Celebrating parenting
Practitioners from a diverse range of services who work with Warwickshire families got together on Friday (22 October) to review parent support in the county and celebrate the local parenting workforce.
Workers from a number of settings and professional backgrounds including schools, children’s centres, clinics, and youth offending teams shared ideas and looked at how they work together.
The Celebrating Parenting Day was organised by the county council’s Parenting Development Team to offer services a chance to reflect on their practice. A series of workshops took place on areas which often pose additional challenges to families and workers such as, learning disabilities, substance misuse and teenagers.
National charity and parenting advice service Parentline Plus also offered some practical information and advice, reminding practitioners of the resources and support available to them and directly to families.
This event is took place during national Parents’ Week - an annual event set up by independent charity National Family and Parenting Institute to raise awareness of the information and support available for families.
Warwickshire County Councillor Heather Timms, cabinet member for children, young people and families opened the event. She said: “We recognise that families come in all shapes and sizes and all want different things from services, so the support we deliver has to be adaptable to meet these needs.
“Friday’s event offered an ideal opportunity for all our children and family services to look more closely at the activities they offer families and whether they could do anything better.”
Lisa Young, a senior parenting practitioner for the parenting development team, said: “Holding this event during National Parents’ Week helped raise the profile of family support in Warwickshire. Our dedicated family workforce is totally committed to getting to know local families and find out about their needs, they left on Friday equipped with extra information and resources to make sure parents get the right support.”
For more information about family and parenting support in Warwickshire contact the Family Information Service on 0845 090 8044 or visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fis
To find out more about national Parents’ Week visit http://www.parentsweek.org.uk.