Powerful Parenting – Supporting Parents in the Early Years
As our vision, CDI wants to see children supported to be healthy, happy, and thriving, and we recognise the fundamental role that parents play in their children’s lives. Parental engagement is central to our work and partnership with parents is at the heart of our Powerful Parenting Programme.
The Powerful Parenting Programme aims to:
- Improve parental resilience and coping skills
- Improve parental engagement in children’s learning and development
- Promote secure parent-child attachment
- Promote positive parental and perinatal mental wellbeing
The Powerful Parenting programme supports parents of children from pregnancy and up to age 5 years in the Tallaght Area. We have a team of Family Support Workers (Parent Carer Facilitators, PCFs) who work directly with parents and carers. Our PCFs are available to support the parents or carers of children attending seven Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services in Tallaght. The PCF team are also available to support a small number of parents who are pregnant or have recently had a baby living in the Tallaght area through our referral process.
If you are interested in being referred to our earlier parenting supports, please complete our online Referral Form.
0—3 years
The Powerful Parenting Programme works with families of children aged 0–3 years through establishing local Parent and Toddler groups. These groups provide a space for parents to interact and support each other but are also a great platform for our team to introduce positive parenting topics in an informal way, to model positive interactions and play with young children and to help parents identify any additional needs they or their child may have at an earlier stage and access appropriate support.
Our Family Support Workers (Parent Carer Facilitators, PCFs) team provides Infant Massage courses to parents and carers of babies aged 0–1 year. These short courses not only help parents develop skills to massage their babies at home, encourage positive attachment and bonding, and reinforce the power of nurturing touch.
Support for parents doesn’t end once a course or group session finishes. Our team also offers parents and carers the opportunity to attend follow-on groups or talks of interest to support them further on their parenting journey. For example, taking part in the Peep Learning Together programme or attending local events to promote early communication with their baby.
3—5 years
CDI supports early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in Tallaght through the provision of dedicated Family Support Workers (Parent Carer Facilitators, PCFs) who work within seven Early Learning and Care Services in Tallaght.
These Parent Carer Facilitators work directly with parents of children who attend early years services, identifying their unique needs, offering support to address any issues, and promoting the achievement of children’s developmental milestones.
The Powerful Parenting Programme offers parents/carers to attend parenting education courses to improve their confidence and competence in their parenting role. These courses offer strategies and tools to support the relationship between parent and child. Our team are trained to deliver the following courses:
- Parents Plus Early Years Programme
- Circle of Security
- 4TheFamily
- The Peep Learning Together Programme
- Infant Massage
Follow our social media platforms to keep up to date with our #PowerfulParenting posts with tips and advice
As a team, we are proud to have supported 300 families during our work in 2022, both from within the Early Years setting and in the wider community of Tallaght.
“Powerful Parenting Model’s strengths include elements that have been considered effective in parenting support (as reviewed by Cadima et al., 2017), namely: a focus on more than one area of need; being easily accessible (given that it is implemented within ELEC services); continuity between universal and targeted provision; and coordination with other services. PPM also includes aspects associated with successful outreach: tailoring of supports to adapt to parents’/families’ characteristics or incorporating their knowledge or needs; and building trusting relationships with parents/families, as mentioned by PCFs (Parent Carer Facilitators) and ELEC managers (Anders et al., 2019; Cadima et al., 2017). Additionally, PPM is based on evidence-based practices and evaluations, which are also considered quality implementation aspects (Cadima et al., 2017). Cadima and colleagues (2017) note the following references in the description of these elements: Brooks et al., 2000; Dunst & Trivette, 2009; Evangelou, 2011; Moran et al., 2004; Molinuevo et al., 2013.”
Extract taken from Leitão, C. (2022) An evaluation of CDI Parenting Support Model: Powerful Parenting
Research and Evaluation
CDI monitors the impact of our Powerful Parenting Model on an ongoing basis, always looking to understand how we can work effectively with families and help them improve outcomes.
As well as our own yearly monitoring and evaluation, there have been two evaluations of the programme over the years. The most recent one can be found at the below links:
- An evaluation of CDI Parenting Support Model: Powerful Parenting, Leitão, C. (2022)
- Supporting Parents with Young Children in Ireland: A Comparative Review of European Evidence-Based Interventions
- Prisoners Returning Home: Prisoners and Family Reintegration 2019
- Evaluation of the Early Years Programme of the Childhood Development Initiative, 2013, Hayes, N., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Keegan, S. and Goulding, E. (2013) Evaluation of the Early Years Programme of the Childhood Development Initiative. Dublin: Childhood Development Initiative (CDI)
- Engaging Fathers in Early Childhood: An overview of best practice, policy and insights from the Island of Ireland.
