Parentis is a non-profit making organization committed to providing excellent quality parenting courses for parents and carers in Medway. The project is led by Sunlight Development Trust in partnership with the local authority, NHS and the voluntary and community sectors. It is currently funded by the Big Lottery Fund and Children’s Fund Medway.

Now in its second year of development, Parentis has trained over 40 course leaders (facilitators) and delivered courses to hundreds of parents and carers in Medway. More than 94% of parents said that the parenting course had helped them, with over 88% reporting that child behaviour had improved. All parents felt that Parentis group leaders were proficient. Approximately 15% of course attendees have been fathers and we are actively seeking to increase this number!

Ethos

Our ethos is all about empowering parents – that is, working with and alongside parents, to help them find their own solutions to everyday parenting issues. We do this by recognizing that parents know their children best – we do not give direct advice or instruct parents about what to do. Instead, parents and carers discuss and exchange ideas about what works for them, facilitated by specifically trained group leaders who help to steer discussions within a framework of weekly topics.

Facilitators

Course leaders are specifically trained to national occupational standards for working with parents, and as such, understand that help and support often comes through talking to other parents. All Parentis courses are therefore structured so that parents are, first and foremost, able to share their own ideas and experiences with other parents. The facilitators have developed and use a range of practical and fun activities to generate discussion around the weekly themes in the course book, published by The Family Caring Trust, which parents are encouraged to use at home.

Parental Involvement

We welcome and actively seek the involvement of parents within the local community. Parents and carers who have benefited from our programmes often feel they want to ‘give something back.’ A number of parents are currently involved in our voluntary ‘Community Ambassador’ programme – offering a few hours of their time to promote Parentis courses in the local community. We also offer parents and carers who have completed one or more of our parenting courses, opportunities for training to facilitate parenting courses for other parents.

© 2008 Sunlight Development Trust