The Annual CRN Conference will be held in University College Dublin this year on Thursday 4th December 2025, in collaboration with the UCD Childhood and Human Development Research Centre (UCD CHilD-RC).
The theme of the conference is ‘Advancing Research on Social Determinants of Child Health in Ireland: Insights for Improving Outcomes’.
Children and young people’s health and wellbeing are shaped not only by healthcare but by a wide range of social determinants, including poverty, housing, education, family circumstances, and community environments. These factors influence the opportunities and challenges that children and young people face as they grow. In Ireland and Northern Ireland, addressing these determinants is critical for tackling persistent inequalities and ensuring that all children and young people can thrive.
This conference will bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to share new evidence, discuss innovative interventions, and highlight examples of best practice across the island of Ireland. With a focus on equity and collaboration, the event aims to create a space where evidence can directly inform practice and policy, helping to improve outcomes for children and young people.
The conference will feature a keynote speaker, workshops and presentations relevant to the conference theme.
REGISTRATION FOR THE CONFERENCE IS NOW OPEN!
We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for the Children’s Research Network (CRN) & UCD CHilD-RC Annual Conference 2025, taking place on Thursday, 4th December at the UCD Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin.
This year’s conference will bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who are committed to advancing the well-being of children and families. Attendees can look forward to a rich and engaging programme featuring a keynote speaker, research presentations, and interactive workshops that highlight the latest research and innovative practices in the field.
Key Highlights Include:
Research Presentations: Explore cutting-edge research on children’s health and well-being, digital engagement, educational experiences, and supports for children in disadvantaged contexts.
Interactive Workshops: A new addition to this year’s programme, our workshops offer attendees the opportunity to engage directly with experts, explore new information and practices, and develop practical skills.
Workshop Topics:
Using ‘Growing Up in Ireland’ to Inform Your Own Research — Dr Eoin McNamara, Department of Children, Disability and Equality
Supporting Marginalised Families: Funding and Resources for Practitioners — Donna Butler & Sinead Roche, Tusla
Key Issues for Developing Inclusive Systems Bridging Health and Education In and Around Schools and Communities — Prof Paul Downes, Educational Disadvantage Centre, Dublin City University
Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, share, and learn with colleagues from across the child and family research community.
We look forward to welcoming you to UCD for what promises to be an inspiring and thought-provoking day!
Workshops
As part of the CRN & UCD CHilD-RC Annual Conference, a series of interactive workshops will be held to explore key themes and practical approaches related to children’s rights and inclusive development. The workshops will run simultaneously, giving attendees the opportunity to choose the session that best matches their interests and professional focus.
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Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) is the national longitudinal study of children and young people. Across three cohorts and 11 waves of fieldwork, a wide range of data relating to family life & relationships, education, socio-emotional wellbeing and physical health has been collected from almost 30,000 young people and their families.
This workshop aims to provide attendees with practical information about how GUI can be used to support their own research interests. Attendees will learn about the overall study design and methodology, how to navigate the study’s many findings, reports and academic publications, and how to access and analyse GUI data themselves to answer their own research questions. The workshop will include a practical data analysis tutorial informed by attendees’ own research interests.
Facilitator Bio:
Dr Eoin McNamara has worked as a researcher on the Growing Up in Ireland study for the past eight years, formerly at the Economic and Social Research Institute and currently at the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. He completed his PhD at Queen Mary, University of London, and his post-doctoral research at the University of Cambridge. His research interests focus on a range of child health outcomes and socio-economic disparities therein.
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Providing a research summary of the key research, methodology and frameworks of families living in IPAS and Traveller Community.
The workshop will delve into practices that have been created in responding to the presenting needs of supporting parents and families in IPAS and the travelling community.
Attendees will have an increased knowledge of the existing research and an understanding of practice that is currently available in supporting marginalised families. It will provide consideration for how policy could be considered in supporting change.
Facilitator Bios:
Sinead Roche has almost 15 years experience working with children and families in community and voluntary services and Tusla. Sinead has brought her direct practice experience to now supporting National Family Link Workers in her current role. Throughout Sinead’s work, prevention and early intervention has been the key focus ensuring her approach is children and human rights focused. Sinead is passionate about empowering workers in supporting their own community. Sinead has a passion in creating experiences that inspires growth, meaning, and outcomes for children and families in reaching their full potential.
Donna Butler is an ESF+ Officer within the Prevention Partnership and Family Support (PPFS) unit of Tusla, where she drives the strategic alignment of the Government of Ireland and EU funding with the Family Support Service. Donna brings in-depth knowledge of GOI/EU funding, grounded in her many years of direct service provision through systemic practice and her deep interest in working with families and young people. In this workshop, she will share information on the service and resources that are being utilised to address the complex social exclusion experienced by IPAS families, the funding mechanism designed to appoint practitioners to work directly to support families. Donna has 20 years of experience working with families and young people in multiple roles, supporting change through service development and provision, supporting, and advocating for policy change and more recently within Tusla in the roll-out of services Nationally across specific areas of Young Parents, IPAS Families and Advisory roles.
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This workshop will adopt a futures thinking scenario-based methodology to assess research and policy dimensions of system change for a scenario of children/young people experiencing issues of trauma and adverse childhood experiences, sleep difficulties, suspension/ expulsion from school, bullying, poor attendance and hunger in school. An initial scene setting for these themes will be given, locating it also conceptually as part of the spatial turn for social inclusion in education. The group will examine how to bridge these health and education needs as part of a holistic focus on students' needs in schools that addresses space and complexity in system design.
Facilitator Bio:
Professor Paul Downes is Professor of Psychology of Education, Director of the Educational Disadvantage Centre, Institute of Education, Dublin City University, Ireland and Affiliate Professor, University of Malta, Centre for Resilience & Socio-Emotional Health. With over 125 peer reviewed publications in areas of education, psychology, philosophy, law, anthropology and social policy, Professor Downes has given keynote lectures and invited presentations in 31 countries. His book Reconstructing Agency in Developmental and Educational Psychology: Inclusive Systems as Concentric Space (Routledge 2020) was nominated for the American Psychological Association’s (APA) William James Book Award. He has been involved in various expert advisory roles for the European Commission, including for its Pathways to School Success 2022 and School Policy Working Groups, He is appointed as Member, OECD Expert Group on Education and Inclusive Societies 2025-.
Conference Programme
This conference is funded through a Conference and Event Scheme grant from the Health Research Board.