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Other Training

There is a range of well-established organisations that provide training for work with parents around their children’s learning. Some of these are included below.

The Pen Green Centre for Under Fives and Families provides training in working with families, with accreditation through Leicester University. It also delivers a Quality Assurance (QA) scheme on their approach to involving parents in their young children’s learning. The training programmes consist of an initial two days of training, project work in practitioners’ own settings and a further day’s training. All participants receive training materials and a video.

More information on working with families training is available from the Centre
Website: www.pengreen.org
Phone: 01536 443 435

PEEP (Peers Early Education Partnership) provides materials and a two-day training course. Aimed at practitioners who wish to develop their work with parents in relation to children’s learning (0–5 years), it also enables practitioners to become more familiar with the PEEP approach and material.

More information is available from PEEP
Website: www.peep.org.uk
Phone: 01865 395145

PAFT (Parents as First Teachers) offers a six-day training course for practitioners. This involves implementing and using the PAFT family support programme and material with parents and children (0–5 years).

More information is available from PAFT
Website: www.parentsasfirstteachers.org.uk
Phone: 01844 345847

Share at the Foundation Stage is a family-learning programme led by ContinYou. Share offers training for practitioners working with parents. It also offers a Foundation Stage pack. The pack contains suggested activities that parents can use at home to support their child’s development and learning through active experience and play.

More information is available from the Family Learning Team
Website: www.shareuk.org.uk
Phone: 024 7658 8440

Parenting UK developed the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Work with Parents, which were approved in April 2005 and updated in 2010. The NOS are statements of the skills, knowledge and understanding practitioners need to work effectively with parents in their wider parenting role, and are used to inform qualifications and training. You can read about the NOS on Parenting UK's website: www.parentinguk.org/2/standards

Parenting UK's Training page contains links to information on the Work with Parents awards which are mapped against the NOS and accredited by City and Guilds. There is also a directory of providers of the award.

Early Support – Working in Partnership
The Early Support programme and material helps families and practitioners to coordinate information and services for young children with disabilities or special educational needs. An accredited training course is also available to enhance partnership working. The course has three units, each supported by a day of training, distance learning, assessment activities and a tutorial. The content looks in depth at the Early Support approach to partnership, including key working. For managers who do not need accreditation there is also a two-day course on Working in Partnership.
More information on Early Support and Early Support training is available from the Department for Education

The Pre-School Learning Alliance offers a two-day Working with Fathers course. The course focuses on overcoming barriers to, and introduces strategies for, engaging with fathers. The second day takes place a month after the first - giving time for participants to develop a project for engaging with fathers in their work - which they will share with colleagues on that day.
More information is available from the PLA
Website: www.pre-school.org.uk/
Email: info@pre-school.org.uk 
Phone: 020 7697 2500

The Fatherhood Institute (formerly Fathers Direct) offers a range of courses to help agencies support fathers’ relationships with their children. These are delivered over one, two or three days in central locations. They can also be delivered in-house. The courses include Working with fathers in early years and children’s centres; Working with diverse fathers; Working with young fathers; Delivering father-inclusive parenting services. Some courses are accredited at NVQ Level 3.
More information is available from the Fatherhood Institute.
Website: www.fatherhoodinstitute.org
Phone: 0791 786 4130