Barnardos Launches Results of Parenting Programme Evaluation
Barnardos 12 November 2019: Barnardos children’s charity will today launch the positive results of an evaluation of its Partnership with Parents programme at their ‘Supporting Children, Supporting Parents’ Seminar. The programme has supported more than 2,200 families in Ireland to make positive changes in their lives. The children’s charity is calling for more funding for intensive family supports to be made available for those that need them.
Partnership with Parents (PwP) is an intensive, home-based, one-to-one parenting support programme for parents, developed by Barnardos. The programme aims to help parents make changes to their parenting, resulting in a positive outcome for their children.
The report evidenced a range of positive outcomes, corroborated by parents and children:
- Improved parent-child relationship
- Improved parent’s confidence and reduced anxiety
- Improved parent-child communication
- Increased parental understanding of, and ability to manage, their child’s behaviour
- Improved social development of the child
- Introduced consistent routines
- Increased parental involvement in the child’s education
- Increased parental ability to manage crises effectively
Barnardos CEO Suzanne Connolly said: “We have developed this programme over many years and are delighted to see that children and parents who avail of it see a real improvement in their lives. Changes for children were reflected in improved relationships between children and their parents, reduced levels of conflict, improved social interaction and improved routines.
“As a trauma-informed organisation, Barnardos understands the importance of supporting families to deal with crises and offer practical help when needed. The PwP programme is a prime example of how family support services can make a real and lasting impact on children’s lives. There is a need to prioritise funding towards programmes such as PwP that will intervene early and ensure that social problems do not become entrenched and more costly to address”.
A parent from Waterford said: “When you start off with Barnardos you know there are things that are broken. It’s like you are careening down a hill with no control and god knows what was going to hit when you hit the bottom, but now it’s like it’s given you back your brakes and you have your control back”.
Dr Pádraic Fleming – Barnardos Research & Policy Manager said: “Partnership with Parents is an individualised parenting support programme, delivered in the home – parents themselves recognised that this approach contributed to them achieving positive change.”
Dr Crispin Day – Head of the Centre for Parent and Child Support UK spoke at the Conference:“Partnership with Parents is a tremendous piece of work conducted by a talented and expert team at Barnardos. I congratulate them on their successful evaluation and the way that Partnership with Parents is already changing the lives of children and families”.
ENDS
Read the executive summary
Read the full report
‘Supporting Children, Supporting Parents’ Seminar details
For further information, please contact:
Barnardos Press Office: 01 7080442 / 086 0445966
Rachel Boyce; 01 7080443
Trudy McCarthy; 01 7080423
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