Area Based Childhood Programme (ABC)
What the ABC Programme is about?
Mission:
Through prevention and early intervention approaches, the Area Based Childhood Programme aims to work in partnership with families, practitioners, communities, and national stakeholders to deliver better outcomes for children and families living in areas where poverty is most deeply entrenched.
What does this mean?
Working with parents from the earliest possible time to make sure their children are happy, health and safe.
What do ABC programmes do?
- Support families from before their children are born at important times in their lives as they grow up. Helping children to be what they want to be now and in the future.
- See parents as the first and most important carers and educators in their babies and children’s lives.
- Most programmes are for babies and children from before they are born until they are six years of age but there are programmes for older children too.
- Programmes work with important people in the baby and child’s life: parents, grandparents, carers, families, early childhood educators and teachers.
- These programmes can help babies and children with language/ literacy/ numeracy development, social and emotional development, well-being/mental health and when moving from preschool to school. This is done through, using a variety of group work and individual programmes.
- All the programmes are based on evidence (information) that shows they can help babies and children
- Programmes are free to families as they are paid for by Department of Children, Disability, Equality and Integration (DCDEI)
ABC Supporting Documents | |
|---|---|
 | ABC IMH Position Paper 2022 |
 | Oral Language Services within the ABC Programme |
 | ABC Infant Mental Health Framework 2022 |
Regional Area & ABC Sites | Lead Agent | Parent Programmes | Link to ABC Websites |
|---|---|---|---|
Dublin Mid Leinster | |||
Ballyfermot - Family Matters | Ballyfermot / Chapelizod Partnership |
| website |
Clondalkin - Blue Skies | Archways |
| website |
Childhood Development Initiative - (CDI) Tallaght |
| website | |
Docklands & East inner City - Early Learning Initiative (ELI) | NCI |
| website |
Wicklow Bray - Supporting Parents & Early Childhood Services (SPECS) | Bray Area Partnership |
| website |
Dublin North East | |||
Ballymun - Youngballymun |
| website | |
Louth - The Genesis Programme | Louth Leader Partnership |
| website |
Docklands & Dublin East inner City - Early Learning Initiative (ELI) | NCI |
| website |
Finglas - Better Finglas | Barnardos |
| website |
Grangegorman - Grangegorman ABC | DIT |
| website |
Darndale - Preparing For Life (PFL) | North Side Partnership |
| website |
South | |||
Cork - Let’s Grow Together | Infant & Childhood Partnerships CLG |
| website |
West | |||
Limerick - Start Right | Paul Partnership |
| website |