Generic Training

Future Childcare Training Limited

Offers team and group training throughout the UK for groups of 12 to 25. Courses include: Handling Children’s Behaviour; Handling Children’s Behaviour - Special Needs; Handling Teenage Behaviour; Emotional Literacy, Esteem Building and Working with Parents. Also offers regional courses for individuals and small teams. Courses are currently provided in Glasgow, the Midlands and London. Manchester, Cardiff and Belfast are also being considered, email if you would be interested. For more information, or for the list of regional courses currently available, click on the link above.

Parent Coaching Works

Current dates:
26 September 2008 London

Introduction to Parent Coaching is a one day dynamic training course to complement and develop the skills of parenting facilitators and professionals. The day focuses on coaching techniques and on helping parents create personalised strategies and a plan of action for successful outcomes from the challenges they face.

In house training is available by arrangement.

Accredited course in Working with Men

Date: Starts September 2008, finishes July 2009 
Location: London, Kennington

Working with Men and the University of Brighton are delivering a three module programme with Level 3 accreditation. The three modules are: Theories of gender and masculinity; Policy context and what men say; Project planning and programme delivery. The course is particularly relevant for practitioners who are working with boys and young men, fathers, and men generally, in health, education and social services.

Applicants will need previous HE study and/or a professional qualification (others may be offered entry if they can show they are able to study at the level required – a written exercise will be used to assess this).

The course will consist of 9 full workshop days (from 10am - 4pm, once a month) and 3 tutorials to provide support for the three written pieces of 3,000 words each.

Costs for the full course of 3 modules with accreditation is £1100 and for one module with accreditation £450. There may be a limited number of places available for people who want to attend the course but do not want to be considered for accreditation. These places will be available for £700 and £280 respectively, but will only be allocated after accredited places have been filled.

Successful completion of the 3 modules will result in accruing 60 points at Higher Education Level 3 - equivalent to 50% of the final year of an honours degree programme. For students seeking professional qualification, it may be possible to claim accreditation of prior learning, subject to meeting specific occupational standards. For more information on this email Mark Price (University of Brighton) 

For general information and an application form email Hannah Merry.

Barnardos's training learning consultancy (tlc)

Barnardos's tlc provides a training, learning and consultancy service to organisations throughout the UK in all matters relating to children, young people and families. They have an in-depth understanding of both the public and private sectors, as well as voluntary and community organisations. They can tailor their services to your requirements from strategic support programmes to implementing the changes of Every Child Matters or Changing Lives across the UK, to consultancy projects that cover a wide varitey of areas from the structural changes in the development of Children's Trusts to the integrated responsibilities of outcomes in local authorities. Courses offered include: Understanding Child Development; Direct Work with Families; Conflict Resolution within Direct Work with Families; Developing and Improving Parenting Capacity; Domestic Violence...Beginning the Journey; Positive Behaviour Management; Positive Parenting; Webster-Stratton; Loss and Bereavement; Parent Coaching and Self Nurturing. For courses available in your region click on the link above.

Centre for Fun and Families

Develops and runs a number of projects and training programmes including:

• Setting up and Running a Fun and Families Group
• Strategies for Promoting Positive Parenting
• Living with Teenagers. A Family Survivial Programme
• Promoting Positive Parenting for Foster Carers and Adoptive Parents
• Avoiding Conflict with Adults

They also offer bespoke training. For more information click on the link above.

ContinYou

Develops and manages a variety of projects and learning programmes in community and school-based settings. These include

• Generic Facilitator Training for Working with Groups of Parents
• Parental Support and Family Learning
• Share Facilitator Training
• Share Plus Facilitator Training
• Developing Men Friendly Organisations 
• Involving Men as Fathers
• Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma and MA in Leading Community Learning

They also develop bespoke training.

De Montfort University Foundation Degree in Families, Parenting and Communities

Cultivates an understanding of the contemporary issues in families, parenting and communities. You can apply whatever your educational background and the flexible structure allows you to study at your own rate. Modules cover a range of subjects in the first year including the Development of Personal and Study Skills; Society and Family Life; Strategies for Parenting and Childrens Illnesses and the Human body. Placements will be arranged as necessary for the Work Based Learning element which is a major component of the Foundation Degree. There is the opportunity of progressing onto a full Honours Degree at the end of the Foundation Degree. For further details click on the link above.

