Parenting courses are provided by a number of services in the district including family learning, Home-Start, Social Care teams, Parent Support Adviser, children's centres and they cater for different ages and needs.

Parenting support includes the services which can provide information, advice and support specifically directed towards parents and carers to help them bring up their children and to enable their child's healthy development.  Programmes of support may be for the individual parent and or child, or for groups who are experiencing similar problems.

The following are a range of parenting courses and support groups aimed at providing parents/carers of children aged from 3 to 16 years with early intervention and support:-

Webster Stratton - Incredible Years parenting programme is a trouble shooting guide for parents of children aged 3 to 7 years.  The programmes take place on a weekly basis for 2 hours and last 12 to 15 weeks.  Transport and childcare places are usually available for pre-school children.  Many of the groups take place at family centres, children's centres and other venues across the district.

Strengthening Families group is a seven week course for parents/carers and their young people aged 12 to 16 years.  The group is run by facilitators who are mainly social workers from the Intensive Support Team, but also from other agencies including the Youth Offending Team, Education, and the Community and Mental Health Service.

Parents Plus is a five week behaviour management group for parents/carers of young people aged 8 to 13 years.  The group is facilitated by the same agencies as above and aims to help participants feel more confident in managing their children's behaviour. 

Parents with Prospects is a 12 week course (2 three hour sessions a week) for young parents or parents to be which provides advice about bonding with your child, child safety and play.

Men Behaving Dadly is for dads and their children.

Home-Start offers a unique service whereby volunteers, who are normally parents themselves, visit families in their own homes to offer informal and friendly support helping to increase families confidence and self-esteem. Home-Start also runs weekly family group sessions providing a place for parents to meet and children to play in a safe environment.  If you would like to find out more contact Home-Start on 01924 887071.

To find out if there is a course/group running near where you live contact the Families Information Service on 0800 587 8042 or contact your nearest children's centre (see Related Links).

For those experiencing early parenthood for the first time it can be a life changing experience and stressful time.  However, support is available through:-

• your health visitor.
  
  
• organisations like the National Childbirth Trust (see Related Links) who aim to help you through this transition, offering relevant information, reassurance and mutual support.
  
  
• Also for parents or carers of a baby aged between 5 - 8 months old there is a confidential online tool Early Years LifeCheck (see Related Links) which will help you find out about your baby's health and explain what you can do to help him or her stay healthy.
  
  
• Family Services have published a Parenting Handbook (see Related Downloads) which contains lots of useful advice and information on subjects like temper tantrums, smacking, positive parenting and self esteem.  If you would like a copy sending just call the FIS.

For further details and some useful contacts see the Parenting and Family Learning leaflet (see Related Downloads).

If you have children aged 5 to 19 there is Parent Channel TV which is a new online service designed to support and encourage parents and carers with a collection of videos addressing day-to-day questions and concerns spanning wellbeing, behaviour and learning.

For single parents there is also the One Space website (see Related Links) which is a popular social networking website packed with information and ideas to help with the most challenging, yet rewarding job of all - being a single parent.

The Family & Parenting Institute has produced a useful booklet entitled Is it Legal? A Families' guide to the Law which outlines what the Law says about Parents and Children, a copy is in Related Downloads.