Parenting programmes
We run a range of programmes to support you through your parenting journey.
On this page:
The Circle of Security | Incredible Years | Solihull Approach | Baby Massage | PEEP | Real Man | Caring Dads
At times all parents feel lost or without a clue about what our child might need from us. Imagine what it might feel like if you were able to make sense of what your child was really asking from you. The Circle of Security® Parenting™ program is based on decades of research about how secure parent-child relationships can be supported and strengthened.
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
The Incredible Years® evidence based parenting programs focus on strengthening parenting competencies and fostering parent involvement in children’s school experiences, to promote children’s academic, social and emotional skills and reduce conduct problems.
At Green Ark and Manor Street Children’s Centre we run four different Incredible Years courses: Baby, Toddler, Early Years and ASD.
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 Approach is a well-established, nationwide programme that offers parenting support and promotes emotional wellbeing. Our practitioners are trained to deliver the programme and you will have a wonderful opportunity to meet parents at the same stage of the parenting journey as you.
We offer three courses:
- Solihull (antenatal): A three week course focussed on “understanding your pregnancy”
- Solihull (postnatal): A course focusing on the first 6 months with your baby
- Solihull (6m-19yr): A 10-week course focusing on emotional health and wellbeing.
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)
There will be a Solihull Reunion session for attendees after your babies have arrived, your facilitator will let you know dates and times.
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/Children's Centre. 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
Massage is a wonderful way to connect with your baby. Our baby massage courses are.......
Benefits for baby
- Helps with relief from colic, wind and constipation
- Helps with attachment and can support relaxation and sleep
- Helps baby feel more valued, loved and respected.
Benefits for parents
- Builds your confidence in relieving baby’s wind, colic and constipation
- Opportunity to spend quality time 1-1 with baby
- Helps you to feel relaxed also
- Lifelong skill to share with your baby.
HOW TO BOOK
PEEP trained practitioners share the PEEP Learning Together Programme (LTP) with families through conversations and joint activities focusing on aspects of children's learning and development, underpinned by the ORIM learning framework. Peep sessions are for parents/carers and children together.
Watch the video to find out more:
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
A six week course to explore and help dads understand the importance of positive attachment and provide tools and strategies to enhance parenting skills and build self esteem.
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.
The group component of Caring Dads combines elements of parenting, fathering, battering and child protection practice to enhance the safety and well-being of children.
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.
Baby First Aid - running at various times throughout the year
Do you worry about how you would deal with emergency first aid treatment or if your baby has an illness?
Join us for a two-hour free workshop. Bring baby too!
To book a place or enquire about dates please call us on 01752 686750.