De Montfort University MSc Theory and Practice of Parenting

This is the first Masters level course designed specifically for people working in the field of parenting. It is a blended course involving one week attendence at DMU during both the autumn and spring terms and thereafter involving distance learning. It provides the opportunity to: gain an enhanced portfolio of skills, choose areas of study and interact with others working in the field. Entry requirements are normally a 2.2 degree (eg teaching, social work, nursing), or relevant professional experience and evidence of CPD, or pre-registration modules (up to two); to enable staff and/or students to test ability to work at Masters level. For more information click on the link above or contact Di Hampton.

Develop Your Child

Develop Your Child take a different approach to family coaching which incorporates life coaching techniques and energetics, to create self sustainable empowerment. Their programmes and materials offer targeted support for different age ranges, transition periods, play and parental involvement and multimedia support. They offer DYC Family Coach Training Programmes. For more information click on the link above.

Empowerment for Parents Facilitator Training

Four day training course run by the Parenting Media Education Consultancy (PMEC). The course is mapped against the National Occupational Standards for Work with Parents and Every Child Matters. The Empowerment for Parents programme aims to work with parents through the joys, successes, emotional upheavals, confusion and isolation, which often comes with being a parent. At the heart of the programme is self-awareness and emotional literacy. The programme values ervery participant, helping them to understand how their feelings, thoughts, behaviour, and their development as individuals, are intrinsically linked. It is a structured twenty-week programme with two 10-week strands: Strand A focuses on relationships within the family, and Strand B on relationships and empowerment within the school system. Strand A must be co-facilitated whilst Strand B requires one facilitator. For more information click on the link above.

Family Links Parent Group Leader Training

Offers an introduction to the principles and practice of the Nurturing Programme for anyone working with parents and carers. The approach particularly emphasises the importance of facilitative approaches, both in group work and one-to-one support. The training runs over 4 days and is designed for community professionals, such as health visitors, social workers, school nurses, youth offending teams, Sure Start teams and Children's Centre staff. Resources provided include The Parenting Puzzle book for parents and the Nurturing Game for families. For groups of up to 16 people, training can be delivered locally, otherwise training takes place in Oxford. For more information click on the link above.

Family Matters Institute

Offers training for people who run parenting courses, both specifically geared to their own courses and generically applicable to any parenting course material. Courses include:

• Want to Run a Parenting Course? (2 days), Open College Network (OCN), 6 Credits at Level 3  
• Flat Pack Parent Facilitator Skills Training (2 days), OCN, 6 Credits at Level 2
• Training for Work with Parents, (19 days, over a 6 month period), OCN, 21 Credits at Level 2 or 3.

Training takes place in Bedfordshire but can be provided at a venue of your choice for groups of six or more.

Handling Children's Behaviour

Participants on this practice based two day course are trained in the use of Future Childcare Training materials to enable them to work with as many as 20 parents at any one time. The materials can also be used with parents on an individual basis. Only professionals who have undertaken the training can deliver the materials to parents. The course is suitable for health workers, social workers, nursery officers, family support workers, family placement workers, teachers and community workers. Up to 25 professionals working in the same area can be trained together. The advantage of this type of training is that you can develop a joint and consistent approach to families in your area and also share the cost. The course has been recommended nationally to the Sure Start and Flying Start initiatives.

For more information visit the Future Childcare Training website or email info@futurechildcaretraining.com

Learning in Families, Schools and Beyond BA (Hons)

4 year degree course at Northumbria University, designed primarily for: para-professionals already working in extended schools, Children's Centres, family settings and in the community; people aiming to work in the settings above and in multidisciplinary teams; parents and returnees to work. It provides the opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of the growing emphasis on learning beyond schools; the principles of learning in schools, communities and families; child development; lifelong learning, inclusion, raising standards and the Every Child Matters agenda, and to develop the necessary skills and attitudes required to work in multidisciplinary settings and integrated services; to work with a wide variety of professionals, paraprofessionals and the public; to undertake activity designed to facilitate learning beyond schools; to collect and analyse evidence; to reflect upon and analyse practice of working in different settings to widen participation in learning and to contribute to the Children's Workforce. It is hoped that some of the delivery for this degree will be through the development of distance learning, supported self-study materials and e-learning. Group contact, 2 evenings a week will be used for key lectures and seminars.

