AONTACHT FAMILY SERVICES

Why Aontacht?

Aontacht was established in 2022 by directors Grace O’Reilly and Stephanie Kilheeney. Grace and Stephanie are both qualified social workers with significant practice experience between them They have a shared goal to create an environment where families can thrive while being assessed. Somewhere which feels like home and offers a supportive and nurturing environment, valuing diversity and respecting people’s previous experiences. Grace and Stephanie work at the house full time and are committed to providing the best possible service to the families who come to stay with us. As experienced social workers they also strive to facilitate effective communication with responsible local authorities and other partner agencies, and robust, evidence based assessments to support care planning and safeguarding.

Simply put, our mission is to help families learn, develop and stay together, wherever this in the best interest of the child. We do this by providing teaching and guidance based on individual need in a safe, supportive, compassionate and positive environment. Our aim is to do this in a warm and homely property where families feel welcome, nurtured and valued. We aim to make our property a home from home for the families who stay with us by keeping it as much like a family home as possible. We facilitate effective multi agency working and complete wrap around support to ensure the holistic needs of our residents are identified and prioritised.

The development of parenting skills builds towards assessments of parenting capacity which are fair, thorough and evidence based, and fit for purpose for courts and/or Local Authorities. We aim to re-educate parents to break cycles of abuse and intergenerational trauma to allow them to demonstrate their parenting capability to the best of their ability throughout their assessment. We devise custom support plans to meet the individual needs of the children and parents within each family and ensure that all residents are supported to access any services that reflect their individuality, identity and diversity needs. We do this through a bespoke teaching program, varied teaching methods and integration in activities both in the house and in the community. Our asset focussed approach supports families to build resilience and regulation to promote positive recovery and sustainable change.

Aontacht is committed to providing a diverse service that ensures every family has equal opportunity to succeed regardless of their own individual needs. We utilise a child centred, whole family approach. Parents will be encouraged to contribute and voice their opinions in order to achieve and feel valued. Our bespoke teaching program is devised in partnership with parents giving them choices in how their teaching program is delivered and utilising restorative and healing focussed practice to forge positive relationships.

Overall, our main objectives are as follows:

To provide a safe and nurturing environment in which families can live together, whilst providing a service that enables children to live safely with their families whilst care from their parents/carers is assessed.

– To promote an environment where children’s rights and needs are identified and prioritised, contributing to their development and well-being.

– To provide an environment in which families staying with us can feel safe and supported whilst their parenting is assessed.

– To provide a welcoming home from home with an expectation that styles of behaviour will be consistent with ordinary family life.

– To observe the relationship between parents/carers and their children in order to assess the potential for change. Undertaking assessments in partnership with families in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of their circumstances.

– To facilitate direct work with parents and carers, seeking to build upon their strengths as well as exploring the historical concerns, which will provide structured information that assists courts and Local Authorities in making decisions about a child’s future.

– To develop parenting skills using a variety of methods and for parents/carers to achieve a better understanding of the child’s needs.

– To provide evidence-based assessments which enable informed decisions to be made about whether or not it would be in the child’s best interest to remain in the permanent care of their parents/carers.

– To undertake assessments in an anti-oppressive manner, which is representative of every individual’s unique identity, race, age, ability, religion, class, gender, and sexual orientation.

WHAT WE OFFER