News Release
September 2008

Parents – the Heartbeat in a Community

Life is never dull being a parent, especially in this day and age, but are you finding it rewarding or bewildering? If being a parent has lots of downs and very few ups and family life seems to be more like a battle ground – then perhaps some support, advice and reassurance is needed.

Help is at hand from Families in Focus, a Community Interest Company working to support families and communities in Hertfordshire and neighbouring counties. They have recently moved into new premises, and had an open afternoon on Wednesday 3 September to introduce their work and launch their new range of courses and training initiatives.

Their courses have already proved a huge hit with parents and are mostly run in conjunction with Parenting Information Officers, Children’s Centre Managers and Extended Schools Co-ordinators around the home counties. The company Founders and Directors, Jane Petrie, Francine Swaby and Lesley Chance have a wealth of knowledge from working within the parent support, schools and counselling fields. They believe that local communities can be strengthened, when families are in harmony and children know their boundaries. Jane said; -

“Our parenting courses are all about reassuring parents that they are not alone and that they can give their children the best start in their future lives. Bringing up children can be very isolating, particularly if they have special needs. Our courses provide access to like minded peer groups, in a safe, welcoming environment, where parents are given the time and space to talk about their concerns, difficulties and experiences. In line with Parenting Support Quality Standards, all our courses are run with a minimum of two qualified, CRB cleared facilitators. Their experience allows course participants to gain confidence, affirmation and the encouragement to try out their new parental skills. Our course feedback says it all!”

“It was great that the trainers were not judgemental and encouraged all parents”

“Fantastic – not only have I learned better ways to deal with my children, but have learned more about myself and how I can deal better with relationships”

“I prefered talking with other Dads, as I feel women know more about children than me, and would not feel I could say much in front of them”

“It was good to share some of the difficult feelings about having a special needs child with those who understood”

Families in Focus is also an Open College Network (OCN) training centre and it has developed two accredited programmes for those wanting to run parenting groups – Facilitating Parenting Groups, Levels 2 & 3 and two accredited programmes -
Working With Parents, Levels 2 & 3 for Parent Advisors and Parent Support Workers.

If you are interested in:
• coming along to a parenting course
• commissioning a parenting course for your community
• coming on one of our professional training courses

then contact Families in Focus on Tel: 01442 219720 or e-mail jane@familiesinfocus.co.uk for further details.