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Families supported by children's services

If a family has an Early Help lead professional or social worker, you may want to encourage them to access support programmes or bespoke packages of support.

The Early Help menu of parenting support

The Mellow parenting programmes are a part of a set of specialist parenting programmes. They run for several weeks (sometimes up to 14 weeks) as a single sex group: 

  • Mellow Mums parent and child programme for mums and children aged 10 and under
  • Mellow Dads parent and child programme for dads and children aged 10 and under

The programmes include sessions for both parent and child.  They have been designed to help parents understand and deal with their own difficulties and trauma. They can then make sense of how these things affect their parenting. The programme also help parents re-build attachments with children.

The sessions always include: 

  • personal group  
  • parent workshop 
  • special play/family time for children and their parent on Mellow

At ‘personal group’ parents will:

  • explore their histories
  • explore their own experiences of being parented
  • reflect on their own difficult relationships and traumatic experiences 
  • set future goals for themselves and their children

The parents and facilitators of Mellow share their own life stories in a supportive and safe way. Parents also attend a workshop that helps them link some of their own behaviours with what they are seeing in their children.

A special play session helps parents and children to rebuild attachments and strengthen understanding and family bonds. 

Mellow is only beneficial for those parents who will be in their children’s lives long-term. Parents must have contact of their children or be in very regular contact with their children to take part.  Supervised contact can be managed through the sessions. Parents can only miss a total of 3 sessions, but continued offers can be made whilst parents are open to Early Help Level 3 (Early Help Assessment/Review process) or Level 4 (open to Social Worker).  

The sessions cover deep and difficult topics, such as domestic abuse, drug use, child abuse, and the impact of these on children.  Parents attending Mellow are often open to social workers or Early Help workers and have been for some time. They may face complex issues, such as the trio of difficulties (mental health, domestic violence, drug use). You may want to make a referral to Mellow if you are working with parents who:

  • are in complex and difficult situations,
  • were care leavers
  • had poor histories of being parented themselves
  • have very poor attachments with their children

Making a referral to Early Help Being a Parent Mellow Mums or Being a Parent Mellow Dads

If you are a social worker or Early Help worker, please process your request through Mosaic. If you are lead professional from a partner agency (such as Health or School) and you want to explore a parent attending Mellow please email us EarlyHelpParentingTeam@walsall.gov.uk 

You will need the family’s consent to make a referral to Mellow Mums or Mellow Dads, and children will need to be open to Early Help or a social worker. It is best to have discussed programme fully with parents before making referrals.

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The Reducing Parental Conflict and Connecting Families programme (RPC) is for parents who would like to know more about how parental conflict can affect children’s outcomes.  Destructive conflict is where parents are arguing frequently, intensely and are not resolving the arguments with their spouse, partner or ex-partner.  The programme runs for several sessions where parents explore their communication styles, their argument triggers and the impact of these arguments on their children.  The programmes also explores how children can be typified into roles such as mediators, spies, confidants or messengers when parents are in destructive conflict situations. 

If you are a social worker or Early Help worker, please process your request for RPC programme through Mosaic. If you are lead professional from a partner agency (such as Health or School)  and you don’t have access to Mosaic please contact your Early Help Partnership Officer that can facilitate the request for you you can email your Partnership Officer here EarlyHelpPartnership@walsall.gov.uk

Parents will need to be open to Early Help or a social worker, and you will need the family's consent to make referral. It is best to have discussed the programme fully with parents before making referrals. 

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2 to 4 sessions that support parents to identify and manage feelings in both themselves and their children. The programme will also:

  • explore ways of engaging and interacting with children to identify any emotional triggers
  • focus on how to build relationships through play and engaging with children
  • support parents to look at how they were parented.    
  • allow parents to share strategies they have utilised before (what has worked, what has not worked) and identify and set goals for change
  • explore how families communicate together
  • look at the challenges faced by parents at times of stress, and how they can influence changes in relationships with their children.  

