Community impact report

We want every parent to be informed, prepared and

confident in their ability to care for their baby.

2

Parentskool are worthy winners of one of the 2013-14 SE Assist support package, which

offers financial and mentoring and consultancy support to social enterprises in Sussex.

The programme, funded by Legal & General, aims to provide early stage social investment,

and through this expand the impact of corporate community investment to support social

enterprises, develop and diversify local economies and create businesses and employees

that are fully engaged.

Author: Sarah Watkins sarahw@parentskool.co.uk

The information contained in the document is CONFIDENTIAL and not for public use,

intended only for the use of the individual(s) to whom it has been sent. If the reader of this document is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, disclosure, copying, sharing, or custody, is prohibited. If you receive this document in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on 01273 841101 and permanently destroy all soft and hard copies of the document.

© 2014 Parentskool®

Limited. Parentskool Ltd maintains copyright on all content included

in this report. Reprint or reproduction is not permitted without prior consent. All rights

reserved.

Published by Parentskool®

Limited.

01273 841101 www.parentskool.co.uk

@parentskooluk and facebook.com/parentskooluk

Parentskool® is a registered limited company in England and Wales company

registration number 04008327

Awards

We are proud to have won several awards including SE-ASSIST; the Local Business Accelerator as well as Business Mother of the Year.

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Snapshot

Some of our latest results achieved through attending our antenatal course.

GOAL 1 - improve breastfeeding: 82% of mothers in the UK* are aware of the health

benefits of breastfeeding: compared to 98% of our parents. And 75% of mums in the UK*

are able to name a health benefit of breastfeeding: compared to 94% of our parents-to-be.

Nationally, just 48% of mums* said they knew how to recognise baby was getting enough

milk – compared to 88% of our attendees (mums AND dads). As a result of our classes 83%

of our attendees plan to exclusively breastfeed compared to just 62% of mums

nationally*.

GOALS 2 - reducing baby illness: 35% of mums in the UK* make bottles of formula up

incorrectly which is a leading cause of gastro-enteritis in babies. Some 81% of our parents

know how to make up formula safely and 85% know how to store infant formula, and 96%

know how to sterilise baby bottles properly.

GOAL 3 - reduce babies dying of SIDS: 98% of our parents are aware of the link between

smoking and SIDS, and 94% of the link between alcohol and SIDS. After attending our

course 98% of parents know the safest way to put baby to sleep.

GOAL 4 - understanding dummy use: nationally around 55% of babies are given a dummy

before the age of 6 weeks which is against government health advice. Our focus is to ensure

parents KNOW that this is not advised: and 96% of them know to wait 6 weeks before

offering a dummy to the baby. 100% of our parents understand the pros and cons of

dummy use.

GOAL 5 - improving child development: 98% of our parents know how to bond with and

develop their child, and 100% understood the importance of skin-to-skin in bonding and

getting breastfeeding off to the right start.

GOAL 6 - Reducing the impact and stigma of PND: A national survey** showed that 29%

of women suffering from PND were unaware of it at the time, and only 42% sought

professional help. We hope to change this through education and early results are positive:

after attending our course 96% of parents are aware of the symptoms of PND and 98%

know where to go for help.

GOAL 7 - confidence building: Just 50% of our parents-to-be felt confident about

becoming a parent BEFORE their Parentskool antenatal course: this jumped to a

whopping 100% after the course. And 100% of our attendees felt they were given enough

information and 98% felt prepared to become a parent following the course.

Sources: Parentskool data: 52 customer surveys 2013 and 2014 *Infant Feeding Survey National Data 2010 **Suffering in Silence, About4Children, 2011

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The Parentskool idea

After her own poor experiences of being totally unprepared about becoming a parent and

struggling to cope with her first child, Parentskool founder Sarah Watkins devised a parent-

to-parent course which follows five principles:

Practical skills (eg nappy changing, baby bathing, holding a newborn, burping)

Experienced parent tips (eg sleeping routines, crying solutions)

Signposting common problems (eg breastfeeding problems, colic, cradle cap)

Shopping lists (eg what to buy for feeding, changing, nursery, buggys), and

Local guides (eg places to go for feeding support, baby classes and mum and baby groups).

Last year the course was quality assured by the University of Brighton’s REQ scheme, a

comprehensive assessment programme with detailed involvement from the University

School of Nursing and Midwifery, which has now kitemarked the course. We believe ours is

the ONLY antenatal course in the country with this level of accreditation.

