What is Families Connect? Families Connect is a parental engagement programme for families with c... more What is Families Connect? Families Connect is a parental engagement programme for families with children aged 4-6, delivered in schools across the UK. The programme involves parents and children, and uses play as a vehicle for learning. It focuses on three key areas: social and emotional development; literacy and language development; and numeracy and mathematics. It aims to provide parents with confidence and skills to support their child's learning, build relationships between parents and schools, and make a difference to children's communication, literacy, numeracy and social and emotional outcomes. How long are the sessions? Families Connect involves a set of two-hour sessions in school over eight works. There are eight sessions in total. The timings of the sessions are flexible to suit the families involved (for example, during school, after school or straddling the end of the school day). One hour of each session is for parents only; the other hour is for parents and children together. A snack and crèche facilities are usually provided. What activities are involved? Each session involves a range of activities and games that parents and carers discuss, try out and practise with their children. Each week, parents can then try them out at home with their children. Who delivers the sessions? Usually, two members of staff from your school will deliver the sessions. They will have been trained by Save the Children UK (SCUK) to do this. Staff from Save the Children UK (SCUK) will also visit your school to support some of the sessions.
Community practitioner: the journal of the Community Practitioners' & Health Visitors' Association
Health visiting services have been restructured from being universal for all children to targetin... more Health visiting services have been restructured from being universal for all children to targeting families in need. UK recommendations on infant feeding have also recently changed. With the many sources of information available on feeding babies, it is important to know where parents get feeding advice and which sources they find valuable. In this study, 215 mothers of one-year old infants were interviewed about where they had obtained feeding advice in the first year of their infant's life and how useful they found this information. The health visitor was the most commonly cited source of information (70%) followed by grandparents (53%), while 10% of mothers relied solely on health visitor advice. This study highlights the importance placed by mothers on health visitors, which may have implications for the service in the midst of the reorganisation of the health visitor's role.
International Journal of Educational Research, 2015
ABSTRACT The paper presents a protocol for ‘A randomized controlled trial of functional family th... more ABSTRACT The paper presents a protocol for ‘A randomized controlled trial of functional family therapy (FFT): an Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) partnership between Croydon Council and Queen's University Belfast’. The protocol describes a trial that uses FFT as an alternative intervention to current use of the youth justice system and local authority care with the aim of reducing crime/recidivism in young people referred to Croydon Council. The trial will take place over a period of 36 months and will involve up to 154 families. Croydon Council will employ a team of five Functional Family Therapists who will work with families to promote effective outcomes. The Centre for Effective Education at Queen's University Belfast will act as independent evaluators of outcomes for families and young people. The work is supported from the United Kingdom Economic & Social Research Council/Early Intervention Foundation Grant Number ES/M006921/1
Community practitioner : the journal of the Community Practitioners' & Health Visitors' Association, 2013
Although domestic violence is seen as a serious public health issue for women worldwide, internat... more Although domestic violence is seen as a serious public health issue for women worldwide, international evidence suggests that women aged over 50 who are victims are suffering in silence because the problem is often ignored by health professionals. More U.K. research is needed to identify the extent of the problem, and services to meet the needs of older women. This study aims to bridge this gap by gaining a deeper understanding of how 'older women' cope with domestic violence and how it affects their wellbeing. Eighteen older women who were currently, or had been in an abusive relationship were recruited. Semi-structured interview schedules were used to discuss the personal nature of DV and its effects on wellbeing, ways of coping and sources of support. Findings suggest that living in a domestically violent context has extremely negative effects on older women's wellbeing leading to severe anxiety and depression. Three-quarters of the women defined themselves as in '...
Community practitioner : the journal of the Community Practitioners' & Health Visitors' Association, 2009
Health visiting services have been restructured from being universal for all children to targetin... more Health visiting services have been restructured from being universal for all children to targeting families in need. UK recommendations on infant feeding have also recently changed. With the many sources of information available on feeding babies, it is important to know where parents get feeding advice and which sources they find valuable. In this study, 215 mothers of one-year old infants were interviewed about where they had obtained feeding advice in the first year of their infant's life and how useful they found this information. The health visitor was the most commonly cited source of information (70%) followed by grandparents (53%), while 10% of mothers relied solely on health visitor advice. This study highlights the importance placed by mothers on health visitors, which may have implications for the service in the midst of the reorganisation of the health visitor's role.
Background Evidence relating to the effect of early weaning on infant weight and weight gain is c... more Background Evidence relating to the effect of early weaning on infant weight and weight gain is conflicting. The aim of this paper is to compare weight and weight gain in two groups of infants; one group weaned before 4 months (early weaned), the other weaned at 4 months or after. Methods Feeding practices were assessed through semistructured interviews with mothers of 1-year-old infants. Weight at birth, 8 weeks and 7 months were taken from an administrative database (Child Health System), and an additional measure of weight was taken at 14 months. Results Infants weaned early were heavier at 7 and 14 months, and gained more weight between 8 weeks and 14 months, even after breastfeeding was controlled for. Conclusion Early weaning is related to rapid weight gain in infancy. This may have implications for childhood obesity.
The Growth, Learning and Development (GLAD) study aimed to examine how a broad range of factors i... more The Growth, Learning and Development (GLAD) study aimed to examine how a broad range of factors influence child weight during the first year of life. Assessments were undertaken within a multidisciplinary team framework. The sample was drawn from the community and data ...
