Parent and family learning

The Supporting Families Team is a small team based within the Education Early Years’ Service.

The Supporting Families Team role is to support all families who have children from birth to Primary 7 with any parenting queries, tips, or strategies.

What do we do?

The Supporting Families Team provide advice and support that is tailored to the individual needs of the family.

The support can be delivered in a community setting, online or telephone call. Strategies and advice are evidenced, researched based, and designed to support and build your confidence as a parent/carer, promoting positive and secure relationships with children.

Bespoke one to one support using knowledge and skills from the evidenced based programmes.

Families that access our service can feel quite isolated and this is when group support can be beneficial. To have peer support from other parents with children or similar ages and challenges.

A member of the team will guide you to the most appropriate.

To find out more about our groups please email parenting@eastdunbarton.gov.uk

Please only include the following information in your email:

• Parent/carers name
• Contact number
• Age of child
• Postcode.

A family day for parents of children under five operates from Hillhead and Auchinairn Community Centre. The day will provide a supportive and nurturing fun play-based activities for children aged 0-5 for families within the local community. This family day is called the Little Explorers Nurture Day (LEND).

A range of partners who deliver services during LEND days, are on hand to offer tips and support on a wide range of subjects all free of charge.

Some examples detailed below:

• Health Visiting – First Steps (invite only)
• Library Services – Book bug – (storytelling, rhymes, and songs)
• Education – Count me in - (understating early numeracy and counting)
• Supporting Families – Parenting tips 
• Voluntary – Toddler Group
• Pop up events with other partners.

The Little Explorers’ Nurture Day (LEND) takes place in Auchinairn and Hillhead Community Centres on a weekly basis:

• Hillhead – Thursdays
• Auchinairn – Tuesdays.

East Dunbartonshire Council acknowledge the key role and positive contributions parent/carers and families make to their children’s learning. Family Learning supports parental participation and engagement in your child’s learning at home, school and in their communities. Supporting parents and families to be supported to be equal partners in their child’s learning is crucial in raising attainment. 

Benefits in participating in Family Learning:

• Learning new skills 
• Increased confidence
• Improved communication
• Changes to behaviours
• Positive relationships with community and families.

For more information on the supports and Family Learning opportunities please contact your child’s Early Years Centre or school directly.

We are delighted to share the news that the Scottish Government has announced, that all families in Scotland will have free access to the full Solihull Online resource for parents and carers. This initiative is being delivered in partnership with NES who ERC work in partnership with, Psychology of Parenting Programme. 

This Solihull Online is a universal resource for parents and carers from the antenatal period to 19 years. It offers a series of modules containing interactive activities, quizzes, and video clips. The online resource focusses on developing nurturing and supportive relationships between children and their carers. It aims to help parents understand their child’s behaviour in the context of their child’s development and the parent-child relationship. 

The following courses are available free for parents/carers in Scotland:

• Understanding pregnancy, labour, birth, and your baby
• Understanding your baby
• Understanding your child
• Understanding your teenagers brain.

To access these courses for free, visit the NHS Course Library.

What does it do?

Seasons for Growth Parent Programme provides an opportunity for parents to better understand the experience of death, separation and divorce and bereavement from a child’s perspective, and to explore ideas and strategies that they may wish to consider as they support their children transition through family change.

The programme aims to strengthen the social and emotional wellbeing people dealing with significant life changes by exploring the impact of change and loss on every-day-life, and learning new ways to respond to these changes.

Who is it for?

Parents looking to support their children through family change and loss.

Change affects everyone differently, as does grief. It’s the impact of the change, not the event itself that Seasons for Growth focuses on.

The Seasons for Growth Parent Programme builds on the philosophy and strengths of other Seasons for Growth programmes - small group, grief and loss education programmes for children, young people and adults that use the imagery of the seasons to illustrate the experience of grief.

How does it work?

Seasons for Growth Parent Programme aims to assist parents to understand the experience of death or separation and divorce from a child’s perspective, and to learn about the most effective ways to support their child/ren.

This distinctive child-centred approach provides emotional space and a non-judgemental environment for parents to wonder, share, discuss and learn how to care for and nurture their children after separation, divorce or the death of someone they love.

The programme offers a range of activities that allow parents to learn about:

• How children react to change and loss
• What parents can do to help their child
• Communicating with their child
• The Seasons for Growth approach to understanding and managing, change loss and grief
• Caring for themselves as a parent and a person.

How is it delivered?

The Seasons for Growth Parent Programme has two separate components:

1. Supporting your child following separation and divorce
2. Supporting your child following the death of someone they

Delivered as 1 x 4 hour or 2 x 2 hour sessions with a small group of 5-10 parents by a trained ‘Companion’

Outcomes

The Seasons for Growth Parent Programme provides the support and space to:

• Learn about how children and young people respond to change, loss and grief
• Understand that it is normal to experience a range of grief reactions
• Explore new approaches to dealing with change, loss and grief in the lives of their children
• Build communication, decision making and problem solving skills
• Participate in a supportive network of adults
• Integrate their new learning into their relationships with their family.

The Seasons for Growth Adult Programme may be an appropriate next step for parents who wish to spend time exploring their own change and loss experience and learn coping skills to manage and continue moving forward.