Celebrating incredible ten years
The founder and developer of the Incredible Years series, Carolyn Webster-Stratton, was in Dundalk and Drogheda last week, to mark ten years since the first programmes were completed.
In June 2008, a group of parents with children attending St. John’s JNS in Drogheda completed the first ever Incredible Years programme to be delivered in County Louth.
Now, ten years later and with thousands of children, parents, early years professionals and teachers having benefitted from a range of Incredible Years programmes, a number of events have been held to mark its’ success.
Hugh Doogan, Programme Manager with The Genesis Programme said: ‘ The visit of Carolyn Webster-Stratton to Dundalk and Drogheda is significant in that it is her way of acknowledging the huge work undertaken here to implement the Incredible Years series. The programme is delivered across the globe and has been researched in over 100 randomised control trials. To have the person who developed the programme spend four days with us is just brilliant for everyone involved.
The work of introducing the Incredible Years began in October 2006 with an Information Seminar in the Westcourt Hotel. There was a large attendance and one school came forward to express a real interest in implementing the Incredible Years. That was St. John’s JNS and so a remarkable success story began.
Slowly but surely more schools came on board and with the Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme that was launched in 2013, funded by the Department of Children & Youth Affairs (DCYA) and initially Atlantic Philanthropies, we were able to expand the reach and number of programmes that were delivered. The Genesis Programme was established and the project team commenced in December 2014.
There are other strands to the work now but the Incredible Years remains very much the heartbeat of what The Genesis Programme is about.
‘ There are too many people to thank who have made significant contributions along the way. I would, however, say a big thank you though to Louth Leader Partnership who funded the programme for many years and now act as lead agency. The Genesis Programme is a consortium and so the sum is greater than any one part. Those consortium members are drawn from our communities, early years services, schools and statutory agencies. All the Group Leaders who have put themselves forward for training and deliver the programme.’
‘We are proud of our achievements. The week’s activities allowed Carolyn to see first hand the Incredible Years in action. She visited early years services and schools, presented keynote speeches at graduations in Dundalk and Drogheda as well as recognising the Group Leaders who have achieved accreditation. It was right we take time to celebrate them’.