Introduction

In Somerset, there is a range of parenting support programmes delivered by different practitioners and offered at different times in a child’s life from toddlers to teens.

As part of the Healthy Child Programme, parents can get six visits from a health visitor, which take place at key developmental stages before a child starts school. Health visitors are trained in delivering parenting support programmes and during their visits will provide advice to parents individually.

More information about accessing Health Visitors

The Health Visiting team can offer Emotion Coaching sessions and behavioural support management on an individual basis.

In some cases, parents may find it helpful to attend a parenting course to help them work through particular issues they may be experiencing. These programmes can be seen as a chance to try out different ways to help strengthen the relationship between parent and child and work through some of the challenges that many parents face. As well as health visitors, parenting programmes are delivered by Parent and Family Support Advisors based in schools. Parents can choose to have support individually or as part of a group.

The programmes we offer

Tuning into Kids and Tuning into Teens

Tuning into Kids is an evidence-based parenting programme that focuses on the emotional connection between parents and children. In particular, the programme teaches parents skills in emotion coaching, which is to recognise, understand and respond to children’s emotions in an accepting, supportive way. This approach helps the child to understand and manage their emotions. The programme has been shown to improve parenting, parent-child relationships and children’s emotional competence and behaviour. The programme has been particularly effective with children with clinical-level emotional and behavioural difficulties. The ‘teens’ version is suitable for families with teenage children.

Tuning into Kids and Tuning into Teens are offered by some Parent and Family Support Advisors, who can be contacted through your child’s school, and Home-Start West Somerset.

Solihull Approach

The Solihull Approach is a 10-week parenting group for parents with children aged 0 to 18 years. It is based on the Solihull Approach model that looks at how your child develops, understanding how your child is feeling, tuning into what your child needs, responding to how your child is feeling, different styles of parenting and developing good ways of communicating with your child.

Solihull Approach is offered by Health Visitors in Somerset

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) webinar for parents and carers

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) webinar is designed for parents and carers who want to prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) or support their child(ren) to heal from previous adversity. It has been developed by the Educational Psychology Service in collaboration with the Somerset Parent Carer Forum as part of a Public Health project. This project aims to raise awareness of ACEs, and provide adults with strategies they can use to support our children and young people to become resilient and healthy adults.

WISE Up Workshops

Workshops for Information, Support and Education (WISE). Empowering parent carers to succeed

Being a parent carer of a child or young person with additional needs can bring extra situations which are challenging to know how to handle. To help support parent carers navigate these Somerset Parent Carer Forum have created a range of workshops based on the subjects you have said would be helpful.

The workshop will have two main parts.

  • Part 1 will provide information and ideas of things you can try (strategies).
  • Part 2 will give you time to discuss your own circumstances and form a plan of what you can try to help.

Alongside this we will also have a range of information workshops both face to face and online.  Find out more including dates and topics at Somerset Parent Carer Forum.

Last updated: April 25, 2024

Next review due: October 25, 2024

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