We attended the Social Care Ireland Conference 2025 on April 2-3 in Dundalk, Co. Louth.
This year’s exciting theme was “Creativity, Innovation, and Play in Social Care – The Power of Possibility in an Era of Regulation.”
At Odyssey, we champion creativity — not just for the young people we support but also within our childcare teams.
🎨 For children: Creativity allows another way for children to express themselves, explore new ideas, and embrace play.
💡 For childcare teams: It fosters innovative approaches to building meaningful relationships with young people.
We love seeing creative pieces from our children and young people!
We heard insightful talks from Professor Neil Maiden, Professor Vlad Glaveanu, and other inspiring experts in creativity in social care.
Wendy Glennon, Head of Brand with Odyssey, said: “Creativity is such a powerful tool in social care, helping young people express themselves and childcare teams build stronger, more meaningful connections. I have been very impressed with the levels of creativity in our childcare teams.”
What We Learned
⤷ Embrace Creativity: Creativity takes many forms – you don’t have to be Picasso to engage in creative activities. It’s about thinking differently and outside the box in your daily practice.
⤷ Love Tech, Don’t Fear It: Contrary to common misconceptions, AI can enhance the creative process when used correctly. Childcare teams can leverage technology for shared learning and creative exercises, as highlighted by Professor Neil Maiden.
⤷ Brain-Mind-Body Connection: Trauma often manifests in the body, and adventure-based activities that connect with nature and the body can be transformative for young people who have experienced trauma. We have seen first-hand how powerful this intervention can be with our young people utilising our Saoirse Adventure Programme led by Lorcan Gleeson.
We look forward to applying these learnings to our childcare practice and continuing to make a positive impact in social care.
➡️ Visual of some of our key takeaways