CYP(3) PAP 17
Children and Young People Committee
Inquiry into Parenting Action Plan
Response From Caerphilly Parent Network
This is a response to the Committee Inquiry into the Parenting Action Plan from the Caerphilly Parent Network. The Caerphilly Parent Network was set up in 2001 as a result of consultation with parents accessing Surestart services. It has developed since then to support parent participation in the planning of services by attending various strategic and planning meetings and parents receive advice, support and information. The response to the Parenting Action Plan is based on consultations undertaken with parents and the viewpoint of the staff.
How effective do you consider the implementation of the Parenting Action Plan to have been
The effectiveness of the implementation of the Parenting Action Plan is difficult to assess. There have been improvements in services for parents and most of the parents that were consulted felt that the profile of parents and parenting had improved, however the majority of the parents were unaware of the Parenting Action Plan.
There is little evidence to suggest that the Parenting Action Plan has been a key driver in any improvements and expansion of services. On the whole the plan was not given a particularly high profile and there seems to have been limited investment made in the plan.
It has, however, been beneficial in recognising that parents need support and to consider what their support needs may be. It has also promoted parent participation and Caerphilly Parent Network contributed to the practice guide for Partnerships on parental participation and empowerment which was produced in 2006, as outlined in the actions for the plan.
Has the amount of support available to parents increased
The amount and diversity of support seems to have increased and parents also perceived that there was greater support available. However, this perception may be due to organisations and services promoting themselves better and making more appropriate referrals.
Cymorth funding has been used to ensure that there is increased support and provides a wider variety of support than would have otherwise been available.
Fathers are now receiving more recognition for the role they play in child rearing, and there is an increased acknowledgement for the support they need. However, there is some way to go to before there is adequate and appropriate support for fathers.
The parents of the children with disabilities had various experience of support with some feeling well supported and others feeling they did not have the information, advice and support they needed for them and their children
Is the support accessible for all parents
There are several reasons why support may not be accessible to all parents.
Accessibly can be influenced by geography - transport is a key factor. Not all parents have access to transport, not all parents can afford transport and others may not have the confidence to travel outside of their community. Support needs to be delivered on a very local level for it to be accessible for all parents.
Area-targeted services can exclude certain parents and this can cause resentment and frustration from parents as they can not access services that may be of benefit to them.
Help-lines and websites are available for information and support, but parents are not always comfortable with using help-lines and not all parents have access to the internet.
There needs to be wider promotion of support so that parents know about services available to them. The knowledge of the parents consulted was variable with regards to other support services available.
Is support getting through to the parents who need it the most
Issues such as transport and awareness of services may affect support being accessed and this may affect parents who need it the most not receiving the support needed.
Parents of children with disabilities noted that service provision was patchy and many were unaware of the help and support available, or where to access it, or even if they were eligible to access them.
Parents indicated that services and support provided by voluntary sector groups were less 'intimidating and more accessible’ than statutory agencies, indicating the value of voluntary sector support and the stigma that some may associate with accessing services through the statutory sector.
Do parents receive more information
There is probably more information available to parents, but it is difficult to say how effective and meaningful this information is, and whether it is in a format that makes it accessible.
The parents who were consulted generally felt that more information was coming out to them. Parents could not however, remember having leaflets such 'Breakfast to Bedtime’ and 'Over the Top Behaviour’. Some parents felt that the leaflets they had received had been useful, particularly as a source of reference, and that they had used them in dealing with their children’s behaviour. It is important to recognise that other parents have issues such as literacy problems for example, and that other formats, such as CD’s or DVD’s, would make the information more accessible.
Very few of the parents consulted were aware of Children’s Information Services and what they did. Parents were grateful to organisation such as the Parent Network for the information they provided and also for sign-posting them onto other organisations.
Is positive parenting effectively promoted
All services and support programmes promote positive parenting. There is however, a need to further asses not only how effectively it is being promoted, but also the impact it has on families.
