CYP(3) PAP 05

Children and Young People Committee

Inquiry into Parenting Action Plan

Response from Children in Wales

This response is submitted by Lucy Akhtar, Development Officer for Parenting on behalf of, and in consultation with, the Fforwm Magu Plant (Parenting Network) and Tony Ivens Development Officer for Fatherhood on behalf of Fatherhood Wales C/o Children in Wales, 25 Windsor Place, Cardiff CF10 3BZ.

Children in Wales is the national umbrella children’s organisation in Wales, representing the interests of the statutory, voluntary and independent children’s sectors. Its aims are to: -

• Make the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child a reality in Wales.

• Fight for sustainable quality services for all children and young people.

• Ensure special attention and treatment for children in need.

• Ensuring children and young people have a voice in issues that affect them.

Children in Wales’s Fforwm Magu Plant numbers almost 400 contacts and includes representatives from a wide range of organisations.  Fatherhood Wales has a membership of over 150, from a similarly wide variety of organisations.

• Delivery of the Parenting action Plan

  • How effective do you consider the implementation of the Parenting Action Plan to have been?

Many of the action points to the Parenting Action Plan have not been completed or only partially completed.  The following progress has been made around each of the action points:

• Action: The Assembly Government will develop a bilingual helpline for parents in Wales. – Progress: There is a dispute over funding between the WAG and the Department for Children, Schools and Families and therefore development of the helpline is on hold.  The WAG had start up costs for the helpline but did not have the continuation funding. At present there appears no likelihood of the helpline coming on stream.

• Action: The Welsh Assembly will develop and distribute a series of booklets for all new parents in Wales supplementing the existing ‘Pregnancy Book’ and ‘Birth to Five’ books.    

Progress: The Assembly Government has sponsored three booklets for parents, which have been developed by Children in Wales:

• “Over the Top Behaviour in the Under-10s” (for parents of children 5-10 years)

• “From Breakfast to Bedtime” (for parents of children 0-5 years)

• “Help at Hand: Taking a Positive Approach to Parenting”

The first booklet has been distributed to parents of Year 1 pupils through schools.  The other two booklets have been distributed via health visitors. An additional print run was also produced. Copies have also gone to CIS, Flying Start, Children’s Partnerships and Pupil Referral units within Local Education Authorities. Although the booklets have been well received, there are ongoing problems with distribution. We are still receiving enquiries about how to obtain copies.

• Action: The Welsh Assembly will set up a Working Group to consider the Beth Johnson Foundation report on grandparents in Wales and propose an outline Programme of Action.

Progress: A small Working Group on Grandparenting met three times, and produced a short report with recommendations. The report had 18 recommendations; unfortunately WAG has no plans at present to implement them. The WAG has commissioned a Welsh version of the Family Rights Group document “Wider Family Matters: a Guide for family and Friends raising Children Who Cannot Live With Their parents”. The document however is not (in it’s current form), in our opinion in a readily accessible format for families. We have been given to understand that at the present time there is no funding available to produce a user-friendly version.

• Action: In 2006–07 the Assembly funded a training programme at University College Bangor to extend the scope of the Incredible Years (Webster Stratton) programme. The training was funded through top-sliced Cymorth funds.  

Progress: The original package was 10 places for 12 Partnerships (120 places in all).  WAG also purchased the packs for delivery of the training for each Partnership. Unfortunately not all of those trained have utilised their training because they have not been released from their jobs to run the groups with parents, also not all those with training have experience of working with groups of parents.

The Welsh Assembly has also agreed to contribute funding to an evaluation of the Family Links Nurturing Programme, which is being coordinated by Cardiff, Newport and Torfaen Local Authorities.  This programme is used extensively by a number of Local Authorities in Wales.

• Action: The Welsh Assembly will commission SCIE (Social Care Institute for Excellence) to produce information on evidence-based programmes used in Wales that will inform decisions on future investment in parenting programmes.  

Progress: An initial meeting with SCIE was held but this has not been progressed. Communities that Care were commissioned to review parenting programmes in connection with Flying Start, which is included within Flying Start Guidance.

