section 5 - developing parent participation · 2017-08-30 · section 5 - developing parent...

Section 5 - Developing Parent Participation

d) Training

Subject: How to Improve Skills and Knowledge through Training

Who this is for: Particularly relevant to members of parent forums

What this section is about:

Building your core group

Building your wider membership

Acquiring more skills as the forum grows

Training resources

Participation training for practitioners

© Together for Disabled Children 2010 of 6 Version 2.0 March 2010

5d) Training: How to Improve Skills and Knowledge through Training All the parents and carers who become active members of a forum are used to

finding out about services for their own child.

Being a member of a forum though, is a different situation. You are no longer working

as an individual but as part of a team. Parent forums are usually made up of very

passionate and committed parents, not all of whom can be expected to see eye- to-

eye on all subjects, all of the time! It is worth acknowledging this as a group right

from the start, thereby making it clear to all members that they are equal partners in

the team.

Teamwork may be a whole new mindset and training can help towards building

effective and lasting partnerships both within the forum and also with service

commissioners and providers.

Building Your Core Group

It is helpful to build up the skills of your core forum members who are probably on the

steering group. You can tackle this as follows.

1 Identify the skills you need to run the forum. The basic ones usually include:

• chairing meetings

• book keeping (simple accounts)

• taking notes or minutes of meetings

• writing (leaflets, articles)

• speaking and making presentations to an audience

• negotiating (and influencing)

• conflict resolution and accepting each other’s strength and weaknesses

• being representative

• understanding the structure and commissioning of services in your area

• having a wider knowledge and understanding of the bigger national picture

2 Carry out a skills audit among your members. It is a very good team building

exercise to ask members what they did before they knew each other purely as

parents of disabled children. It will highlight all the useful skills you have amongst

you early on and any skill gaps. However, it is good practice to rotate tasks and


avoid burnout and so you should also identify if anyone would like to develop a

particular skill.

3 Look for local training. There may be skilled parents who do not wish to be on the

committee but would be happy to train a committee member. Inexpensive

courses are often provided by the local Council for Voluntary and Community

Organisations. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) may

also have some useful training. www.ncvo-vol.org.uk.

Check also for Early Support training (see below) as the Working in Partnership

Course offers a useful insight into working with service providers as equals. This

national programme has led the way on true partnership working with parents.

Building Your Wider Membership

The most important thing is to have a range of parents who can represent all parents

on task groups and working parties. Some parents may be very articulate but poor

listeners. Some parents lose confidence if they have not worked for a while; some

feel inadequate because of their lack of formal education or difficulty with written

English; some are wonderful listeners whose diplomacy wins the heart of

professionals yet they have never seen themselves as representing others.

Recruiting these parents will help secure the future of local participation because

they will inspire others to give it a go.

A good way to attract parents is to offer tailor made informal training through friendly

workshops with an experienced facilitator. The general subject could be “How to be

a parent rep on a working party” and the topics covered could be:

• being assertive (how to win friends and influence people)

• listening skills

• speaking up with confidence

• how to comfortably use personal experiences to illustrate a general problem

whilst protecting your own well being

• disability awareness (understanding the impact on families of physical, learning

and sensory impairments)

• reporting back to other parents

• meeting etiquette and conduct

These training days not only provide information and resources but are also a really

good way of building confidence in working together.


It is often valuable to use an external facilitator who is perceived as neutral and

independent. However, a presentation from a parent (How I overcame my fears and

became a rep) can inspire others.

Example:

Bury Parent Partnership Together Trust runs confidence and skill building courses

for parents of disabled children in children’s centres around Bury. Each course

consists of six sessions, each lasting two hours, with six to eight participants. The

sessions are: confidence and communication (aims, hopes and fears); having your

say (how to contribute constructively and listen to others); preparing for speaking at

meetings (different types of meetings); parents’ forum (what it is, how to use it and

future plans); personal development plans (individual skills audit and how to access

training); certificates and vouchers (evaluations, certificates for attending and high

street vouchers of your choice, future of group).