Mellow Parenting

Mellow Parenting is an evaluated programme for families with identified relationship problems. It relies on the assumption that parents own experience of being parented, and their current relationships, help or hinder the development of their relationships with their child. Where parents have had a poor childhood experience and have little current support, then development of a good relationship with their child is difficult.

To start to change this cycle of disadvantage, their past and current relationships are explored and work is carried out directly on parent/child interaction. This is very demanding work as many of the participants have had very adverse childhoods and have not had opportunities to develop experiences of trust, which affects their capacity to make good relationships with partners, children, friends and helping services. Mellow Parenting is designed to support the parent as well as change parenting.

In addition to the core Mellow Parenting Programme for under fives, programmes based on the same principles have been developed for babies, fathers, kinship carers, couples and parents in prisons. Training in Mellow parenting is offered throughout the UK.

For more information click on the link above.

Mindfields College Workshops

Offers 1 day seminars and workshops at locations across the UK, or in-house. Courses currently on offer include: How to lift low self-esteem; Dealing with conflict, confrontation and disputes; Every child DOES matter: How to transform the lives of challenging children and adolescents; Working effectively with troubled and troublesome teenagers.

MSc in Family Health at the University of Hertfordshire

The MSc in Family Health will be situated within the Department of Nursing and Midwifery and be for any professional or community workers working with families within the broadest sense of the term. Modules will include Enhanced Communication Skills and Enhancing Parenting and Mental Health in Families. It is envisaged that these two modules can also form a specific pathway which can be taken standalone for those not wanting the full award. If you would like further information email Tandy Deane-Gray.

New Training Courses Launched by the Daycare Trust

The Daycare Trust has recently launched a new programme of training for 2008. The training courses are aimed at those with a role to play in meeting the childcare challenge, including providers, local authorities, parent advisers, employers and councillors. The interactive courses draw on Daycare Trust’s extensive knowledge of childcare and wider children’s services. Eleven new training courses are on offer in London and Manchester: The role of Counsellors in implementing the Childcare Strategy; Finding and accessing the right childcare arrangement; Help with childcare costs; Employer Childcare Strategies; The Childcare Act 2006: context, duties and strategic role; Securing sufficient childcare: local authority powers and responsibilities; Providing information, advice and assitance on childcare; Involving parents in service development and delivery; Listening to the voices of young children; Childcare data collection and analysis and Integrating children's services. All courses are also available in-house and can be adapted for the needs of your organisation.

Parent Coaching for Professionals Supporting Parents

Parentalk offers Parent Coaching training programmes for professionals committed to supporting parents. These have been developed in association with The Parent Coaching Academy. In addition to their regular Parent Coaching workshops, they also offer tailor-made training programmes for organisations in the public, corporate and voluntary sectors.

Parent Group Programme Module (Anglia Ruskin University)

Parent group programmes have been highlighted as effective in supporting both the adult and child and effective in the prevention and treatment of mental health problems in parents and children. The philosophy for this module is influenced by the work of Carolyn Webster-Stratton yet is eclectic in approach. The course is designed to develop professionals’ evidence based skills in facilitating parent groups and the ability and confidence to work with children aged 0 - 16 years in group processes and dynamics to empower carers and advocate for service users. The module is suitable for professionals who work with parents and those who work with young people and families. Access to parent groups is essential. Students will compare and contrast different models of parenting programmes, implement evidence based practice using a chosen model and develop a range of skills underpinned by evidence when facilitating parent groups. Students will also be able to identify the influences which affect the processes and experience of parenting. The assessment for this module is an assignment and videotaped group facilitation session. For more information about the module email Nick Wrycraft or phone 0845 196 4849. For course dates and an application form email Michelle Nelson or phone 0845 196 4611.

Parents as First Teachers

Parents as First Teachers train professionals to work on a one to one basis with parents and their children, pre-birth to 5 years, using the Parents as First Teachers programme delivered in the home or other appropriate setting. They offer the Born to Learn programme pre-natal to 3 years, a comprehensive 5 day course with a follow-up 6th day. The course is designed to prepare practitioners to implement the four components of the Born to Learn programme-pre-natal to 3, the training focuses on personal visits, group meetings, developmental milestones, community resources as well as child development and parenting information. They also offer Born to Learn 3-5 Years, Introductory Supervision training for Born to Learn Programmes and Advanced Supervisor training for all supervisors. Tailor made training sessions can also be arranged. For more information and current training locations click on the link above.

