Stories from Foster CareIn this episode Irish Foster Care Association chairperson Irene Browne talks to Maria O’Connell, school principal and keynote speaker at IFCA’s 2026 conference, The Healing Power of Play. In the course of this rich and informative conversation between two educators, we learn about the Nurture approach to schooling and how approaches that work for children in care in Nurture schools can also work for them and their carers at home. Maria and her school staff’s commitment to trauma-informed, relational education offers great hope for children struggling in education.
Resources
Nurturing Schools Ireland
https://www.nurturingschoolsireland.ie
Nurture International
https://www.nurtureinternational.co.uk
NEPS
NEPS: Psychological First Aid
Ross Greene
Books and other resources
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk (for carers)
https://www.dubraybooks.ie/product/body-keeps-the-score-pb-9780141978611
The Scared Gang series (for children)
https://www.sensoryattachmentintervention.com/product-page/the-scared-gang-set-of-9-books
List of children’s books for wellbeing (PDF)
About the podcast – Stories from Foster Care is brought to you by the Irish Foster Care Association in association with the Department of Children, Disability & Equality. Join host Niamh Barrett as she meets people from all walks of life who have different experiences of foster care in Ireland. Listen to Stories from Foster Careon Spotify, Apple, Nearcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest episodes.
The music on this podcast is a track called Pastures by Ketsa, the music appears here under a Creative Commons Licence. Stories from Foster Care is made with the Near FM podcast network. For more information and how to get involved visit https://nearcast.ie/get-involved/
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:46 — 88.7MB)