The future

In order to build a lasting legacy in communities, Parentskool wants to put in place a network

of Facilitators and Volunteers across the UK. We want to bring our non-judgemental,

practical antenatal classes to parents-to-be, using them to connect people and engage with

them to build stronger communities. Attending antenatal classes and the friendships formed

there will build lasting support networks for all our attendees. As a social enterprise we are

able to use income generated from sales of antenatal classes to reinvest into our

communities to pay for volunteer training and support, and offer free classes wherever we

can. Our free antenatal classes will be held in geographically disadvantaged

neighbourhoods and harder to reach groups, where we can make the most impact. To

make this happen, we need to work with children’s centres and local community groups.

Key achievements so far

Impact on parents Impact in communities

Confidence improved Creating networks among parents-to-be

Knowledge of breastfeeding improved Linking up pregnant women and local services

Knowledge of bottlefeeding improved Reducing social isolation of parents

Better prepared to be parents Increasing use of facilities eg children’s centres

Why now?

Recent developments in neuroscience are pointing more towards the importance of

parenting on the mental and social, psychological, physical and eventual financial wellbeing

of our children. The riots in London and consistently poor performance of our children’s’

happiness measured against other developed countries1 means that parenting education is

becoming a matter of public health. It is also becoming increasingly apparent that the

relationship a baby has with its parents or carers from BIRTH is of great importance with its

future potential and happiness. The renewed government interest in Parenting, such as the

1 In 2007, UNICEF published a table of 21 economically advanced countries with 40 indicators of wellbeing of children. UK

ranked at the bottom AS NUMBER 21 ie UK children were unhappiest in the industrialized world

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trial CANparent2 voucher scheme (which Parentskool could easily be a part of), NHS Parent

Information Service3 and so on make now the perfect time for a national rollout.

Rationale for the course

There is a great need and demand for practical information and support for parents in the

first months after having a baby. Parentskools course is not just a fanciful alternative to the

NCT, but an intensively researched programme designed by parents, for parents, which is

bang up to date and with reference to the latest health care guidance and based firmly on

the Department of Health’s own programme “Preparing for Birth and Beyond”4.

Parents suggestions for improving antenatal courses are to focus more on what to expect in

the days after birth and the following early weeks, including more on practical babycare (how

to change a nappy, bath, feed and wind a baby, possible illnesses, colic and nappy rash) and

breastfeeding difficulties5.

A Department of Health survey shows 85% of parents want more

practical help on caring for their baby6.

In recent years there has been an increased interest in alternative forms of antenatal

preparation which ONLY teach about childbirth not the babycare, such as Active Birth yoga

classes (pregnancy yoga which teaches women how to use their body in labour and

breathing exercises) and HypnoBirthing (a form of self hypnosis specifically designed for

pregnant women to manage labour). Traditional antenatal classes are still popular, but have

been accused of focusing too much on labour and not enough on teaching the practical side

of having a baby.

2 CANparent trials underway in UK for next two years http://www.canparent.org.uk/

3 Free parenting service launched in 2012 including text and email advice tailored to babys age

https://www.nhs.uk/InformationServiceForParents/pages/home.aspx 4 http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_134728.pdf

5 Preparing for birth and parenthood:Report on First-time mothers and fathers attending NCT antenatal courses 2011

6 Parental opinion survey 2010, Department of Education

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We want to change this, and provide comprehensive parental education classes that teach

ONLY about how to look after a baby. This means our attendees can also attend traditional

classes: and it also means we reach otherwise ignored groups: women planning c-sections,

gay men or straight couples going through surrogacy, and so on.

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Our vision, mission and values

Vision

For every parent to be informed, prepared and confident in their ability to care for their baby.

Mission

To provide realistic, fun and confidence-building courses, and other products and services,

that support our vision to inform and prepare parents-to-be, resulting in more confident,

healthier and happier parents and babies.

Values

Progressive. We keep up to date with current advice so you don't have to. We stay in touch

with parents and they let us know what they are worried about, what their experiences are and how we can improve our courses. So our courses are continually evolving.

Authentic. Our courses are developed by parents, for parents - making them uniquely

grounded and based in reality, not ideology. We make sure we keep up to date with the latest government advice, and we balance this with the reality of having a baby.

Rounded. Our multi-faceted view of parenting means we have no hidden agenda, no

philosophy or parenting style we want you to adopt, and no restrictions on the information we can give you. (Bottle feeding for example is rarely discussed antenatally despite being a major cause of baby illness due to bottles being made up incorrectly).