Parents, Early Years and Learning (PEAL) Training Courses

PEAL training will continue to be available through the Early Childhood Unit of the National Children’s Bureau after March 2008. The training supports settings to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and Children’s Centre Practice Guidance to work in partnership with parents to enhance children’s learning and development. Training is available for groups of up to 20. Participants complete a day’s preparation activities in their own settings and then attend a facilitated training day that explores the underpinning research; examines the nature of relationships with parents; considers how to overcome barriers to involvement and highlights examples of successful practice. All participants receive a PEAL resource box which includes the pre-training Activity booklet, the Training Guide, the Reader, DVD, CD-Rom and 28 practice example cards. Participants can seek accreditation at City and Guilds, Level 3, upon submission of a portfolio. It is also possible to select an option for training and consultancy over two days. This may be useful to organisations and local authorities who wish to explore how PEAL will help to meet requirements in their own area, and to train others to disseminate PEAL across a range of settings and services.

Positive Parenting

Provides training for parenting educators for those who work with parents in schools and children's centres, local authorities and health authorities, community groups and churches. Their training programme includes a 4-day course for facilitators accredited through the Open College Network, 6 Credits at Level 2. This, or an equivalent 4-day course, is the basic requirement for people who want to run any of Positive Parenting's wide range of courses.  Positive Parenting can tailor the learning outcomes to the needs of specific groups and organisations if required.

Reaching the Community: A Solution Focused Approach to Working with Hard-to-Reach Families

A new 3 day training course from Eileen Murphy Consultants and Associates. The programme was developed in January 2008 for use by those working in communities with families who fall outside of statutory provision or who are resistant to statutory intervention but who are in need of support. It is available as an inhouse course across the UK and elements of it will also feature in the public course in London on 30th October 2008. For more information call 020 8542 9310 or email.

Solution Focused Brief Therapy

Solution Focused Brief Therapy is a strengths based, future focused approach to working with difficulties ranging from family breakdown to drug and alcohol abuse. Because the approach does not encourage the tracing of the pathology of the problem but instead encourages the worker to be curious about strengths, coping strategies and preferred futures of the client, it is suitable for staff across all fields.

A Solution Focused Brief Therapy Approach: Moving Forward Suitable both for those who have some knowledge of the approach and wish to take their practice further and for those who are new to SFBT but interested in using its principles in their work and personal life. The training includes The Silent Session, developed by Eileen Murphy, which has been welcomed by clients who are ambivalent about or resistant to change; new exercises for helping people create a preferred road-map and practical non-verbal and verbal techniques to help put the client at ease for the visualisation of small steps forward.
30 October London

A Solution Focused Approach to Working with Aspergers
This training includes strategies and techniques when working to be more pro-active in the search for untapped potential rather than wait until an individual is in 'meltdown' before modifications are put in place. It presents the bigger picture when working with people with Aspergers Syndrome and encourages creative collaboration with the individual to maximise self-esteem and minimise stress.
4 November London

For more information visit the Eileen Murphy Consultants website or email info@brief-therapy-uk.com

South Bank University Training for Working with Parents & Family Learning

The London Language Unit at South Bank University offers two City and Guilds courses of interest to those who work with, or would like to work with parents:

• Introduction to Delivering Learning - Family Learning/Work with Parents Focus, suitable for people who work in the fields of parenting education as well as family learning. It is primary aimed at people who deliver training as part of their job but who are not engaged in full-time teaching.
• Certificate in Teaching FE - Family Learning Focus (mapped to the National Occupational Standards for Family Learning), aimed at people who already teach adults and would like to work torwards a full teaching qualification in this area. Participants must be involved with teaching for a minimum of 20 hours during the course.

These courses can be customised for individual organisations and delivered on site. For more information email.

The Art of Parenting

The Art of Parenting is a holistic educational model of parenting that consists of 3 modules. Each of the modules offers access to a variety of traditional and complementary techniques that can be used as part of a personal development programme. It is a no-blame, non-stigmatised programme that can 'stand alone' or add value to approaches that are already being used. Training is based on modelling best practice employing strategies based on the latest brain based research. The training runs for two days and has Open College accreditation. For more information email Karen Horrocks or phone 0151 708 6910.