Funding has been available from the Social Justice Division to evaluate the Strengthening Families programme, as well as the Caring Dads programme. Regrettably this has occurred independently to the Parenting Action Plan, and without the knowledge of the Children and Families Division.

• 6 & 7 Action: The Welsh Assembly will commission a practice guide to be produced for Partnerships on parental participation and empowerment.

Progress: Jayne Isaac was seconded from NCH Cymru to the Children’s Strategy Division to produce the practice guide which was distributed from September 2006 and is available to download from Children in Wales’ website. Although we welcome the practice guide, there are currently no mechanisms for reporting on how, or whether, the recommendations are being implemented.

• Action: The Welsh Assembly will invite LEAs and CIS to pilot CIS satellites in primary and secondary schools, in community-focused schools and in new integrated centres.

Progress: In some areas the satellites have been piloted but progress is patchy. An evaluation of these pilots would be useful in order to determine whether or not they are working. At present there are no plans for an evaluation.

• Action: The Welsh Assembly will continue to work with Local Education Authorities, Estyn and school governing bodies to promote parental participation in schools.

Progress: This is the weakest part of the PAP because WAG did not, and has still not, identified a lead within the Assembly to take this forward.

• Action: We will undertake further development of Parentsnet to ensure its suitability for all parents.

Progress: The Parentsnet website was discontinued. The DCELLS website does not make any reference to parents even within its section on children and young people. None of the booklets or other resources for parents produced by the Assembly are available on the website.

Additional Although many of the action points have not been implemented there is some anecdotal evidence that Children and Young People’s Partnerships have referred to the Parenting Action Plan in their planning so raising the profile of parenting within Local Authorities.

Has the amount of support available to parents increased

In some geographically specific areas of disadvantage more services are available. These are very discrete areas and for specific age ranges or for parents who have specific issues and are referred by health visitors, social services or other agencies. For example increased services have been provided through Flying Start, Integrated Children’s Centres, On Track, YOTs and in some Communities First areas. Very few services unfortunately are available to parents as a universal service.  This means that services are often only available if a family lives in a particular area or has a particularly acute issue.

There are still significant gaps in service provision, these are particularly noticeable in relation to parents of older children (teenagers), parents of children with a disability, parents who are themselves disabled, parents within the BME community and Fathers.

In some rural counties this concentration of funding to specific geographical areas has created a north/south divide with little or no services available in areas not in receipt of this funding. There is no all-Wales mapping of what services are available and in what areas. Authorities will have done a child care sufficiency review and needs assessment for the Single Plan but wouldn’t necessarily gather detailed data about who is, or is not accessing services. For example data is not necessarily gathered on whether fathers are using services and BME communities etc.  In Flying Start areas data will be collected on certain factors. Some local authorities have employed a Parenting Coordinator and this individual has an important role in gathering some of this information and coordinating services in their area.

Is support accessible to all parents

Services are very rarely provided to parents universally.  Support tends to be targeted to those in very tight geographical areas identified as being of high disadvantage or targeted to parents identified as in crisis.  Both NCH Cymru and Barnardos run open access parenting programmes, but these are few and far between. The only support potentially available to all parents is that provided by Health Visitors. By definition this is obviously age restricted.

Lack of public transport is a real issue in preventing parents from accessing services.  A lot of places in rural areas especially are inaccessible by public transport full stop.  Public transport tends to be into the nearest town and out again but these are often only once or twice a day and won’t necessarily fit into the school day.  

There is variability in provision and availability of services in rural areas but the general picture is significantly less services than in urban areas.  Various surveys have been done by the Wales Rural Observatory into availability of general services such as shops, GP surgeries etc in rural areas but a similar audit has not been done on support for families.  Parents living in rural areas often find it very difficult to access services both because services are not available in the first place and also because even when services are available parents are usually required to organise their own transport to get to them.  There is real evidence that parents are not accessing the services they could due to these constraints.  Families in rural areas are being disadvantaged by the bias towards concentrations of population and centralisation of services.