What is Families Connect? Families Connect is a parental engagement programme for families with c... more What is Families Connect? Families Connect is a parental engagement programme for families with children aged 4-6, delivered in schools across the UK. The programme involves parents and children, and uses play as a vehicle for learning. It focuses on three key areas: social and emotional development; literacy and language development; and numeracy and mathematics. It aims to provide parents with confidence and skills to support their child's learning, build relationships between parents and schools, and make a difference to children's communication, literacy, numeracy and social and emotional outcomes. How long are the sessions? Families Connect involves a set of two-hour sessions in school over eight works. There are eight sessions in total. The timings of the sessions are flexible to suit the families involved (for example, during school, after school or straddling the end of the school day). One hour of each session is for parents only; the other hour is for parents and children together. A snack and crèche facilities are usually provided. What activities are involved? Each session involves a range of activities and games that parents and carers discuss, try out and practise with their children. Each week, parents can then try them out at home with their children. Who delivers the sessions? Usually, two members of staff from your school will deliver the sessions. They will have been trained by Save the Children UK (SCUK) to do this. Staff from Save the Children UK (SCUK) will also visit your school to support some of the sessions.
Community practitioner: the journal of the Community Practitioners' & Health Visitors' Association
Health visiting services have been restructured from being universal for all children to targetin... more Health visiting services have been restructured from being universal for all children to targeting families in need. UK recommendations on infant feeding have also recently changed. With the many sources of information available on feeding babies, it is important to know where parents get feeding advice and which sources they find valuable. In this study, 215 mothers of one-year old infants were interviewed about where they had obtained feeding advice in the first year of their infant's life and how useful they found this information. The health visitor was the most commonly cited source of information (70%) followed by grandparents (53%), while 10% of mothers relied solely on health visitor advice. This study highlights the importance placed by mothers on health visitors, which may have implications for the service in the midst of the reorganisation of the health visitor's role.
International Journal of Educational Research, 2015
ABSTRACT The paper presents a protocol for ‘A randomized controlled trial of functional family th... more ABSTRACT The paper presents a protocol for ‘A randomized controlled trial of functional family therapy (FFT): an Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) partnership between Croydon Council and Queen's University Belfast’. The protocol describes a trial that uses FFT as an alternative intervention to current use of the youth justice system and local authority care with the aim of reducing crime/recidivism in young people referred to Croydon Council. The trial will take place over a period of 36 months and will involve up to 154 families. Croydon Council will employ a team of five Functional Family Therapists who will work with families to promote effective outcomes. The Centre for Effective Education at Queen's University Belfast will act as independent evaluators of outcomes for families and young people. The work is supported from the United Kingdom Economic & Social Research Council/Early Intervention Foundation Grant Number ES/M006921/1
Community practitioner : the journal of the Community Practitioners' & Health Visitors' Association, 2013
Although domestic violence is seen as a serious public health issue for women worldwide, internat... more Although domestic violence is seen as a serious public health issue for women worldwide, international evidence suggests that women aged over 50 who are victims are suffering in silence because the problem is often ignored by health professionals. More U.K. research is needed to identify the extent of the problem, and services to meet the needs of older women. This study aims to bridge this gap by gaining a deeper understanding of how 'older women' cope with domestic violence and how it affects their wellbeing. Eighteen older women who were currently, or had been in an abusive relationship were recruited. Semi-structured interview schedules were used to discuss the personal nature of DV and its effects on wellbeing, ways of coping and sources of support. Findings suggest that living in a domestically violent context has extremely negative effects on older women's wellbeing leading to severe anxiety and depression. Three-quarters of the women defined themselves as in '...
Community practitioner : the journal of the Community Practitioners' & Health Visitors' Association, 2009
Health visiting services have been restructured from being universal for all children to targetin... more Health visiting services have been restructured from being universal for all children to targeting families in need. UK recommendations on infant feeding have also recently changed. With the many sources of information available on feeding babies, it is important to know where parents get feeding advice and which sources they find valuable. In this study, 215 mothers of one-year old infants were interviewed about where they had obtained feeding advice in the first year of their infant's life and how useful they found this information. The health visitor was the most commonly cited source of information (70%) followed by grandparents (53%), while 10% of mothers relied solely on health visitor advice. This study highlights the importance placed by mothers on health visitors, which may have implications for the service in the midst of the reorganisation of the health visitor's role.
Background Evidence relating to the effect of early weaning on infant weight and weight gain is c... more Background Evidence relating to the effect of early weaning on infant weight and weight gain is conflicting. The aim of this paper is to compare weight and weight gain in two groups of infants; one group weaned before 4 months (early weaned), the other weaned at 4 months or after. Methods Feeding practices were assessed through semistructured interviews with mothers of 1-year-old infants. Weight at birth, 8 weeks and 7 months were taken from an administrative database (Child Health System), and an additional measure of weight was taken at 14 months. Results Infants weaned early were heavier at 7 and 14 months, and gained more weight between 8 weeks and 14 months, even after breastfeeding was controlled for. Conclusion Early weaning is related to rapid weight gain in infancy. This may have implications for childhood obesity.
The Growth, Learning and Development (GLAD) study aimed to examine how a broad range of factors i... more The Growth, Learning and Development (GLAD) study aimed to examine how a broad range of factors influence child weight during the first year of life. Assessments were undertaken within a multidisciplinary team framework. The sample was drawn from the community and data ...
Uploads
Papers by Aideen Gildea