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England - Development of parenting programames
When the profile of family work and the need for its development was raised nationally in 1994, members of the Mothers' Union, always passionate about parenting, were convinced about the need to support parents. Many volunteers worked tirelessly running crèches and playgroups, organising holidays and celebrations. Looking towards the new Millennium, the MU considered how it might develop its work further. Research findings reported in 1994 influenced the decision-making:
- considerable support was being given by Christians in their churches and communities to parents in groups
- parents who attended valued the groups immensely
- parents benefited most when the group was facilitated and most groups were not.
It seemed that the most urgent need was for trained Facilitators who understood how parents in groups behave so that they could ensure that confidence was increased as parents made friends, and acquired knowledge and skills for relating with their children. So the MU Parenting Programme was born in 2000 - a training course for volunteer parenting-group Facilitators. Its accreditation through the London Open College Network means that the Facilitators work to a national standard. It also enables partnerships to happen; for example health visitors and midwives encourage parents to come because they know that the course is well facilitated.
So far over three hundred people have completed the taught course in the UK and Ireland. Once started, very few drop out of the programme - so multiply the number of Facilitators by the number of parents that come to their groups and you will see that the potential for developing more confident parents and children is great. Let the parents speak for themselves!
“I have been a parent for over 15 years and attended the parenting group unsure what I could possibly get out of it. I now realise that the answer is a lot.”
“I didn't have a very good parenting model, so although I knew what I wanted to achieve, I wasn't confident about how to go about being a good parent or even if I could. Now I am a lot more confident.”
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