The plan recognises that “the needs of mothers and fathers, of male and female carers, are not always the same”, however there is a very real gender distinction in the take up of services. There is robust research evidence (see Aiming High for Children. DfES2007) that “the very word parent in relation to services can have the effect of excluding fathers – both because fathers often perceive the term to mean “mothers”, and because this can be reinforced by the approach of practitioners whose habits of working mainly with mothers are deeply ingrained.”

Informal childcare by Grandparents is probably the support mechanism utilised by most families, however their needs are poorly recognised and there is little if any support for this important group.

BME parents are not always well catered for and sometimes feel that services are not for them or are inappropriate to meet their needs.  There may be barriers to accessing services in terms of language but also services not taking account of cultural commonalities or differences.

Do parents receive more information, and is positive parenting effectively promoted

Information is provided through FIS/CIS but not all parents are aware of the services offered by them. Not all parents have sufficient literacy levels to read and understand the information given to them.   The WAG have produced booklets to promote positive parenting and positive parenting is also promoted through most parenting programmes such as Incredible Years (Webster Stratton) and Family Links.

Positive parenting is also being promoted through the Sure Start and Flying Start initiatives and through YOT teams.  This includes informal promotion of positive parenting but also more formal Parenting Programme groups such as Incredible Years and Family Links. Positive parenting is also promoted through projects funded through Cymorth.   Most of the services offered through these projects and initiatives are targeted, a major public information campaign would be required to promote positive parenting to the wider population.

Professionals, such as Health Visitors may also promote positive parenting but this is not universally the case.  Some professionals may be ambivalent about smacking and therefore not give a consistent or pro-active message to parents about the importance of positive and non-violent approaches to discipline.  

Positive parenting is also being promoted through projects funded through the CFOG grant.  For example two posts in Children In Wales have been funded through this grant: a 4 day Development Officer for Parenting and a half time post of Development Officer for Fatherhood.  These post holders also convene three professional networks: Fforwm Magu Plant, Parenting Coordinators and Fatherhood Wales.  CFOG funding has also been used to employ a coordinator for the 'Sdim Curo Plant!/Children Are Unbeatable! CAU Campaign.  A toolkit was launched to help change attitudes to smacking.  The Help at Hand Toolkit is an online resource, which provides a comprehensive guide to looking at the issues surrounding the physical punishment of children.  All these posts have been promoting positive parenting through dealings with the public, other professionals and through the media.

Do parents participate more in planning services and in schools

It has improved in some areas. The Neath Port Talbot, Caerphilly and Cardiff Parent Networks for example involves parents in planning and consults with them on services in the Caerphilly and Cardiff areas. In other areas Children’s Partnerships have done needs assessments and surveys of parents in their area but not sure if this information is gathered centrally so the picture is patchy.

Again, fathers, members of the BME community and other hard to reach groups are poorly represented. Some Local Authorities have developed local parenting strategies, and these generally include opportunities for participation.

Children in Wales’ survey in 2006 of parents and school governors (“Parents and Schools - Making the Connection”) suggests that parents would like to be more involved in their children’s school. The survey showed that some schools actively encourage parents’ involvement but that this was very dependent on the good will of the headteacher. As was highlighted under question 1 the promotion of parents involvement in schools through the PAP was week because the WAG did not identify a lead to take this forward.  At the moment schools have had no guidance about involving parents in schools except for statutory duty contained in various guidance and legislation. Currently schools have a statutory duty to provide parents with information about their child’s progress and must provide an Annual Report of the School Governing Body.  Parents also have a right to vote for the parent governor and to stand as a parent governor.  Parents must also be consulted about major changes to the school governance.  They must also be consulted if changes are made to Home-School Agreements.  Community Focused Schools are another way that some schools are encouraging parents more active involvement in school and Cardiff and Torfaen Local Authorities have employed Anti-Bullying Coordinators who are taking steps to engage parents in the issue.  There are some excellent examples of good practice in schools and local authorities but again the picture is patchy. While some schools have actively encouraged parents to get involved in the life of the school others still prefer to keep parents firmly outside the school gate.  A survey of parents regarding the exclusion of their children for the WAG’s National Behaviour and Attendance Review found that schools were often using unofficial exclusions and that parents were not actively engaged in tackling the issue of poor behaviour and non-attendance.

