Students across social care, criminal justice, law and criminology programmes at South East Technological University (SETU) recently paid a visit to Oberstown Children’s Detention Centre.
Meaningful insight
The visit gave students a meaningful insight into the supports, care, and rehabilitative approaches provided to young people placed in detention in Ireland.
It marked the first cross-campus, practice-based field visit for the social care programmes, with the invitation extended to SETU staff and to students from other disciplines who have an interest in the youth justice sector.
The visit was organised by Laura Doyle, Assistant Lecturer and Programme Leader in the Department of Early Childhood and Social Care at SETU in Waterford, with assistance from Sadhb Reddy and Dr Denise Lyons from SETU in Carlow.
Established under the Children Act 2001, Oberstown provides individualised care to young people remanded or sentenced by the courts in the Republic of Ireland. The service operates an integrated, multi-professional model aimed at helping young people address offending behaviours to successfully reintegrate into society.
Guided tour
During the visit, Oberstown staff guided SETU staff and students through the campus, including its school which offers a broad primary, secondary, and vocational curriculum, as well as the social and recreational facilities that provide young people with an extensive schedule of after-school activities. SETU students also had the opportunity to speak with staff about daily routines, supports provided to young people, and the benefits and challenges of working in Oberstown.
An informative presentation followed, outlining the rights-based model of care, approaches used by staff, specialist programmes in place to address offending behaviour, and information on pathways into employment within the service. The visit concluded with a delicious lunch prepared by the catering team in Oberstown.
The event was a great success among the visiting SETU staff and students. Sincere thanks are extended to the Oberstown team for their warm welcome and for providing such a valuable and informative learning experience.
If other social care services are interested in arranging a practice-based field visit, please email Laura Doyle.