Empowering. Providing information to parents so they can make informed decisions. We

want to emphasise the importance of parental instinct. You alone know what's best for your baby. But there is a lot of conflicting advice which can be worrying for first time parents. Our aim is to give clear unbiased information enabling you to make the right decisions for you and your baby.

Non judgemental. Everyone is treated equally regardless of how they give birth to their

child, how they feed their baby, their family situation, how old or young they are, what their household or home is like, their sexuality and relationship status, their religion or beliefs, their ethnicity, or anything else.

Trained. Our skilled and qualified antenatal teachers, both paid and volunteers, offer all

parents unbiased and open minded support. Our teachers follow a standardised course so their own personal bias or experiences are not brought into the classes. All must pass the internal Parentskool teacher training course.

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Social impact evaluation We have used our own customer research to evaluate the social impacts we have already

made, and to define our future social aims. We have asked Economic Change to assist us

in producing a set of S.M.A.R.T social goals which we can embed in our company’s vision,

mission and activities.

Statement by Heather Black of Economic Change: “we are delighted to be working with

Parentskool on helping them to define their social impact scorecard. We have supported

them to review the impact of their work so far, and to create a robust social impact

framework and process to monitor and evaluate their intervention ready for national

replication of the brand.“

Methodology

Surveys were completed by all Parentskool attendees between March 2011 and January

2014. There were three types of questionnaire: the first 58 customers completed a lighter

questionnaire between March 2011 and September 2012 which focused primarily on the

course logistics and obtaining qualitative feedback on course content. This was so we could

improve the course content in the early months of our business. Since September 2012 we

have been gathering more data about how our parents feel before and after the course, what

their knowledge levels are and how useful the course has been in various categories – we

have another 58 respondents in this second research piece. And finally since our social

goals were defined we have another 52 respondents who are helping us to track our social

impact.

Into 2014 and beyond

The Social Impact Evaluation of Parentskools courses will be rigorously conducted into 2014

with more volunteers, facilitators and course attendees and follow-up surveys to track

changes. The evaluation will measure our targets and achievements and provide more case

studies to explore the impact that Parentskool has. Once we have sufficient customer data

we will be able to conduct randomised controlled trials to demonstrate the success of our

programmes.

Economic Change CIC provides management solutions to help organisations improve their efficiency, sustainability and socio-economic impact. Heather Black is an experienced research consultant and has over 15 years experience of evaluating social and economic programmes across the UK.

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Social Impact Targets for 2013/2014 Our social impact targets for the next year have been established following significant analysis and evaluation of both our own vision, and the aspirations of the Department of Health and other government bodies or charities whose focus is on improving maternal, paternal or baby’s outcomes. Over the next 3 years, we aim to support more than 10,000 parents with our classes. The impact we will have on these parents is significant, in terms of their confidence, happiness and well-being. And their babies will be healthier, and happier, too. We want 1,500 women to continue not smoking once their baby is born and we want a further 900 women to give up smoking while pregnant. We want 2,000 more homes to be smoke-free over the next 3 years. (The link between cot death and smoking is due to anyone in the home smoking, not just the mother). We hope that 6,750 women who come on our course will plan to breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months (aligned with Department of Health objectives to increase mother and baby's health), that 500 mums will make their bottles of formula up correctly (thus reducing babies becoming ill). We hope to reduce the number of babies becoming ill by 3,600 over the next 3 years.

Social objectives

To run up to date, evidence based antenatal courses providing practical advice,

experienced parent tips, shopping lists, signposting for support services and local

guides.

To recruit and train facilitators who are all experienced parents to run courses

Signposting to other support agencies

Providing local information telling you all about antenatal classes, baby classes and

support networks for your new life.

Creating online and physical communities of parents who support and educate one

another and reducing isolation

To support parents in deprived areas through providing free courses and training

local people as volunteer facilitators for free

Long term goals

Parentskool has eight specific social goals.

1. To inform, prepare and give parents confidence in their ability to care for their child. 2. To increase the number of parents following the Lullaby Trust’s/Department of Health

safe sleeping advice.

3. To increase numbers of mothers following UK health departments’ recommendation

that babies should be exclusively breastfed until six months.

4. To assist mums who want to breastfeed to breastfeed for longer by enabling them to

identify problems and getting help early on.

5. To decrease babies getting ill from infant formula being made up or stored

incorrectly.

6. To reduce the severity/onset of post-natal depression by educating parents about the

symptoms and encouraging those with PND to seek professional help.

