Those with Care Experience, Academics, Professionals and many others will explore and recommend how we, as a society, can ensure better, more equitable outcomes for the children and young people who come through our care system.

These webinars will seek to provide participants with an overview of the unique issues facing care experienced children and young people in terms of LGBTI+, Ethnicity, Education, Disability, Accommodation and Justice.

This Care Day webinar focuses on young people’s experiences of navigating the education system while being in care. Current research, presented by Dr Paul Downes, will identify, and examine opportunities and challenges associated with care and the education system in Ireland. Importantly, care leavers themselves will discuss the value of significant others, their primary and secondary school experiences, transitioning out of care and into adulthood while also offering words of wisdom for other young people in care, professionals and the wider public.

This webinar will conclude with a live Q&A session that will include EPIC Youth Council Members Angelika Majer and Rory Brown, Dr Paul Downes, Advocacy Officer Joe Walsh and Tusla Aftercare Manager Patrick Jones.

Attendees are encouraged to participate and contribute to the conversation on education and care. We hope you can join us for what will be an informed, thought provoking and insightful journey into the experiences of young people in care.

Speaker/Contributor Bios:

Patrick Jones

Pat Jones is the Aftercare Manager for the Dublin South Central Aftercare Service. Pat previously worked as a Social Care Leader and Aftercare Worker in the Midlands Area. Pat’s work experience includes social care, intellectual disability nursing, mental health and addiction services. Pat originally trained as a Registered Intellectual Disability Nurse before returning to college to complete his BA (Hons) in Applied Social Studies in Social Care. Ongoing continuous professional development through education has been a key part of Pat’s career pathway and he is now in his final year of a BA (Hons) in Law.

The importance of supporting education has shaped Pat’s work practice with Tusla’s Aftercare Services. Tusla’s National Aftercare Policy reflects the importance of supporting education and training in all its forms - Second Level Education, PLC Courses, Youth Reach, Apprenticeships, National Learning Networks and Third Level Education. The Dublin South Central Aftercare and Social Work Teams understand that “Educational attainment is a key factor in determining one’s life chances, in particular economic status and employment opportunities”.1 This key piece of research is the cornerstone to aftercare planning with young people and young adults who are part of the Dublin South Central Aftercare Service.

1Fiona Daly, ‘My voice has to be heard, Research on outcomes for young people leaving care in North Dublin’ (EPIC 2012) 17.

Angelika Majer

Angelika is a 22 year old student, currently completing a masters in Community and Youth Work at Maynooth University. Angelika is also a care leaver and spent her teenage years in foster care.

In the future she hopes to work with young people as she believes that her experiences will help her create better and more inclusive environments to support young people facing difficulties.

Angelika has a strong desire to be involved in promoting her positive experiences of being in care while also being part of influencing changes within the system itself.

Angelika is a member of the National EPIC Youth Council and is passionate about sharing her experiences of being in care, so that her experiences will help shape positive and more meaningful experiences for care leavers who will come after her.

Rory Brown

Rory is 21 years of age and currently completing an undergraduate course in Primary School teaching in Mary Immaculate College.

Rory is also a care leaver and spent 11 years in Foster care. Having spent the best part of his childhood in care, he found that education and being supported through his educational journey has played a major role in getting him to where he is today.

His positive experience of education and the long-lasting impact of his teachers along the way, are what have guided him into wanting to work in the area of primary school teaching. Rory hopes to replicate the supports that he received while in care and ensure that he is part of processes that ensure children of all backgrounds are provided with the opportunities to overcome any barriers that they may face in their educational journey.

Rory believes that the road to education can be difficult for care leavers; but takes great pride in being able to promote his positive experience and highlight that young people can reach their educational potential when supported to do so.

Rory is also a member of the National EPIC Youth Council and is passionate about sharing the positives and challenges that he faced while in care, with the hope that it will encourage other care experienced young people to understand that being in care can provide an opportunity to build a successful future for themselves, especially with regard to education.

Dr Paul Downes

Dr Paul Downes is Associate Professor of Education (Psychology) and Director of the Educational Disadvantage Centre, Dublin City University, and Affiliate Professor University of Malta. He has been involved in various expert advisory roles for the European Commission, including for its School Policy Working Groups, the European Education and Training Expert Panel (2018-19) to support the EU’s post-2020 Strategic Cooperation Framework for Education and Training and was a member of the Irish Senate and Parliament Expert Advisory Group on early school leaving.

A Visiting Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (2017) and University of Cambridge, Lauterpacht Centre (2011), he has been a member of the Coordinating Committee of the European Commission’s Network of Experts on the Social Aspects of Education and Training (NESET 2014-19) and Chairperson of the Steering Committee for the Grangegorman Area-based Childhood interagency Programme (2016-20), funded by Irish Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

He led a 12 country European study (LLL2010) on access to education with a major focus on nonformal education, has been the overall evaluator of the ImplOED (Implementing Outreach, Empowerment, Diversity) 11 country project on nonformal education, and was author of 10 European city studies on parental involvement with the PREVENT project.

With over 100 publications of books/research monographs, articles in international peer reviewed ranked journals and book chapters in areas of education, psychology, philosophy, law, anthropology and social policy, Dr. Downes has given keynote lectures and invited presentations in 29 countries. His contribution to international policy and practice includes invitations from 15 different countries’ official ministries to present his research on various aspects of poverty and social inclusion in education, lifelong learning, social & emotional education and wellbeing. His latest book is on relational space in education, Reconstructing agency in developmental and educational psychology: Inclusive Systems as Concentric Space. New York/New Delhi: Routledge (2020).

Joe Walsh

Joe joined EPIC in January 2016 as an Advocacy Officer covering the Mid-West region. He has a professional background in youth work, family support and community work. Joe holds a BA Degree from Mary Immaculate Collage and has also completed a MA in Social Work from NUIG. Joe has a strong belief in educating young people and providing them with avenues to express their ideas, thoughts, and opinions and in doing so, empowering them to take ownership of their lives.

More to follow...

Please note, these webinars are aimed at ages 16+