From the parents that were spoken to, some had attended Parenting Courses (although not Webster Stratton) and had generally felt these to be useful. The Parenting Puzzle programme was mentioned and was described as:
"fun and invigorating, but you’re learning at the same time”
Parents felt that 'they weren’t judged or looked down upon’ and found programmes friendly. They also noted that they had formed strong friendship when attending groups and that this had reduced feelings of isolation.
Do parents participate more in planning services
The Parent Network is well established in Caerphilly and members are represented at various levels of planning, for example the Framework Partnerships, Children’s Partnership, Young People’s, Voluntary Sector meetings and various related groups.
Caerphilly CYPFP has recently agreed the development of a Parent Participation Strategy to mirror the Children and Young People’s Participation Strategy. This will look at ensuring that parent participation is encouraged at both a strategic level and at project /service level. It will provide stronger mechanisms for parent participation and consider how to gain the participation of hard to reach parents and groups of parents.
Parents noted that when they had inputted into service planning or had been consulted, they did not always receive regular information or updates on how their views were helping to shape policies and services, indicating the importance of feeding back regularly to parents who have participated. It was felt that there was a need for organisations like the Parent Network to ensure that parents’ views were heard directly and indirectly by planners of services and policies.
It is interesting to note that even though the Parenting Action Plan promotes the participation of parents in planning and raises Parent Networks as a mechanism for parental participation, neither parents nor Parent Networks were included in the list of consultees for this inquiry.
Are parents included more at school
There are some improvements in getting parents included more in school, with parents getting more involved with school life through activities being run in schools.
There was a mixed response from parents of experiences of being involved in schools. Some felt that they were able to participate, while other parents said they didn’t feel able to participate well with their children’s schools. It seemed reliant on how much involvement parents wanted and how open the schools were to parental involvement. Parents also noted that schools sometimes only wanted to involve them when there were issues at school, for example, with behaviour problems, and felt that this could lead to a negative cycle of involvement.
Are you aware of barriers experienced by parents in accessing support services and information sources? What are the key reasons for these barriers
Although the stigma of accessing support is gradually diminishing, it is still a factor in accessing service.
Parents noted that they were wary about approaching statutory services with voluntary being seen as 'less intimidating and more accessible’.
There seemed to be a lack of confidence amongst parents about accessing help and support as they felt they might not get the help they wanted.
Parents of children with disability felt that because of the wide and diverse nature of disabilities, help and support was varied.
Lack of awareness of what was available and what was open to them to access.
Can you provide any examples of innovative practice in ensuring that service and information is accessible and barriers can be overcome
It is important to realise when supporting parents, that they have different skills, abilities and interest and there is a need to engage with them originally on a level that suits them. Taking time to build relationships and trust is essential and requires time and commitment.
An example of this was acknowledging that that some parents on the Network enjoy a more 'creative, hands-on’ approach and therefore a group of parents were invited to provide craft activities for children at publicity or information events. This resulted in parents engaging with the service at a level which they felt comfortable with and gave them an opportunity to participate that they may not have had otherwise. Some of these parents have subsequently accessed various training opportunities.
What do you consider to be the key parenting issues still needing to be addressed by the Welsh Assembly Government
Parenting children with a disability and the impact that it has on the whole family
Parenting needs and support of parents with learning difficulties
More support and information for parents of teenagers/young
A central point for information and advice - with out-reach workers to engage locally with parents and harder to reach groups
A Parent Participation Strategy in place to promote and widen access to participation
Parents feeling were:
For the Parenting Action Plan to be continued and developed, and support given to the future ideas for leaflets and information
Parents and parenting should be kept high on the agenda as parents are generally best placed to help and nurture their children and young people
Organisations like the Parent Network were a good idea to make sure their views were heard directly and indirectly by planners of services and policies.
Can you identify any areas of the Parenting Action Plan which you consider to have been successfully implemented and any that have not? Why have these areas been successfully implemented or not?
The acceptance and relevance of parent participation has improved. In Caerphilly this is an established mechanism and through the Parenting Action Plan parent participation mechanisms have been developed in other counties who have funded posts and projects to take this agenda forward.
