Education Materials

Every year, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office welcomes approximately 1,400 primary and post-primary students to children’s rights workshops in it’s specially designed education and participation spaces in the office.

This year, staying safe from Covid 19 has made this impossible to do. This is very disappointing for us as we really enjoy seeing children in the office and knowing that, when they leave, they have learned something more about their rights.

In light of the Covid restrictions, we have instead developed a number of free online resources that can be used in schools by teachers and students to help them learn about their rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the work of the OCO in protecting and promoting those rights.

These include a video presentation and accompanying teacher or self-learning notes:

• Post-primary: screencast presentation to be used either in the classroom or at home
  • Self-learning notes for Politics and Society to accompany screencast
  • Teacher notes for Senior and Junior Cycle CSPE and SPHE with activities to facilitate group learning
• Primary: video workshop with accompanying teachers notes and activities

We hope that these resources will help to ensure that children and young people don't miss out on learning about their rights during this time. The Ombudsman for Children's Office looks forward to welcoming schools back into the office as soon as it is possible and safe, but in the meantime we hope you enjoy and benefit from these online resources.

Download Senior Cycle screencast here
Download Teacher CSPE/SPHE notes for Senior Cycle 
Download Self-learning notes for Politics and Society

Download Junior Cycle Prezi here
Download Teacher CSPE/SPHE notes for Junior Cycle here

Download Primary school presentation here 

Download Teacher notes for Primary level here

Download Resource sheet for Activity 3 here

September 2017 marked the 25th Anniversary of Ireland’s ratification of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. The Ombudsman for Children’s office marked this significant milestone by inviting everyone to get involved and to celebrate ‘Children Now, Rights Now’.

We have created a range of educational resources for teachers and educators to help teach young people of all ages about their rights and about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Making Children’s Rights Real is a suite of resource materials to support teachers in primary and post-primary schools to explore children’s rights with their students in the context of curriculum teaching and learning.

The materials include an important focus on supporting children and young people to implement an action for children’s rights.

Materials

• Making Children’s Rights Real: Junior & Senior Infants
• Cearta Leanaí a Fhíorú: Naíonáin Sóisearacha agus Naíonáin Sinsearacha
• Making Children’s Rights Real: First, Second & Third Class
• Cearta Leanaí a Fhíorú: Rang a hAon, a Dó agus a Trí
• Making Children’s Rights Real: Fourth, Fifth & Sixth Class
• Cearta Leanaí a Fhíorú: Rang a Ceathair, a Cúig agus a Sé
• Making Children’s Rights Real: Junior Cycle
• Cearta Leanaí a Fhíorú: tSraith Shóisearach
• Making Children’s Rights Real: TY & Senior Cycle
• Cearta Leanaí a Fhíorú: Idirbhliain agus Sraith Shinsearach

Support Materials for Junior and Senior Infant Teachers:

• Illustrations of Unfair Situations (PPTX) Gaeilge & Béarla
• Rights Powerpoint for Junior & Senior Infants (PPTX) Gaeilge & Béarla

Support Materials for all Teachers

• Making Children’s Rights Real: Teachers Guide
• Cearta Leanaí a Fhíorú: Comhad Tacaíochta do Mhúinteoirí
• UNCRC Poster (Landscape)
• UNCRC Poster (Landscape)
• UNCRC Poster (Portrait)
• UNCRC Poster (Portrait)
• UNCRC Powerpoint (PPTX) Gaeilge & Béarla

This online resource is a joint collaboration between the Ombudsman for Children’s Office and the Abbey Theatre. Act Your Rights aims to help children to become more aware of their rights and explore how rights are reflected in their everyday lives. It offers an innovative and enjoyable way to talk about rights with 4-6^thclass students through discussion, drama and art activities.

The resource consists of 5 sessions (2 rights sessions and 3 drama sessions) with downloadable activities/worksheets.

We have provided Guidance for Teachers including general ‘comments and tips from Teachers’ and also ‘Drama tips for Teachers’ if you decide to do the ‘Make an Act Your Rights drama’.

To further enhance the delivery of the resource, the Abbey Theatre can provide contact details for theatre facilitators nationwide who can deliver part/all of the drama-based activities.

If you have any questions regarding Act Your Rights or require further information, please contact the Education and Participation team on (01) 8656800.

Here is a short video to give you a flavour of Act Your Rights

What do you say? is a resource that explore issues relating to children’s rights. It includes references to rights in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Constitution.

These activities were created by a group of practising teachers and have been developed to facilitate implementation of aspects of the curriculum.

The materials introduce the role and work of the Ombudsman for Children’s Office and give children the opportunity to explore and discuss the following issues: Having a voice and being heard; Family and care; Health and wealth; Education; Play, leisure and recreation, and Inclusion.

There are a range of materials suitable for children and young people of all ages:

Junior and Senior Infants

• What do you say? Activity 2 poster
• What do you say? Activity 3 poster
• What do you say? Activity 4 poster
• What do you say? Activity 5 poster
• What do you say? Activity 6 poster

Naíonáin Shóísearcha agus Shinsearacha

href="https://www.oco.ie/app/uploads/2017/11/Gniomhaiocht2.pdf">Gniomhaiocht 2 póstaer
• Gniomhaiocht 3 póstaer
• Gniomhaiocht 4 póstaer
• Gniomhaiocht 5 póstaer
• Gniomhaiocht 6 póstaer

First and Second Class

Rang 1 agus 2

• Lámhleabhar do rang 1 & 2

Third and Fourth Class  

• What do you say? Manual for 3rd & 4th class
• OCO poster
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child poster

Fifth and Sixth Class

• OCO poster
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child poster

Rang 5 agus 6

• Choinbhinsiún na NA um Chearta an Linbh póstaer