The Ombudsman for Children

An Ombudsman (http://www.ombudsman.gov.ie/en) investigates complainst about public bodies such as An Post, the Health Service etc. The office is there to protect citizens' rights. The Ombudsman examines the problem and if he/she feels that a complaint is justified then he/she will make a recommendation for a solution to the problem.

Some organisations have their own Ombudsman. For example there is an Ombudsman for the Defence Forces, an Ombudsman for the Garda Siochana and there is an Ombudsman for Children.

The Ombudsman for Children is Emily Logan. On the OCO website she says "My name is Emily Logan and I have the honour of being the first Ombudsman for Children in Ireland. That means that I work for all children and young people under 18 living in the Ireland and my job is to make sure that the government and other people who make decisions about young people really think about what is best for young people."

Ms Logan is advised by a Youth Advisor Panel - young people who respresent youth and present your views. Listen to some members of the panel talk about why they got involved with the OCO and some of the highlights of the past couple of years.

A view of Mountjoy Prison

Concept: The Law

Here's where most of Dublin's criminals end up serving their sentences for crimes committed.




From these photos, what do you think prisoners lose as a result of their criminal activities?

Watch this video about life in a juvenile prison in America.

The Court room

Concept: The Law

Who's who in a court room? See the photo below.

Click the image to enlarge.

Tips for helping the Gardaí

Concept: The Law

Source

Q: What tips would you give to someone who has witnessed a crime so that s/he could give a clear and accurate description of what happened to the gardai?

A: Make notes about the incident as quickly as possible after the event. Include the following:

• Time / date of crime
• Number of people involved.
• What happened.
• What you saw.
• Car registration, colour, make, any specific markings.
• What were the criminals wearing - jeans, runners, coats, - colour etc.?
• What direction did they go off in?

CSPE Actions

Here are some actions you could take to raise awareness, get people involved in a project, promote an event, etc etc

Road safety campaign
Organise a visit in - by an expert - to learn from them and ask questions
Have a Skype conference call
set up a Facebook page and develop a fan base
Set up a twitter feed/ campaign - increase your followers / follow people who can retweet your tweets
Set up a blog and gather followers online

Visit out - to learn about a person/ place etc
Tidy up local area
Litter lift
Buddy system for bullying
Have a xxxxx(safety, anti bullying, animal awareness etc etc) Week in school
Homework club
Set up student council
Conduct a survey and display results
Letter writing campaign
Write and send out a newsletter
A carol service for local old age residents
A carol service to raise funds
Hold a cake sale / raffle / bring and buy sale
Have an ad campaign on radio / tv
Make announcements in school
Poster campaign to raise awareness
Organise / sign a petition / protest

Organise a sports event in aid of a charity etc - raise funds/ awareness

Set up a homework club / friendship club
Set up a Games Club - provide somewhere for bullying victims to enjoy lunch in peace

What did you learn about an election?

Concept: Democracy

What did you learn while you were completing your mock election project? If you can answer any of these questions you will be able to complete Page 8 of your Action Project Report booklet.

What is democracy? How does it work? Can you name somewhere that operates under a democracy? What is the opposite political idea to democracy?

What type of elections are held in Ireland? When are they held, how often? What is a referendum?

Who are the key players in an election? Who is the electorate, the candidates, the returning officer, polling officers, presiding officers, campaign manager, the tally person?

How does someone vote in an election? When can you vote? Where do you vote? Do you need identification to vote and why? What is the electoral register?

What do you know about the vote itself? What is PR? What is First past the post ?

What is a quota? What are transferable votes? What is a spoiled vote?

What is the timeline for an election? When can campaigning take place and when is it not allowed?

Here is a link to the Citizens Information website where you will find most of the answers to these questions.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/government_in_ireland/elections_and_referenda/

Creating posters and slogans

Slogans are a very effective way of drawing attention to a message you want to get across. Here are a few tips for creating an effective slogan:

• Be as unique as you can - identify that one quality which makes your idea different from the rest.
 • Be brief and memorable – make the message as a short, catchy, memorable phrase so it will stay in peoples minds.
• Make it clear and easy to remember - A good slogan produces images on the reader’s mind. Most people produce images in their mind when they hear something. A good slogan will remind the reader of your message by bringing to mind the image.
• A good slogan can encourage people to take action.

Source

 

 

 

 

 

Source

 

 

 

 

 

Source