I felt very passionate about making this happen and went on a journey of promotion to advertise the programme, which has four phases of development, to all relevant local partners. The programme is very different to anything else out there at the moment, with empowerment at the forefront of the experience and gain, as well as many other benefits for the attendees.

 

Recruitment was a very slow process initially, which had much to do with many of our partners not fully understanding the Parent Champions Model, comparing it too often with a Parenting Programme, which it is so much more than that and cannot be compared with these programmes alone, in my opinion.

 

The first few parents referred to the programme came from Social Workers and the Children’s Centre core staff team, but only a week before the first session was due to start there were only 5 parents who had enrolled to attend the programme. Alan had always had a dream target of 12 parents and was leaning towards postponing the start date as numbers were too low.

 

I met with Alan at this time and urged him not to postpone as all 5 of these parents were parents who had been ‘on my radar’ for the past year, and were each parents who had been recommended to attend other parenting programmes, self-help groups, etc., and had either not returned after the first session or have said that they didn’t get anything out of it.

 

Alan decided to go with my gut feeling that more parents would enroll within the following week, and so was the case with 10 parents arriving on day one of the programme. I met most of the parents on their arrival and escorted them to the Community Room where the training was being hosted and helped others settle their children in the crèche which was also provided on site.

 

Parents I walked around to the room were not all known to me, but were keen to share there anxiety about attending the session for the first time and what was going to happen, who was going to be there, were they going to finish in time to pick-up their older children from School or Nursery at other locations and most importantly were they wasting their time!

 

Some parents were leaving their children with other carers for the first time and again this can be a traumatic experience as proved to be with one or two of the parents, but they eventually closed the door to the crèche and joined the other parents in the Community Room.

 

After the first session it was obvious that it was going to be a struggle for some parents to make it to other local Schools and Nurseries in time to pick-up their children, and a joint decision was made the following week to start and finish the session half-an-hour earlier which worked.

 

Also on the second session, not only did 100% of the parents return, but they even gained another parent! The following week I personally received several calls/emails from various partners asking if there was still space for parents to attend the training, but sadly it was too late for this course.

 

After week three I had a couple more emails, calls and conversations with local partners out of the blue and without any prompting, noting ‘a real amazing and positive change’ in some of the parents who had attended the first three weeks of the training; this was the first time this has happened to me since working here!

 

Indeed my own team had observed some of the parents on the course who attend our drop-ins make a determined effort to approach and welcome new parents to these groups, these parents being the same parents that had traditionally taken a lot of our staffs time with their own problems and issues!

 

Towards the end of the Programme I met one of the parents in the Community Room and asked her if she was still enjoying the course, was it as good as she said it was in the beginning or did she think it was a load of rubbish now?! She replied to me;

 

This same parent, who is a young parent later attended one of our Advisory Board Meetings and spoke in front of over 20 professionals about the positive impact that the course had had on her and her relationship with her daughter, this speaks volumes to me.

 

After her statement I replied that potentially there is no ending as we ‘live and learn’ and are always learning new skills, particularly when we are in an empowered state. I also suggested that maybe she become one of the parents who attends and supports one of the next phases of the Parent Champions Programme; The Family Coaching Café, a weekly informal drop-in designed to share experiences.

 

I support the Parent Champions Programme 100%. It's 3 Phases flow seamlessly allowing the parents to build on their achievements at the same time being fully supported by Alan and of course the other Parent Champions. The Programme offers time, space and an environment promoting self-confidence, self-esteem and self-worth. This has a positive ripple effect to the whole family. Don’t just take my word for it, for I have learnt that the most powerful voice are those who have done the real work; the Parent Champions themselves!!

 

Anthony Sands

Children and Families Services Manager

Bligh Children’s Centre

Medway Local Authority