Over the years the staff of Portobello Institute have undertaken many trips to India to work with disadvantaged street chlidren in India, spending time in orphanges and working with the children on everyday activities.  One of the orphanages Portobello Institute staff spent time at is the BSSK orphanage.  Denise Flood Montessori expert and registrar for the college has carried out many trips to India and in March 2012 she travelled to Pune to visit BSSK again but this time to spend time with the staff educating them in the Montessori Method and setting up a Montessori school in BSSK.  The orphange supports up to 70 children aged 0 to 7.  The trip was lead by Dr Meere Oka, a lecturer at Portobello Institute and a Trustee of BSSK Orphanage.

Over the years Portobello Institute has dedicated a lot of time working with charities in India spending time with slum children in schools and orphanages.  Denise Flood, Head of the Early Years Department has visited Pune many times devoting her time to street children and accessing how she could make a change to the quality of their lives using her years of experinece within Montessori and Chlidcare.  Her empathetic approach towards these children has led her to further develop education facilites and with this in mind 2012 will see Portobello Institute embark on a new project in India by setting up a Montessori school in Pune.  Experiencing first hand Denise has seen how spending quality time with the children ensuring they are stimulated in every day skills has steadily improved their cognitive and social skills.  In the short time she spend in Pune she saw a dramatic improvement in some of the childrens responses.  In these poor slum areas many children are sent out to beg on the streets as familes are extremely poor.  Portobello Institute aim to open a school which will be able to provide a warm and welcoming environment for these children.  Using the Montessori method Denise and her team will set about encouraging learning and developing the individual childrens potential.

Childrens charity Zest4kidz has been working with disadvantaged children for a number of years, working with children in Orphanages in Belarus, child soldiers in Uganda and slum and street children in India.  The charity organize support groups to travel to these areas to work with children, show them support and love and that they are not alone.  The charity has carried out trips to India a number of times to work with children schooled in the Pune area.  On the most recent trip this month two Portobello Institute staff were part of the support group that travelled to Pune to work with these disadvantaged children.  Denise Flood, Head of Early Years Department and Tara Flood, Marketing Manager worked closey with both the children and teachers of the school.  Denise who heads up the Montessori and childcare division at Portobello Institute took time out to educate the teachers of the school about the philosphy behind Montessori and how this form of education could benefit the children within their current environment.  Tara worked closely with the team who supported the children and concentrated on Arts & Crafts sessions with them.  Simple things like painting, bubbbles and balloons brought smiles to their faces and the children worked as a group to create a mural for the wall.  Tara says "it was really important for us to try and get the quieter children to intergrate with the others.  Some children would be happy to sit in the corner on their own but by the end of our sessions they had grown confidence and were happily playing and enjoying the fun.  It is hard experience such low poverty levels and although we only spent a week there I feel confident that we brought a small change to each of the children."

On May 21st at St Marys Church, Dawson Street Portobello Institute held their summer 2011 Graduation Ceremony.  The church is the ideal venue with its beautiful interior and furnishings.  On the day the college were extremely proud of its graduates which were a mix of Montessori, Fashion Buying and Merchandising, Make-up and Beauty students who were all there to proudly receive their hard earned Diplomas.  The ceremony began with an opening speech from the college director Rebakah Lyons who congratulated the students on their achievements to date and wished them the very best in their chosen career paths. Once the students had all received their Diplomas the ceremony continued with additional awards for Student of the Year from each sector.

Montessori, Childcare and Special Needs are the most popular programmes we deliver outside the Dublin area.  Over the years Portobello Institute have been delivering these courses in Cork, Galway Waterford, Carlow and many more areas.  To ensure potential students are equiped with sufficient information about our courses for Autumn we are carrying out a number of regional open evenings in popular areas.  Portobello Institute prides itself on its dedicated and expert tutors. All of our childcare tutors have a true passion for this sector.  Individually they have vast amounts of knowledge to share with potential students and they will be on hand at the open evening to answer any questions you have about working in this challenging yet rewarding sector.  We are holidng open evenings in the folloing areas:

Are you part of a parent and toddler group or are looking to set up a group in the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown area but are struggling with equipment or training costs?  Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown County Council Childcare Committee are inviting existing groups as well as parents who are looking to set up a group to apply for a grant under the  Parent and Toddler Group Initiative 2011.  Small grands from €100 to €600 are availalbe for various areas such as toys, equipment, arts & crafts, music, or indeed help towards insurance, rent or training.  Application are available on-line and should be submitted by 8th April 2011

Portobello Institute have a long standing relationship with childrens charity zest4kidz having made trips to Belarus and India in the last few years.  The charity founded by husband and wife team Stuart and Maggie Wilson started in 2006.  Their philosophy is to bring love and attention into the lives of those less fortunate.  The Charity work and support three different areas - child soldiers in Africa, children in slums in the streets in India and children in prisions and ophanages in Eastern Europe.

Barnardos launched a new publcation this week to support those working in pre-schools in creches, Montessori schools, after school clubs and summer camp settings.  The book acts as a guide for careers to understand their responsibilites regarding child protection and to maximise the safety and welfare of the children while in their care and to report child protection concerns in accordance with the Government's protection guidelines Chilldren First.