The programme can be good for parents who:

  • may not need the specialist Mellow parenting programmes
  • have tried other programmes before and not found them helpful
  • have some issues that get in the way of them making positive changes

The parent's lead professional or social worker should talk to them to see which programme they feel will benefit them the most.

Making a referral to Emotional Wellbeing Routines and Behaviour programme

If you are a social worker or Early Help worker, please process your request for BAP through Mosaic. If you are lead professional from a partner agency (such as Health or School) and you don’t have access to Mosaic please contact your Early Help Partnership Officer that can facilitate the request for you 

You can email your Partnership Officer here EarlyHelpPartnership@walsall.gov.uk

Parents will need to be open to Early Help or a social worker, and you will need the family's consent to make referral. It is best to have discussed the programme fully with parents before making referrals. 

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The parenting a teenager programme consists of 3 to 6 sessions for parents of teenagers.  The programme gives the parents the opportunity to explore their own experiences and journey through the life of a teenager. During the individual sessions, parents will be encouraged to participate in issue-based discussions about their teenager. The aim of the sessions will be for parents to create a tool kit of skills and knowledge to best support their teenager through their adolescent years.   The programme covers all aspects of parenting a teenager, such as managing risky behaviours and understanding how the adolescent brain develops. There is also a focus on prevention of child sexual exploitation through a PACE (parents against sexual abuse session).   

Making a referral to Early Help Parenting a Teenager programme:

If you are a social worker or Early Help worker, please process your request for BAP through Mosaic. If you are lead professional from a partner agency (such as Health or School) and you don’t have access to Mosaic please contact your Early Help Partnership Officer that can facilitate the request for you 

You can email your Partnership Officer here EarlyHelpPartnership@walsall.gov.uk

Parents will need to be open to Early Help or a social worker, and you will need the family's consent to make referral. It is best to have discussed the programme fully with parents before making referrals. 

Cygnet parenting is a specialist programme designed for parents/carers of children and young people with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The Barnardo’s Cygnet Autism programme is a 7-week course for parents of children aged 5 and over with Autism. 

Parents of children with Autism face all the usual positive and difficult challenges of parenting, and quite a few more with the autistic population being a vulnerable group. Cygnet combines practical strategies and support for parents specifically around Autism. It aims to empower parents/carers and to increase their understanding of the strengths and difficulties associated with ASD. 

Sessions include: 

  • autism and diagnosis 
  • communication 
  • sensory issues 
  • understanding and managing behaviour 

Cygnet Siblings

For parents who have completed Cygnet parenting there is also an offer of sibling support sessions for parents.  This consists of 2 sessions focused on the wider family and parenting other children in the family that don’t have autism/ASD.  

 Making a referral to Cygnet and Cygnet Sibling sessions

To book parents a place on Cygnet please ensure you have the family's consent. Parents and professionals can call  01922 653383 or 07917 791470 to book a place.  

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For parents who need additional support because of learning difficulties, mental health or anxiety, we can deliver bespoke one-to-one packages of support. If you would like to discuss the support available to parents open to Early Help or a social worker, you should:

  • discuss fully with parents first to understand their needs
  • gain their consent
  • contact the Early Help parenting team to arrange a consultation meeting with a parenting duty  worker  

Parenting when Separated is a six week parenting programme. It is a targeted selective programme for children between the ages of 0 and 18 whose parents are preparing for, going through, or have gone through, a separation or divorce. The programme is for parents of younger  and older children, for residential, none residential and co- residential parents, as well as for parents who are recently separated, or who have separated for some time or who have never been in a relationship with the child’s other parent.  The programme focuses on: Solving co-parenting problems in a positive way which focuses on the needs of children, support to create practical arrangements for children that minimise stress and conflict, positive communication strategies, strategies to cope with the emotional impact of separation and management of stress including helping children cope emotionally with the separation. The programme runs for 6 weeks

Making a referral to Early Help  Parenting when Separated programme 

If you are a social worker or Early Help worker, please process your request for Parenting when Separated programme through Mosaic. If you are lead professional from a partner agency (such as Health or School) and you don’t have access to Mosaic please contact your Early Help Partnership Officer that can facilitate the request for you.