Are you aware of barriers experienced by parents in accessing support services and information sources? What are the key reasons for these barriers?

Barriers differ for mothers and fathers, depending on the age of the children, the geographical location and the services available. The barriers experienced by parents in accessing services are transport (particularly for parents on low income and living in rural areas), stigmatisation (because services are targeted and therefore seen as being for ‘bad parents’), resources (both of providers and of parents accessing services who need childcare etc) and fear surrounding domestic violence (fear of providing services for or a lack of services for the abusive partner). Health Visitors may refer parents or parents may self-refer but sadly services are not always available for that parent unless they are living in the right location to receive targeted services or their issue is identified as sufficiently acute to receive support (such as a child protection concern or where a parent has received a parenting order).  A lot of parenting education is through groups but not all parents feel comfortable joining such groups.

For fathers the barriers here in Wales are probably the same as those identified in England; services that are insensitive to their needs, that do not adequately connect with the context of their lives and motivations; an overtly female focus amongst staff and service users, and a lack of confidence to explain to female service users why it is important to engage with fathers; and finally staff underestimating the significance of a father’s involvement if he is not visible to the service, or living with the child.

There are also barriers relating to the working hours of support professionals, these often do not fit with the times working parents are available to access services.

Can you provide any examples of innovative practice in ensuring that services and information is accessible, and barriers can be overcome?

The following are good practice examples of innovative practice in services for families in rural areas, which have overcome barriers of providing services in rural areas:

Carmarthenshire - network of Family Centres

In conjunction with Plant Dewi and local groups, a network of 12 Family Centres have been developed across the County that offer support and advice to families. The family centres are in local authority owned housing so they are placed exactly where the families are living including in more rural areas.  They are also small which is more practical when the population is small and also reduces fuel bills etc. A range of activities and courses are provided for the children to help them develop socially, emotionally and academically.  Support, advice and courses are also provided for their parents.  There are also regular outreach groups for parents and their children, which are held in schools and community centres in the vicinity of the family centre.

“The centre has given my children the opportunity to experience various play experiences and the ability to socialise thereby preparing them for school” Parent at Garnant Family Centre, Ammanford

Conwy – planned bilingual telephone support line

A bilingual telephone support line is provided for parents of children aged two plus with a planned programme of support.  The aim of the service is to address service access difficulties for parents who experience a range of problems with their children.  It is a model of service very appropriate to rural areas because it can overcome some practical and financial difficulties for users. Parents can talk at a time that suits them and there is no need to travel anywhere or make childcare arrangements.  It can also be suited to parents who have found traditional forms of support or group work unsatisfactory.  This is a tier 2 service, which gives planned advice to parents who have been referred and service users are drawn primarily from low-income and rurally isolated areas.  Three NCH social care practitioners deliver it.  After an initial assessment an action plan is drawn up and hourly weekly calls are made for around 12 weeks. After each call the service provider draws up an action plan and a copy of the plan is sent to the client. The following two quotes taken from the published research (below) show how much parents value the service:

"The telephone service goes on and I like that.  That's what keeps me going as well.  I can load off with what's happened and I can get advice of what to do or how to sort the problem out.  Talk about a problem and get advice."

"As well as telephone support, things would arrive by post, like star charts, stickers, smiley stickers, she went to a lot of trouble.  Little added extras, also an evaluation of the call work was sent out.  Also if you asked a question and (the service operator) didn't know, she would find out."