7. To raise parents awareness of the impacts of long term dummy use.

8. To increase parental understanding of their role in their baby’s development.

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Broadening our reach Since the first course in March 2011, Parentskool has been working relentlessly to refine the

programme and bring courses to as many parents-to-be as possible. Being non judgemental

is a core ethos of the programme, and as such has a vast array of people coming along.

Admin assistant

Architect

Army worker

Art historian

Builder

Council

Council Officer

Customer Services rep

Customer Services Trainer

Dance teacher

Designer

Digital creative agency

Doctor

Environmentalist

Estate agent

Fitness trainer

Freelance photographer

Google Executive

Hotelier

Insurance agent

Marketing Executive

Nurse

Online Entrepreneur

Operations Manager

Photographer

Physiotherapist

Project manager

Restaurateur

Retail Sales Assistant

Reverend

Sales Executive

Scientist

Senior Lecturer

Sex therapist

Social researcher

Sports Facilities Manager

Teacher

Teacher

Therapist

University lecturer

Vet

Wedding organiser

“We have brought something unique and lasting to our customers, a positive and fun experience

with serious goals: to improve outcomes for mothers and fathers, to improve baby's wellbeing

and happiness, and fundamentally to create better parents. I am proud and honoured to have been on this journey and can’t wait to see what

the future holds”.

Sarah Watkins, Founder of Parentskool Ltd

Female Class Attendee “It is a testament to Sarah Watkins that every single person I’ve met

who’s attended and every single review of her Parentskool course absolutely raves about

her and it! :). It really is a fantastic course – well researched and laid out, affordable and

excellent value for money and so worth spending a couple of hours a week to get the

confidence you gain as a result as attending. It fills the gap that traditional antenatal classes

don’t really cover that well – notably what to do after the birth! My husband and I feel so

much more prepared and able to cope with our newborn once he arrives as well as with all

the impending changes our lives as new parents will bring.”

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Focus on confidence building Our primary aim is “For every parent to be informed, prepared and confident in their ability to

care for their baby”. Confidence can be defined as “a feeling of self-assurance arising from

an appreciation of one’s own abilities” and it is this feeling that we try to encourage through

our antenatal course.

Female class attendee “Having only held a newborn once before,

I enrolled my partner and I on Sarah's Parentskool course to

learn about what to do once our baby was born, rather than

focusing too much on labour and the birth. This was exactly what we were taught and we finished the course much more confident

with the impending changes ahead.”

Just 50% of our parents-to-be felt confident about becoming a parent prior to their

Parentskool antenatal course. After 4 sessions with a Parentskool teacher this jumped to a

whopping 100% feeling confident after the course. And 100% of our attendees felt they

were given enough information and 98% felt prepared to become a parent following the

course.7

100% of attendees said the course provided them with good preparation for becoming a

parent.

Male class attendee “Really fun course that explained everything you need to know about

caring for your baby in the first 6 months. Now we’ve done the course we feel so much more

confident going into parenthood - which can only be a good thing for both us and the baby!

Would def recommend, very lucky to have this sort of course in Brighton.

Female class attendee “Parentskool really helped to give us confidence and knowledge

about what it would be like when baby actually gets here, as opposed to all the other classes

that focus on labour etc. Very practical advice presented in a non patronizing, friendly and

helpful way - felt comfortable to ask even the most stupid questions! Much better than

reading a book - and great value for money, would definitely recommend to any expectant

couple.”

7 Parentskool survey of customers Jan 14, base 52 respondents.

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Focus on practicalities By teaching first time parents what the latest government advice is, by allowing them the

space to try out different nappies, ways of holding their baby, or how to soothe them, we are

taking away a lot of the anxiety and worry that new parents often face in the run up to baby's

birth. Our course is full of practical exercises to help take away “first timers” anxiety.

Female class attendee “Parentskool has really prepared us for the birth of our first

child. My husband and I have little experience around newborns and we did not

feel confident in handling babies or understanding their needs. This course was

very practical and enabled us to feel confident with holding, changing and bathing

a new born baby. “

Many first-time parents have not had any practical experience with babies and are anxious

about becoming a new parent. This, combined with limited or no family support networks

to help get parents through the difficult and tiring early days, means that many first time

parents do not have the support structures in place to help them relax into parenthood.

Simple skills like changing a nappy, burping a baby, topping and tailing and even handling

a newborn can be of concern to first time parents who may not have ever held a baby

before. The overwhelming array of products, must-have items and conflicting advice about

sleeping, feeding and general babycare means first time parents are understandable

confused.

Female class attendee “Parentskool is absolutely essential for any new parent to be. My

husband and I took the course at 30 weeks because we had no idea how to change or bathe

a baby! To our surprise, we learnt a lot more than that! We were provided with a booklet that

clearly outlined what we were looking at each week, a chance to discuss what we were

learning and make notes.”

