…

The outcomes for children in kinship care are generally seen as positive in terms of identity formation, stability of placement, behavioural and mental health outcomes, enabling siblings to live together and child protection. However, there is some disquiet about the length of time children stay with relatives; agencies are not sure about how best…

This study aims at examining the childcare practices and issues experienced by the low-income construction workers in India. It is concerned with understanding varied aspects relating to problems that construction workers, as parents, face while bringing up their children in one of the small construction companies of eastern India, in the state of…

This qualitative study investigated the perspectives of parents and caregivers regarding their partnership when young children are in daycare. Both the overall relationship and communication during daily contact in mornings and afternoons were studied. The sample consisted of 41 parents of children aged two years or younger (22 boys and 19 girls)…

In the absence of mandatory planning and support to assist all young people who leave care in Ireland, after-care provision is a "neglected" area of service provision and has been criticised for being inconsistent and ad hoc. The benefits of keyworker support for young people making the transition out of care is more clearly articulated within the…

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…

This case study considers pedagogical techniques used in family childcare to promote children's learning experiences. Data extracted from an earlier study were used to inform this examination of four family childcare providers' pedagogy. In the current study, I use socio-cultural theory and the Reggio Emilia approach to address the following…

The goal of this small-scale study was to investigate how parental separation behaviours affect the transitional behaviour of infants aged 6-18 months. Thirty parent-infant pairs were observed during the separation process across three metropolitan childcare centres in Adelaide, South Australia. Observed interactions with both their infants and…

To better understand and promote healthy nutritional behaviour development in children, research suggests the need to develop a stronger comprehension of influences from their social environment. Yet research has favoured studying parents, with little attention being paid to other important individuals in children's lives, especially from a…

Discourses of child development hold that the experience a child gains from being at school is crucial to the child's development and well-being. The option of home education challenges such discourse. There is little practice-related literature specific to home-educated children. This article first describes a context and then reviews aspects of…

This study examined the factors associated with childcare staff members' readiness to implement quality standards in early childhood settings in Ireland. To coincide with a new government policy that provides every three-year-old child with access to a free preschool year, a framework designed to improve the quality of early childhood care and…

This article considers the launch of the Revised Best Practice Guidance 2010 by the Children Order Advisory Committee. The original guidance was launched in 2003 and the revised guidance reflects the changes in policies and practices over the past seven years.