(This has been evaluated and the research published - MADOC-JONES, I; WARREN, E.; ASHDOWN-LAMBERT, J; WILLIAMS, E; PARRY, O. (2007) “Planned telephone support for disadvantaged parents in North Wales: perceptions of service users” Child & Family Social Work, Volume 12, Number 4, November 2007, pp. 316-325(10)

Anglesey - Rural Family Service

The Ynys Môn Rural Family Service targets services to very small populations who may not show up in deprivation profiles and in small rural communities.  The Family Service brings together a multi-disciplinary team, working through a range of different approaches.  Health visitors also work in partnership with the Rural Family Service.  New parents in the Langefni area are given written information about services.

The following are examples of services that are effectively engaging fathers:

The Rhonda Cynon Taf Dad Matters project has been running now for over 5 years. Funded as part of the Surestart programme, the project works predominantly on a one-to-one basis with fathers and families where there are child protection concerns with a view to increasing safety, so that the children of those families can be removed from the child protection register. The intervention consists of a flexible but time limited piece of work that aims to identify and address exactly what may be holding fathers back from fulfilling their role as parents. Building on the existing strengths of the individuals and relationships involved, the project adopts a collaborative approach to discussing parenting, and is clear about the benefits to mum and the children, as well as those to the father himself. The projects success lies in enabling engagement where little or no engagement has existed previously, and in this way has been able to help hundreds of fathers I the RCT area/

The Bro Morgannwg “Who’s Daddy “ leaflet is unique in that it takes information about being a father away from the social care setting and into the workplace. Originally conceived in 2006, the project has been endorsed by three of Wales “sporting greats”. Martyn Williams, Robert Croft and Ryan day. The leaflet provides basic information on being a father during each of the four main developmental stages. It has gone out, via the pay-packet, to all prospective fathers working for major employers in the Bridgend County area. Currently over 25,000 leaflets have been distributed this way. In 2007 the project received a ‘Highly Commended’ in the Sternberg Awards for clinical innovation by the Royal College of  Speech and language Therapist.

The Carmarthen Dads Group first started running in the summer of 2003, and fourteen fathers attended in that first year. Today, some five years, and one move to Ty Hapus later, the group is still going strong. Many of the fathers have issues such as serious criminal records, alcohol and drug misuse, child protection issues, aggression and domestic violence issues, serious health and basic skills needs. All are unemployed. Three of the dads now sit on the East Carmarthen Community Association and are involved in setting up the new community centre. Funded by ELWA as a basic skills project, and then by the Carmarthen learning Network, the group has attended three sets of healthy Living courses. Members of the group have also completed the OCN Accredited course entitled ”Cooking for Blokes!”, whilst others have completed their Group Leader Award. As well as the more structured groupwork activities, the centre has also been able to offer One-to-One support for Dads, granddads and stepdads in helping them deal with family issues and parenting problems through a weekly drop in session especially for men. The result of all this is that these men are now fully involved in other activities at the centre, and the monthly attendance figures now show that the amount of men who come to family centre is often equal to the number women attending.

These are some other examples of projects effectively engaging parents in different ways:

NPT Parenting Matters

NPT Parenting Matters, a Barnardo’s Cymru service has been providing parenting courses for over 7 years.  It has successfully reached the most disadvantaged parents and offered then an OCN (Open College Network) award at the completion of the course.  For many parents this is the first qualification they have achieved.  Service users have also been trained to become parent mentors to help other parents overcome their anxieties in attending courses.  Some of these users have gone on to gain further awards and be employed as parenting facilitators.  

Investors in Families

Investors in Families has been established to recognise and promote the importance of family-friendly approaches, which many schools have already developed. It aims to

• To value and support the role that families play in the life of the child

• To support families in developing their children's achievement and self-esteem;

• To help families participate in raising their children's achievement and self-esteem

• To promote social inclusion and a sense of well-being through positive participation in family life

Schools that receive the Investors in Families award will have demonstrated their commitment to working with families to achieve each of the outcomes of the 7 core aims of Rights to Action. 5 Local Authorities, Vale of Glamorgan, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taff and Merthyr Tydfil, are piloting the award.

Genesis Wales

The Genesis Wales project has provided childcare support for many parenting education programmes, which has been absolutely invaluable and has made it much easier to make services accessible to parents.

