Last July, despite all the restrictions and difficulties, our Children and Families team managed to deliver the first Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities parenting course at Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre.
This first delivery was a part of national research, funded by the NHS and led by University College London. Eleven parents signed up, with a further ten joining a waiting list for the next available course. The demand for this course surprised the organisers and was an amazing achievement, showing the great perseverance of parents to take part in developing their parenting despite such trying times.
The course was delivered by our qualified facilitators, Kay Green from the Upper Valley Family Support and Outreach Team and Alison Ball from the Central Family Support and Outreach Team. They were supported by their colleague, Jason Walters, who was in charge of refreshments, taking comments and photos and generally being a good extra pair of hands.
Parents attending, and those on the waiting list, were contacted by researchers at intervals who were collecting information to test how well the course is supporting parents to build on their existing skills to promote family wellbeing. Parents earned £10 worth of vouchers for each questionnaire.
We were delighted to have such a diverse group of parents in terms of ethnicity, religion and gender which made for lively, thought-provoking discussions for everyone. By the end of the course we had 10 people receiving a graduation certificate and 1 person who just missed out but gained a certificate of participation.
We are very happy to say that there is another opportunity for parents to take part in this valuable research. From September 15th 2022 the course will be delivered from St Paul’s Methodist Church Sowerby Bridge. Katie Smith and Lauren Tucker be facilitating.
Anyone wishing to find out more can contact Noreen Safdar on 07790949658 or Bev Thompson on 07741671792. Scroll down to read comments and feedback from this cohort of parents:
“I have absolutely loved this course, the support from tutors and friends, I have learnt so much and come so far”
“I learnt a lot about other cultures and beliefs and other ways of life”
“I learnt how important it is to listen to my children”
“Special time with my children is working because we are becoming closer”
“Wonderful tutors with real life experience. I am learning a better way to relate with my children”