Visit for more Evaluations of CDI’s work.
Parental Engagement and Relationships (PEAR)
The Powerful Parenting Programme operates in the following seven Early Learning and Care Services
| Early Learning and Care Services |
|---|
| Startbright Brookview Brookview (startbright.ie) |
| Startbright Greenhills StartBright Greenhills |
| Naíonra Chaítlin Maude Naionra Chaitlin Maude | Facebook |
| An Cosán Early Years – Kiltipper Fledglings – An Cosan |
| An Cosán Early Years – St Annes Fledglings – An Cosan |
| Barnardos – Millbrook Lawns Barnardos. Because childhood lasts a lifetime |
CDI also support parents living in International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) through the availability of a PCF working across different IPAS locations in the Tallaght/ Co Dublin area.
Meet the Powerful Parenting Team
Louise Renwick
Powerful Parenting Co-Ordinator
T: 083 471 9306
E: louise@cdi.ie
Louise joined our team in March 2023 as a Support Officer, supporting our Powerful Parenting programme in early years services and in the wider Tallaght community. Louise took over the role of Co-ordinator of the Powerful Parenting programme in October 2023. Louise has a Bachelor of Arts in Social Care along with qualifications in mental health awareness, training and development, life coaching and coaching ethics. Louise has almost 20 years’ experience working within social care services and inspecting and regulating social services in Ireland.
Maria Breslin
Powerful Parenting Support Officer
T: 083 206 8700
E: maria@cdi.ie
Maria works as the Powerful Parenting Support Officer within CDI. She works in collaboration with CDI’s Powerful Parenting Coordinator, the Parent Carer Facilitators, and key stakeholders in the Antenatal to Early Years Sector to support the delivery of the Powerful Parenting Programme.
Maria previously worked as a Parent Carer Facilitator for CDI in an Early Years service in Tallaght West. Maria has worked in the early years sector for 17 years, supporting children, parents, and families. Maria has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Care and Education, and a Diploma in Montessori teaching.
Our PCFs:
Jessica Tomney
Parent Carer Facilitator
T: 085 180 4482
E: jessicatomneypcf@gmail.com
Jessica is a Parent Carer Facilitator in an Early Years service in Tallaght West. Jessica has over 13 years experience working with and supporting children, parents and families. Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in Early Years Education and Care.
Natalie Dunne
Parent Carer Facilitator
T: 086 077 2756
E: natalie.dunne@barnardos.ie
Natalie has a BA (hons) Degree in Early Childhood Studies. She has worked with Barnardos for over 20 years, all of it being in family support and in particular early years families in Tallaght. Natalie began working with CDI in 2010 when we first implemented Parent Carer Facilitators and additional supports to Early Years services. She was the Project Co-Ordinator of a Barnardos preschool and worked on the control site during a three year period of research and evaluation. Natalie is also on the Board of Management for Tallaght Childcare Centre.
Bernie Coleman
Parent Carer Facilitator
T: 086 035 3791
E: b.coleman@ancosan.ie
Bernie is a Parent Carer Facilitator in An Cosán Kiltipper since 2009. She has worked in the early years sector for many years in many capacities and has delivered FETEC Early Years training in Levels 4,5 & 6 and a multitude of parenting courses. As well as her work in An Cosán, Kiltipper, she coordinates the Lifestart Growing Child Programme working with parents and babies (0–3 years.) She holds an Honours Degree in Counselling & Psychotherapy. She is accredited by the Irish Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (IACP) and practices at An Cosán.
Leanne Collins
Parent Carer Facilitator
T: 087 784 7486
E: leanne@cdi.ie
Leanne is a Parent Carer Facilitator for Startbright Greenhills.
Leanne has 13 years of experience in Early Years care and education, primary education and working with parents. Leanne has a Level 8 BA Honours degree in Early Years Education from University College Cork. Leanne also has a Level 6 degree in Leadership and Inclusion from MUI.
Audrey Mc Mahon
Parent Carer Facilitator
T: 086 070 7597
E: audrey@cdi.ie
Audrey is a Parent/Carer Facilitator in Startbright Brookview. She has extensive experience of working in Tallaght and surrounding areas having spent six years working in early sectors and a further eleven years as a Youth Worker in the local area. She holds a BA in Early Childhood Teaching and Learning and an MA in Child, Family, and Community Studies.
Candace Santos Sweeney
Candace is a Parent Carer Facilitator working across IPAS.
She has extensive experience in the Early Years sector, particularly in the areas of access and inclusion. Candace holds a BA (Hons) degree in Early Childhood Education and Care from SETU, as well as a Level 6 Special Award in Leadership for Inclusion in the Early Years from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.