When asked8 if they felt our course provided them with “Practical experience in babycare”

every single one of our customers agreed!

8 Parentskool survey of customers, Sept 2012 to March 2013, base 58 respondents.

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Focus on Dads As most antenatal classes focus on labour fathers-to-be are often pushed into a support role.

Our classes show that Dads are as important as Mums when it comes to caring for their

baby. We ensure that the course content speaks about parents rather than mums whenever

we can. And in topics like breastfeeding we try to engage Dads to think about how they can

support their partners.

Male class attendee “I went along to support my wife Kelly but also as I am an older person,

who has not been around a baby for a long time, I thought it would be good to be brought

into the 21st century as regards being a new parent. The course totally fulfilled this for me

and I can only state the amount of information Sarah provides on the course is first class and

totally invaluable. Sarah uses her skills not only to pass on the Parentskool objectives but

does so in a very calm, clear and friendly manner. I would recommend this course to

everyone.”

Building Dads confidence and reducing their anxieties is a key objective for us – but making

sure they feel part of the whole process is also crucial.

Male class attendee “This course was brilliant! I knew zilch about babies and hadn't even held one before, but this covered such a broad range of topics, so I now feel more

at ease! Highly recommended.”

Male class attendee “My wife and I are new parents and we found this course to be

invaluable. Sarah came to our house and presented a half-day crash course in

everything we need to know and do for our young baby. Some basic things such as

nappy changing, dressing a new born and methods for soothing a baby (all very

important for a new parent :) ). We also learnt about the various types of products out there which helped us identify what would be suitable for us. Overall this was an excellent course and I think it should be compulsory for any new parent. It's taught in a relaxed, informal and practical environment and was

both educational and fun.”

Often Dads are dragged along to antenatal classes but we are trying to change that.

Male Class Attendee “This is a great course. I have to admit that I wasn't particularly looking

forward to going.. but within the first few minutes I felt relaxed and comfortable. The

information booklet that you get is great, with really useful info like shopping lists for each

area ie clothes, feeding, travel etc, broken down into essential and non-essential items. All in

all absolutely tip top and highly recommended.”

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Focus on Breastfeeding One of our social objectives is to increase the number of mothers following the UK health

departments’ recommendation that babies should be exclusively breastfed until six

months. We believe that many women start off with good intentions to breastfeed for 6

months, but give up when pain and discomfort is experienced. In our courses we explain

how breastfeeding feels, what can go wrong, and where to go for help. Our goal is to provide

all this information up front to encourage more women to try breastfeeding or to breastfeed

for longer.

Case Study

Anna* is a pregnant woman who already has two teenage children. She is having a baby

with a new partner, who has not had children before. When Anna and John* came to the

course, John was particularly anxious about how he would bond with the baby. He was also

adamant that the baby would be bottle fed, and this was not a topic for discussion. However,

after attending the 4 week course John felt a great sense of confidence and calm and even

changed his opinion on the benefits of breastfeeding:

Anna says:“ thanks once again for the wonderful course - I can't tell you how much more

confident [John] is - and especially on the breast feeding front - hearing it from you instead of

me has done wonders for his acceptance - shall we say he's NEVER had close contact with

anyone breast feeding before - no one in his family - none of his friends - so he wasn't the

most enthusiastic - now he sees it as vital which is great - I will certainly try to keep a feed in

when I go back to work - know it's not perfect but it's something “.

In our second set of analyses9 of parents-to-be who attended our antenatal course, every

single person said that the course provided them with good preparation for breastfeeding.

When we compare our results10 to the national figures11 we can see the huge benefits

Parentskool classes have.

82% of mothers in the UK are aware of the health benefits of breastfeeding: compared to

98% of our mums and dads. And just three quarters of mums in the UK are able to name a

health benefit of breastfeeding: compared to 94% of our parents-to-be. Nationally, just 48%

of mums said they knew how to recognise baby was getting enough milk – compared to 88%

of our attendees (mums AND dads). As a result of our classes 83% of our attendees plan

to exclusively breastfeed compared to just 62% of mums nationally.