Acquiring More Skills as the Forum Grows

In some areas, parent forums are increasingly taking on information, consultation and

participation roles and tasks.

These include:

• writing newsletters

• developing websites

• research: questionnaires, telephone interviews, writing up reports

• training parents and training trainers to pass on skills

• fundraising

• equal opportunities

• employing your first paid worker

• sitting on interview panels for professional colleagues

• undertaking commissioned pieces of work

Again, it is worth checking among the wider membership for any trainers in these

topics. Local colleges and the NCVO offer courses on IT, writing, fundraising, and

employment.

Training Resources

There are some other very good ways of developing parents’ knowledge and skills:

• look out for local, regional and national conferences in your area. Parents can

often have free or reduced price places and it is a great way to keep up with


policy and new ideas. Make sure that the delegate reports back to the wider

forum so that everyone is up-to-date

• sign up to Interconnections Electronic Bulletin about children and young

people (0-25) with disabilities/special needs (see the resources section for

details). This is a free monthly bulletin that goes to over 10,000 people in all parts

of the UK and Ireland and then finds its way into many other networks and

countries. See http://www.icwhatsnew.com/bulletin/index.html

• Together for Disabled Children has a list of trainers who provide training on

parent participation see:

www.togetherfdc.org/Topics/OtherUsefulDocuments/Parentalparticipation.aspx

• Partners in Policymaking is a leadership training course for disabled adults and

parents of disabled children. Many parents have found this training inspirational

www.partnersinpolicymaking.co.uk

• The Face 2 Face foundation training course is carefully designed to help

befrienders handle different situations - to make sure they have the skills and

knowledge to support new parents. However, much of the material is very

relevant to those involved in parent and carer forums. Participants will understand

the range and variety of emotions around parents’ discovery of a child’s disability,

develop skills in self-awareness and communication and be aware of their own

capacity for empathy www.face2facenetwork.org.uk

• Early Support training has been designed to help local authorities and others

deliver training of the highest quality specifically to improve services for families.

The training is flexible and adaptable to meet the differing needs of participants,

be they parents and carers, practitioners or managers. It can be delivered in a

variety of settings, in a wide range of formats and in a flexible number of

sessions. Guidance on delivery, guidance for managers and support materials for

trainers and participants accompany every element of the training

Parents are welcomed on all Early Support training but the most relevant course

for parents and carers is the set of parents’ workshops, which are written by

parents for parents, and are always led by parent trainers. They follow the family’s

journey and a first step towards working with professionals both for your own child

and for others in your local area

Two of the courses are accredited - Working in Partnership through Early Support

and Supporting Children with Additional Needs and with Disabilities.

www.earlysupport.org.uk

Participation Training for Practitioners

Sometimes professionals need training to work with parents and carers forums.

Scope’s Strengthening Families training course is suitable for anyone who works with

or supports parents and families who have a disabled child or a child with additional


support needs. It aims to provide the basic skills to work empathically with families,

to support them through emotional times and help build stronger relationships within

the family. www.scopeorg.uk/early years/strengthening-families.php.

Some local areas have worked with parents to provide training for professionals in

participation.

Examples:

Bracknell Forest

The parent forum set up half-day training sessions for practitioners from health,

social care, SEN and voluntary organisations. The training was delivered by a parent

with experience of training, assisted by three other parents. Feedback showed that

the training fostered good working relationships and enabled both practitioners and

parents to understand each other’s perspectives.

Cornwall

Cornwall Parent and Carer Council has produced a DVD of examples of good and

poor practice around involving parents in meetings. The development of the DVD

involved a range of professionals in Cornwall including a number of commissioners,

as well as parents. As well as producing a training tool, the development of this piece

of work identified a number of barriers to effective participation and supported the

improvement of partnership and practice between all involved.