Child and Family Bibliotherapy Schemes

Under this scheme, any child who has an emotional and psychological problem can get a 'book recommendation' from those working directly with families (local doctor, health visitor, school nurse etc) knowing that both professionals and other parents have reviewed the book. This recommended book will be available through their local library and the family can work through the self-help book together.   

People can also use the recommended reading list as guidance if they wish to purchase the books from a bookshop or online. The recommended books cover a wide range of issues including anger, bereavement, bullying, confidence and self-esteem, divorce, sibling rivalry and managing behaviours. The scheme is being used in a number of authorities including Torfaen and Powys. It can be particularly useful in areas where services are less readily available or parents are unable to access them for whatever reason

Continued work on Parenting

What do you consider to be the key parenting issues still needing to be addressed by the Welsh Assembly Government?

• Specific services for teenage parents, parents of teenagers, imprisoned parents, partners of imprisoned parents and for fathers. Antenatal education is the best opportunity to connect with fathers at a low cost and at a time when fathers are motivated to engage with services.

• Childcare is highlighted as a key issue.  In order for parents to join in with parenting courses they need childcare if they have younger children. Sometimes it is difficult to find suitable venues to provide childcare, which limits the number of venues that can be used.  Buying in childcare can be expensive and there are often time limits on it.  Regulations mean that childcare can only be provided for two hours if it is mobile. The availability of venues is further reduced because in some areas it is being used for Flying Start.  Difficulties with childcare are exacerbated in some areas because Genesis has stopped.  A review by CCW found that 99% of the childcare workforce is female which feminises the environment further and also means that children do not have a male role model.

• A Parenting strategy for each local authority can help to identify gaps in provision and coordinate services for parents

• In England there is a Parenting Academy that highlights good practice and explores ‘what works’ in parenting support and develops training and support materials for parenting practitioners. A similar set up in Wales would provide leadership to help promote quality provision, provide a focus for parenting services and coordinate activity across Wales.

• Current policies tend to be centralised (such as Flying Start and ICC) and therefore can fail rural communities.

• Polices have to be inclusive; the target cannot only be those living in disadvantaged areas since parenting problems exist in all levels of society. Therefore,

• A truly Universal support service for parents at times and places which meet their needs

• The Parenting Action Plan had limited resources attached to it.  A proper Parenting strategy is needed with sufficient resources and a mechanism for measuring impact and ensuring that policy follows through to implementation. For example those who received Incredible Years training didn’t necessarily go on to actually deliver parenting groups.

What has Worked and what has Hasn't

Examples of Good Practice

• Parenting Programmes such as Incredible Years and Family Links have proved to be very successful.  However some parents may need shorter courses or one-to-one support before they are ready to join a course particularly one that goes on for several weeks.  Some courses may suit some parents better than others so it is better to have a menu on offer rather than being prescriptive about one programme over another.  A single parenting course in isolation does not necessarily improve parenting skills if the family has other, unresolved, difficult issues and problems. For example if a parent is facing debt problems and homelessness the pressures and strains make it difficult for them to parent effectively.
  

• Parentline Plus’ Parent’s Together programme is successfully being used in some authorities in South Wales as a pre-cursor to programmes like Incredible Years.  The programme is a curriculum of workshops and short courses for parents covering a range of issues such as tackling bullying, teenage issues and bringing up children after separation.  The programme has been found to very useful in engaging parents and sits comfortably alongside more formal parenting programmes like Incredible Years.

• The S.T.E.P.S. (Steps to Excellence for Personal Success) programme is also being used to improve parents self esteem before they join parenting programmes.  STEPS is used with adults to change their self-image for the better and helps them to think more positively. It gives them the necessary understanding and techniques to raise their self-esteem and enhance their performance.  

• Initiatives such as On Track, Integrated Children’s Centres and Flying Start that offer a multi-agency approach can be very effective but different models are needed in rural areas where this approach is not possible.

