October ‘06 - March ‘08
Parents as First Teachers UK was part of this DCSF-funded initiative and we were asked to provide a summary of our involvement - reproduced below.
“How quickly it’s gone! It seemed that, no sooner had we trained the ELLP1 teams with whom we were partnered and sent them on their way to deliver the “Born to Learn” parent support programme than it was time to attend their farewell conferences and hear their tales of achievement tinged with regret.
Similarly, the Reflective Supervision courses, delivered as part of ELPP3, having got off to a slow start, gained momentum as the months went on and finished in a headlong rush to the finish.
Now there is a need to draw breath and remind ourselves of what we do and what we stand for.
Parents As First Teachers trains professionals to work on a one to one basis with parents and their children, pre-birth to 3 years, using the Parents as Teachers “Born to Learn” programme, based on the most up to date child development and neuroscience research and delivered in the home or other appropriate setting. A key feature of Parents as First Teachers is that it is the parent, not the project worker, who works with his or her child to achieve the benefits of the programme. It uses a strengths model, recognising that all parents have strengths and that the parent is the child’s first and most influential teacher.
Work with young families is demanding, costly of effort and can be very draining. Parents as First Teachers believes that the quality of supervision given to the workers is key to the effectiveness of their outreach to the families they serve. Therefore, in addition to the “Born to Learn” training, Parents as First Teachers UK offers courses in relationship-based, reflective supervision for supervisors supporting
people who work with parents.
Parents As First Teachers UK has relished its involvement with the Early Learning Partnership Project, gaining many new insights, participating usefully in the Accreditation process and experiencing the joy of training many highly experienced and keenly motivated family workers from Health Visitors to Fathers’ Workers, from Homestart staff to Midwives, from Children’s Centre Outreach Workers to Social Workers. It has been a most stimulating experience!
For further information about Parents As First Teachers, please go to http://www.parentsasfirstteachers.org.uk or phone Pam Holtom on 01844 345847.