9 Parentskool survey of customers, Sept 2012 to March 2013, base 58 respondents.

10 Parentskool data: 52 customer surveys 2013 and 2014

11 Infant Feeding Survey National Data 2010

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Focus on prevention of sudden infant deaths Another of our key goals is to reduce the number of babies dying from sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS (sometimes known as cot death). The Lullaby Trust (formerly the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death) believes that if all parents followed their safe sleeping advice, the number of babies dying from SIDS would halve. There were 254 unexplained infant deaths in England and Wales in 2010, which is a rate of 0.35 per 1,000 live births. One of our long term goals is to increase the number of parents following the Lullaby Trust’s safe sleeping advice to help reduce the number of deaths.

Case Study

Mark* was unaware of how much there would be to learn about having a baby. He was

particularly surprised by the cot death statistics, and was very keen to understand the safest

way for their baby to be put to bed. We spent time discussing the safe sleeping advice,

which advocates putting babies to bed on their backs, as well as many other

recommendations which we covered at length. After the course, Mark expressed how glad

he was to have found out about the SIDS advice which he otherwise would not have known

about.

Mark says “My wife and I attended this course. I have to say it was excellent. I did turn

up thinking that I wouldn't learn anything but was surprised to

find out that I didn't really know anything - I still thought babies slept on their tummies. From bathing, feeding, shopping for

and health of the baby it really is a must”.

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Focus on bottlefeeding safety

Probably one of our most controversial elements of the course is that we teach mums and dads how to bottle feed babies. We stick to the WHO and UNICEF guidelines12 and never demonstrate the physical making of a bottle of formula. But we show different types of bottles, explain how to ensure a bottle is sterililsed, and the differences between powder and liquid formula. Research shows that around 35% of mums in the UK13 make bottles of formula up incorrectly which is a leading cause of gastro-enteritis in babies. As over two thirds of babies are formula fed, we believe that parents-to-be should be given the right information about how to bottle feed. Some 81% of our parents know how to make up formula safely and 85% know how to store infant formula, and 96% know how to sterilise baby bottles properly. This information does not encourage bottle feeding, in fact, quite the opposite. It is our experience that by telling parents-to-be the reality of how long it takes to prepare feeds means they are more likely to persevere with breastfeeding.

Focus on maternal mental health

Post natal depression can have huge impact on maternal and infant well being. Research suggests that somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 families are affected by PND in the UK alone. There is still much stigma and a lack of awareness about PND and we are changing that. A national survey14 shows that 29% of women suffering from PND were unaware of it at the time, and only 42% sought professional help. We hope to change this through education and early results are positive: after attending our course 96% of parents are aware of the symptoms of PND and 98% know where to go for help. And as we focus on both mums and dads, we are ensuring that all parents are mindful of the emotional impact of having a baby, before the event: so they can mentally prepare themselves.

Focus on dummy usage and safety

Nationally around 55% of babies are given a dummy before the age of 6 weeks which is against government health advice. Dummy use is associated with more middle ear infections, gastro-enteritis as well as hindering speech development and impacting dental development. Our focus is to ensure parents KNOW the pros and cons and when they can give their baby a dummy: as a result of our course 96% of parents know to wait 6 weeks before offering a dummy to the baby. 100% of our parents understand the pros and cons of dummy use. We also teach them how and when they need to sterilise a dummy. They can then make an informed choice when their baby comes.

12

http://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/ 13

Infant Feeding Survey National Data 2010 14 Suffering in Silence, About4Children, 2011

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Focus on Hypnobirthing Female class attendee “As we have also done a HypnoBirthing course we wanted an ante-

natal course that taught us how to look after a baby without going into labour and pain-relief

which all other courses seemed to want to do.”

HypnoBirthing classes are growing in popularity and focus entirely on preparing women, and

their birth partners, for childbirth. There are no statistics available on the number of women

paying to go on HypnoBirthing antenatal courses, but there are around 600 teachers in

England15. With Kate Middleton said to have used HypnoBirthing throughout her own labour,

the increased media attention and growing NHS interest means more and more women will

be using these techniques. Parentskool is the perfect addition to HypnoBirthing classes

which do not teach anything about babycare.

Female class attendee “We'd completed a HypnoBirthing course and felt we didn't need to

know anything more about labour and pain relief, so Parentskool was perfect for us. Sarah

tells you everything you need to know about each aspect of baby care, so you can make

your own informed decisions on how you want to look after your baby. There's not one way

better than another, it's whatever you feel comfortable doing, which I really liked. All the info

from each session was noted down in a handy booklet with shopping lists, which is a great

help for being prepared but not over spending. Sarah has a great teaching style, which is

appealing to both Mums and Dads-to-be. My partner wasn't that keen on going when I told

him about Parentskool, but he came with me and really enjoyed it. He was looking forward to

the next session. There were loads of props and newborn sized plastic babies for you to get

an idea on how to hold, wash and dress your baby. We were asked to have a go putting a

nappy on a baby and my partner put it on backwards, so thanks to Sarah we're a lot more

prepared than we would have been!”