You can email your Partnership Officer here EarlyHelpPartnership@walsall.gov.uk

Parents will need to be open to Early Help or a social worker, and you will need the family's consent to make referral. It is best to have discussed the programme fully with parents before making referrals. 

The session is specifically for grandparents who take on a key role in caring for their grandchildren. It gives an opportunity to look at how parenting has changed, parenting styles, routines and boundaries, consistency, taking care of yourself as a career, current teenager issues and how grandparents and parents can co-work together.  The programme is particularly suitable for grandparents who have the full time care of their grandchildren. The session is a 2-hour workshop

 

Making a referral to Early Help grandparents workshop

If you are a social worker or Early Help worker, please process your request for Grandparents Workshop through Mosaic. If you are lead professional from a partner agency (such as Health or School) and you don’t have access to Mosaic please contact your Early Help Partnership Officer that can facilitate the request for you. 

You can email your Partnership Officer here EarlyHelpPartnership@walsall.gov.uk

 

Parents will need to be open to Early Help or a social worker, and you will need the family's consent to make referral. It is best to have discussed the programme fully with parents before making referrals. 

This online interactive programme will look at parents’ experiences, ACES and how these affect parenting styles.  The sessions will include discussions around 

  • keeping your child safe
  • life stories
  • looking after yourself
  • pregnancy and birth
  • being a parent
  • how you were parented

The sessions are similar to the ‘Mellow parenting programmes’, using a reflective and trauma informed approach to discuss links between parents own experiences in childhood and their current parenting experiences now. The sessions also focus on relationships and attachments.The session is a 2x 2-hour workshop

Making a referral to Early Help  Being a Parent in Walsall programme

If you are a social worker or Early Help worker, please process your request for BAP through Mosaic. If you are lead professional from a partner agency (such as Health or School) and you don’t have access to Mosaic please contact your Early Help Partnership Officer that can facilitate the request for you

You can email your Partnership Officer here EarlyHelpPartnership@walsall.gov.uk

 

Parents will need to be open to Early Help or a social worker, and you will need the family's consent to make referral. It is best to have discussed the programme fully with parents before making referrals. 

All the Early Help programmes and bespoke packages of support focus on the following key areas of parenting:  

  1. Parents are the most influential factor in a child's /young person’s life. All programmes share information with parents about brain development.
  2. The parent/child relationship and ability of parent to be in tune with their children is key to heathy development. All programme focus on attachment-building.
  3. Many parents come to their parenting role trying to cope with adversity (ACE) and trauma from their own childhoods. All programmes focus on ACEs and trauma-informed practice.
  4. The emotional health of the parent is crucial to supporting the emotional health of their child. All programmes focus on the concepts of parental containment and reciprocity.
  5. Parenting styles are affected by parental stress and include family tradition. They can often include subconscious parenting practice. All programmes are designed to help parents come to their own reflections and conclusions about their parenting practices.

The parenting team comprises specialist parenting workers who are trained in a range of evidence based parenting programmes.   If you would like to know more, contact the Early Help parenting team.

Face to face group parenting programmes and support from schools pastoral/ parenting workers (for the parents of pupils at their school) 

Many schools offer parenting support through pastoral workers, parenting support advisors, parenting support workers and counsellors. Grace Academy also has a consistent Teen Triple P Group offer for their pupils' parents.  If you would like access or explore the support on offer, talk to the child’s school directly. If you are a school worker and would like to explore accessing evidence based parenting programme training so this can become part of your pastoral / wellbeing offer contact the Early Help parenting team about free training and support offers.

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