Parenting programmes

Using the COSP™ model developed by the Circle of Security originators, our trained Facilitators work with parents and caregivers over an 8-week period to help them to:

• Understand their child’s emotional world by learning to read emotional needs
• Support their child’s ability to successfully manage emotions
• Enhance the development of their child's self esteem
• Honour the innate wisdom and desire for their child to be secure

Baby (Age 0-1)

• Help their babies feel loved, safe, and secure.
• Promote attachment
• Encourage their babies’ physical and language development.

Toddler (Age 1-3)

• Child directed play
• Establishing routines
• Praise, Encouragement & Incentives for toddlers
• Handling separations & routines
• Positive discipline (including effective limit setting such as ignore, redirect & distract) 

Early years (Age 3-5)

All of the toddler programme and:

• Rewards programs
• Natural & Logical consequences
• Time out for aggressive behaviour
• Teaching problem solving for children

ASD (Children with Autism or communication and language delay)

• Child-directed narrated play
• Persistence
• Social and emotion coaching
• Pretend play
• Self-regulation
• Praise/rewards
• Behaviour management

The Solihull Antenatal group is a 3 week programme for expectant parents and their families.

Journey to Parenthood

Solihull Antenatal is a 3 week programme for all expectant parents and a partner, friend, or supporter of choice. It provides parents-to-be with all the information and practical skills they need to feel confident about making the right choice for their new baby. Parents are encouraged to think about the kind of support they would like during labour and delivery as well as learning how they can get to know their child before they are even born!

This group is for pregnant women and their partners who would like additional support and information about pregnancy, labour and caring for their baby. It is recommended that the mother should be between 28-36 weeks pregnant. Friend, or supporter of choice are also very welcome.

The group is led by trained workers from your local Family Hub/Children's Centre. The group provides an opportunity to meet other expectant parents and families in a nurturing environment.

Length of programme: 3 weeks (2 hours per week)

What is Solihull Postnatal?

Once your baby has arrived, you can join a 5-week? (need to check number of weeks)postnatal parenting group, facilitated by trained workers from your local Family Hub. The group provides an opportunity to meet other parents/carers in a nurturing environment.. The 2-hour group will provide practical information including understanding yours & your baby’s emotions, brain development, supporting baby’s play & development, as well as exploring your relationship with your new baby and giving you the opportunity to share your experiences with other new parent/carers.

TBD

Each session is based on a child development topic, which contains:

• Talk time, to discuss key ideas with parents and carers relating to the topic focus
• Songs and rhymes
• Books and stories
• Ways to put ORIM into action (Opportunities, Recognition, Interaction, Modelling)
• Play activities (during the session and/or ideas to try at home).

The programme covers five strands of child development, which it aims to improve by working with parents:

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Communication and language
• Early literacy
• Early maths
• Health and physical development

Positive communication: To explore the importance of good communication and interaction with your child.  Developing strategies for dealing with “triumphs and tribulations” to build secure attachment and self-esteem/self-worth whilst promoting emotional literacy.

Toxic masculinity and positive paternalism: A positive relationship with my child, being a responsible father.  To explore and address negative influences on masculinity from society and family and how this impacts on our children.

Toxic masculinity/gender stereotyping: A positive relationship with my partner, being a good friend. To explore how our belief systems impact on our attitudes and behaviour towards woman and how that impacts on our partners.

Sharing roles and responsibilities: To explore what is “equality and respect” and how we practice this in our relationships.

Dealing with conflict and checking our behaviour: Exploring how we deal with conflict and seeking new ways of addressing our behaviour.

Program principles emphasize the need to enhance men’s motivation, promote child-centred fathering, address men’s ability to engage in respectful, non-abusive co-parenting with children’s mothers, recognize that children’s experience of trauma will impact the rate of possible change, and work collaboratively with other service providers to ensure that children benefit (and are not unintentionally harmed) as a result of father’s participation in intervention.

A typical group usually runs for 2 hours, one night a week, for 17 weeks. There are usually between 10 and 15 men registered in each group. Groups may only be led by accredited Caring Dads facilitators.