“I recommend all my first time parents to attend Parentskool’s fun and information packed

course and find that it beautifully complements HypnoBirthing Classes in preparing couples

for the journey into parenthood.” Sonia Richards, Secretary, UK HypnoBirthing (Mongan

Method) Advisory Board. www.sussexhypnobirthing.com

15

As at March 2013, there are 351 Marie Mongan trained practitioners and 169 UK HypnoBirthing teachers on their own directories, and at least another 80 who are not registered/affiliated with either group.

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Focus on c-section births Around one third of babies born in the UK are delivered via caesarean section and around

10% of all births are by elective c-section (ie they have been planned in advance, as

opposed to being carried out in an emergency). For mothers planning an elective

caesarean, attendance at normal antenatal classes will be seen as a waste of time. For

some women, their elective c-section is not through choice but due to medical conditions

relating to their own bodies, and to have to sit through antenatal classes that talk about

labour can make them feel uncomfortable about their own birth plans.

Female class attendee “We attended the course in Jan 2013 and are absolutely happy with

it! We were looking for an antenatal class which focused on what happens after you go

home from hospital (am having a CS so not fully interested in labour etc) and we got just

that! The classes are very hands-on and we absolutely feel more ready for the arrival of the

baby in a week time! We'd absolutely recommend Sarah's class!!!”

One of our most important values are to be non-judgemental and this is critical when talking

to parents-to-be about the birth of their baby. Our antenatal classes allow mums and dads

excluded from traditional antenatal classes due to their birth plans to feel excited and

prepared about their baby's arrival. Without something like Parentskool, parents planning a

c-section birth would not attend antenatal classes.

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Focus on second time parents Parenting approaches and government advice about best practice changes very fast in the

UK and for some parents with older children, the arrival of a new baby can be confusing and

worrying. The crash course we offer gives all parents, regardless of their prior knowledge

and experience, a worthwhile and enjoyable course.

Female class attendee “I primarily attended the 'crash course in having a baby' - for my

partner who is to be a first time dad - Already having an eleven year old daughter and

fourteen year old son, I thought surely I must know the basics. The course was excellent for

my partner, especially in demystifying the whole notion of breast-feeding, but also made me

realise how little I actually do remember, how life could have been so much easier for me all

those years ago if I had some of Sarah's wisdom back then.”

Male class attendee “Since I am a father who already has a 12 year-old child I was a little

unsure as to how relevant the course would be for me. However, I was amazed as to how

much I'd forgotten and found the course to be highly informative. I realised that a lot has

changed since I last parented a baby, so I'd recommend this course to any parent who

hasn't had a newborn for a while, as well as to new parents. I also found Sarah's enthusiasm

infectious!”

As well as advice changing, most parents will agree that you quickly forget what it is like

having a newborn baby. As a refresher course, Parentskool empowers, informs and

supports experienced parents too.

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Focus on Grandparents With more women returning to work and the childcare options becoming increasingly

expensive, many families look to grandparents to provide childcare. A lot has changed in the

years since grandparents were parents to babies and young children, and the course easily

bridges the gap between “old” knowledge and current best practice.

Female class attendee “I attended the course as a first time grandmother, really just to

support my daughter & her boyfriend and not expecting to learn anything, after all I have had

children!! But for a grandparent, the course gives you clear information about what has

changed, highlighting where 'old ways' might not be the best. It also means that I'll be able to

help my daughter without giving conflicting advice, which is especially important for a new

mother and a grandparent that 'just wants to help'. It also builds a grandmothers confidence

that she's done a pretty good job as a mother herself:-) All in all, I found the course to be

friendly, informative, fun and has really brought us closer together as a family unit to support

our new arrival.”

Managing grandparents or mother-in-laws, and their way of doing things, can cause upset

and friction in new families. But if everyone is aware of current practice it makes arguments

less common. We hope to develop a New Grandparents crash course in the future as a one

off session for older carers.

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Maximising social impact Our plans for 2014 are to get some funding so we can train some more teachers and start

delivering free courses in local Childrens Centres. As a social enterprise, we need to be

sustainable, which means we need to sell enough antenatal courses to be able to fund the

free ones.

Volunteer benefits

We want to train volunteer mothers in communities to offer classes for free to their peers.