• Health Visitors and Home Start are very effective in identifying need and helping parents to access services. Health Visitors as a universal service are trusted by parents and are the key to effective early intervention. However they do not routinely engage with fathers.  Due to increased case loads, however they are beginning to have to target families to visit, this could mean that parents with difficulties are missed because they are not in an ‘at risk’ category.

• Some Local Authorities have employed Parenting Coordinators, which has proved to be very effective.  This post holder is able coordinate parenting activity across the county, identify gaps, map services and provide leadership.  These post holders have also developed parenting strategies in their area, which can dovetail with the Single Plan.  

• In Caerphilly, Neath and Cardiff there are formalised Parent Networks which can help develop parents’ involvement in services and a formal mechanism for consultation.  The Parent Network in Caerphilly has a full time Project Co-ordinator in post. Parents are actively invited to sit on local planning groups relating to children and families. Parents' views are fed to and from these meetings, with support of the Project Co-ordinator. The Network meets approximately once every six weeks. Issues that are relevant to parenting in Caerphilly are discussed, and all parents are encouraged to have their say. Guest Speakers are also invited to come along to these meetings to inform parents of services and new initiatives that are relevant to them.

• In order to engage parents initially some projects are offering other leisure or sport activities to parents.  For example in Carmarthenshire in the family centres parents are offered gym sessions, craft etc and then parenting work is added on afterwards.  In Swansea women in the Bengali community have been offered aerobics classes (which they had asked for) and this has been tagged on to more general parenting work.  LINK workers have also been employed to engage with this community.

• Another effective engagement tool is play.  Parents don’t feel threatened by play sessions and it is a great opportunity to get parents together and promote the importance of play for their children’s social, emotional and cognitive development.  Toy libraries and play buses are one way of providing informal support for parents and an opportunity for them to support each other through informal networks.  

• Partnership working has been highlighted as a key element in providing parenting support with a sharing of resources, expertise etc.

• Please see also examples in response to

Areas of the PAP successfully implemented

There is some anecdotal evidence that the PAP has raised the profile of parenting in Wales.

The areas of the PAP most successfully implemented are the production and distribution of booklets & guidance on participation of parents in services – see answer to 1.1.

It is very positive that a number of professionals have been trained to deliver the Incredible Years programme and that handbooks to accompany the training have also been provided.  Unfortunately not all professionals are necessarily using this training to deliver the programme to groups of parents.  This is one area where the post of parenting Coordinator can be useful in making informed decisions about who should be trained in the first instance and providing leadership afterwards around coordinating activity in this area and ensuring delivery.  The Parenting Coordinators Network has provided an opportunity for Parenting Coordinators to share ideas about how they have encouraged professionals trained in IY to deliver the training.

Areas of the PAP not successfully implemented

Please see answer to 1.1.  The main issue has been a lack of resources attached to the PAP for its implementation and a clear lead in the WAG to carry forward some of the action points. There is also evidence of a lack of co-ordination within the various divisions of the WAG. It is sad to report that the majority of the Actions laid out in the PAP have not been successfully implemented. As we have explained in our response to Section 1 the reasons for this are various. However, underpinning all of these is the fact that support for parents does not appear to be a priority for the Welsh Assembly, and this is reflected by the lack of resources attached to the PAP.

The original proposals contained in “Raising our Children with Confidence” (Children in Wales 2004), were deemed unachievable within the context of budget constraints, and we were given to believe that the ‘watered down’ version which went to make up the Actions contained in the PAP were what were considered realistic by the Welsh Assembly. Unfortunately this has not proved to be the case.

At it’s most basic level it was hoped that the PAP would draw together under a single strategic policy the work of supporting parents in Wales today. Historically this cut across a number of policy areas from Health to Education to Social Justice. Again it is sad to report that support for parents continues to be developed within the Welsh Assembly in an ad hoc manner, without the co-ordination it was hoped the PAP would provide.

Additional:

We are very happy to come to provide oral evidence to the Committee. We would also be pleased to put the Committee in touch with the projects highlighted as good practice examples in this response.