Being trained to be a better parent

A total of 42 parents from a number of children’s centres in the town have completed the first Blackpool Better Start ‘Being a Parent’ initiative.

The course has been delivered by trained parents from London to Blackpool parents, as part of a community-based programme called EPEC – Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities.

The nine-week course helps parents learn practical communication skills for everyday life to help bring up confident, happy and co-operative children.

Merle Davies, director of the Centre for Early Child Development, said: “This parenting course is pretty groundbreaking as it is delivered by parents to parents.

“Research suggests that parents find it less stigmatising and more supportive to attend parenting groups run by local people.

“The Blackpool parents who have completed this course will now have the opportunity to become a trainer themselves and will be able to deliver the same parenting course to members of their own community.”

The scheme has been brought to Blackpool as it reinforces the ‘Better Start’ ethos of giving people the skills to support each other in their community.

Ms Davies added: “We believe that by delivering this course in the community, we will increase engagement of families with our services, increase confidence in delivering positive parenting practices and improve school readiness by supporting parents with their parenting.”

For anyone interested in taking part, the next course will be available in the autumn.