This would be similar to the very successful FAST16 model which encourages parents to

support other parents, thus resulting in the building of social capital and creating of

supportive communities for new parents. We will focus these efforts in the most

disadvantaged geographical areas to maximise our social impact. This peer-to-peer support

is becoming increasingly popular in communities and we feel our model is a perfect way to

get our classes to more parents-to-be. Volunteers would benefit from free quality assured

teacher training, which could be used in other roles, as well as crucial on the job experience.

This volunteer training and work experience would act as a gateway to employment.

Evidence-based courses

All our courses to be grounded in a broad base of evidence. This means drawing from our

own evidence, from our customers and their experiences of becoming a parent, as well as

from external sources, to ensure we are always delivering up to date information. In order to

retain this up-to-date, evidence-based approach, we have two mechanisms in place:

customer evidence and external evidence-base.

Customer evidence

We take pride in meeting our customer needs and requirements. More than just a customer

service process, all feedback feeds directly into course development. This means that at all

customer touch-points, Parentskool records and evaluates what information parents want

and need our courses to offer, and this is fed directly into our course updates.

We have three touch points with customers:

1) Booking form includes pre-course questionnaire: done online/postal

2) Post-course questionnaire: done in class on paper

3) Post-natal questionnaire: online or postal sent at around 6 months after baby is born.

In addition to the above, we use social media like Facebook and Twitter to gather evidence

about current standard practice, parental concerns and habits, as well as new parental

advice, new products and services available to parents and so on.

External evidence-base

The “crash course in having a baby” draws from almost 50 separate sources and it is only by

having multiple sources of information that the courses can remain non judgemental and

balanced. Our external evidence-base is updated as and when new evidence is published.

All external evidence updates are incorporated into new course releases on an annual basis.

If new evidence is produced in between course updates that significantly changes what we

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FAST Families and Schools Together www.familiesandschools.org/international.php

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are communicating to parents, or that is of life-changing impact to parents or babies, we

have mechanisms in place to quickly communicate these changes to all of our facilitators.

Quality assurance

In 2013 we worked with the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Brighton

to go through a rigorous process of evaluation and course improvement through their “ReQ –

Recognising Educational Quality” standard. This is an innovative way to attach academic

quality to workplace learning and development programmes for education, training and

conference events. The benefits to Parentskool include:

Enhanced teaching and learning skills

Develop creative methods of delivery to stimulate audience participation

Gain greater credibility of our antenatal courses by being university quality approved

Meeting quality assurance criteria will ensure our course can evidence learning

Strengthening of workforce competency assessment

Our antenatal course is now one of the few (possibly the only) course which is University

Quality Assured. For more information about the University of Brighton

www.brighton.ac.uk/REQ/

“Parentskool captured our interest from our first contact with the company director Sarah

Watkins. The company has a clear ethical vision and aims to provide sound, much needed

useful advice for parents. We were impressed by the quality of material offered and the

design and delivery of the learning experience for 'A crash course in having a baby: 0-

6months'. We are pleased to award the course a University of Brighton - Recognition of

Educational Quality (REQ) mark.”.Dr Charlotte Ramage. Principal lecturer, School of Health

Sciences, University of Brighton.

Teacher training

In 2013 we worked alongside the multi-award winning training consultancy, Mc-Crudden

Training, to develop and design our robust teacher training programme. Consisting of 4 full

days of face to face training, plus additional home-based learning and research, our

teachers are fully equipped to deliver high quality and up to date antenatal courses.

For more information about Mc-Crudden see www.mccrudden-training.co.uk.

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About SE-Assist

SE-Assist is a pioneering approach to social investment, which brings together large

businesses and social enterprises. The initiative is being piloted in Brighton & Hove with the

support of Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), Legal & General and funding from the Cabinet

Office through NESTA. Parentskool has won a support package which includes an interest

free loan of up to £10,000, a Legal & General employee as a mentor as well as access to up

to £5,000 worth of expert consultancy.

For more information about SE-Assist see www.se-assist.co.uk

About Legal & General

Legal & General is campaigning for important issues as a major player in the Financial

Services Industry including: Housing for all, Good Corporate Governance, A Healthier

Nation, a Stronger Savings Culture, Sustainable Commercial Property and Alleviating

Pensioner Poverty. All of these have been achieved through finding Third Sector Partners

who are willing to share their Intellectual Property in exchange for research and development

funds.

For more information about Legal & General see www.landg.com

We hope you found this report useful.

Our next Parentskool Community Impact Report will be published in 2015

To contact us email info@parentskool.co.uk Or call 01273 841101 Visit our website for more information: www.parentskool.co.uk