Sutton Council: Universal parenting service

Sutton Council's family hubs have a universal parenting service that has been developed for parents by parents. The programmes are facilitated by trained parent group leaders and have been incorporated into the wider parenting support offer of the family hubs. 

Since the introduction of the service in 2022 the council has seen a reduction in referrals to the front door through early intervention. Families have been supported to access a range of services earlier to get the support they need. All families self- refer to the programmes meaning that the completion rate is over 85 per cent for all courses. Taking an organic and parent led approach has meant the borough is normalising asking for help and reducing the stigma of getting support from services before they reach statutory services. The service is also developing resilience in services by facilitating groups of volunteers to engage with more vulnerable groups of the community and create pathways to employment for our volunteers. 

In 2020, extensive engagement with local parents highlighted three key themes: the need for more bespoke support around parenting, better access to universal services through children’s centres and earlier support and intervention for families with emerging complex needs. In 2021 there was no Local Authority co-ordinated parenting programmes. There was a stigma to attending parenting programmes as these were often mandated as part of a wider multi agency plan. Referrals to the front door (Children’s First Contact Centre, CFCS) were increasing as well as demand for other targeted services.  Following the pandemic there was a significant increase in poor parental mental health. Families reported that there were multiple and complex pathways to getting support and they didn't always know where to turn to. Targeted early help services also saw a big increase in demand which resulted in families having to wait to receive support. 

A new parenting model was jointly invested in by public health, South West London ICP and children’s social care, which started in December 2021, when roles were fully established. The primary evidence-based parenting programmes chosen to deliver in Sutton were; Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities (EPEC), and Circle of Security Parenting (COSP). Both programmes have an evidence base that has been independently verified by the Early Intervention Foundation.  The programme offer was also complimented by offering other shorter courses where licences were already held (care for the family) alongside an comprehensive online offer through Solihull Approach and One Plus One reducing parental conflict online training. 
 

EPEC focusing on the importance of Peer support. In 2022 first training of Parent Group Leaders (PGL’s) took place, under supervision and they began facilitating  the programmes across the borough as well as supporting  regular drop-ins for parents to grow peer support networks alongside staff from the family hubs. In the second year additional funding was sought to expand the service so that additional support could be offered for families with children with Autism.
 

In the past 12 Months the local area has seen a reduction in the number of cases being referred to CFCS.  The stigma of asking for support has been reduced, as parents can now access the course through self-referral rather than having to ask a professional, as was the case previously. The service has now become an integral part of the wider family hub and children’s centre offer. The service has received excellent feedback and is co-delivered with local parents which significantly builds community resilience. 

“Prior to this course (Time out for Dad's programme), I was at a very low point in my life. I felt like all else had failed. I had failed. I failed at being the most important role as a father. I felt that I didn’t matter...However I can truly say that thanks to both of you being so friendly, kind and non-judgemental, you made it easy for me to come back to sessions each week. On top of all the lessons and skills I have learnt, I can say that with the help of you both, I have reconnected with my daughter and I’m fighting to stay in her life and play a positive role in her life.” 

Parent feedback from Time out for Dad's Programme

I liked the fact that the course was run by parent volunteers. It made me think that if they can do this, so can I with the right training".

A Parent who attended Being a Parent.

The parenting service has been in operation for just over 2 years in Sutton is on track to support 600 parents with an in-person parenting course by April 2025, with another 500 parents accessing an online offer.  The core team currently comprises a parenting Coordinator, a parenting worker and a part-time administrator who are supported by volunteer Parent Group Leaders who are trained and supervised by the Coordinator.  Further Volunteers have been recruited and are just starting to facilitate programmes. 

The service is flexible and responds to the needs of families and chooses the location of where the courses are offered, based upon the demand of residents. This has seen higher engagement for families living in lower socio economic groups. The majority of trained Parent Group Leaders also come from those same areas. The courses are offered at different times, including in the evening, which has led to a 21% increase in the number of fathers and male carers attending. In 2023/24, 46% of attendees came from a non-white British background, which is reflective of the borough population.

The strength of the Programmes is that most are facilitated by parent group leaders who have been trained to facilitate the programme. Parents report they like the peer-to-peer support and the value of lived experience being shared as part of the programmes. This has also created a pathway to employment for parents. One volunteer has already been employed as a Parent support worker and continued training and support is developing the skills of other parent volunteers.  We have recently secured further funding and have now recruited two more volunteers into part time positions who can support the newest Parent Group Leader Volunteers, meaning the service will be able to increase the number of programmes available. 

A critical part of the parenting programme model in Sutton is the additional support that parents can access through the support of the parenting team and Family Hub Connectors at the coffee advice and information sessions. These run bi monthly alongside parenting programmes, plus additional groups and a specific Male Carers evening group. Guest speakers are regularly invited to attend and speak to parents and carers from a range of public and voluntary sector agencies. These Advice and information sessions have seen over 470 referrals to other agencies, prior to statutory support being required. Referrals have been made to welfare reform teams, Foodbanks, Sutton Information, Advice and Support Service (SIASS), Inclusion Services, Baby Banks, and others. 

The Service was approached by the local Men’s Prison to offer parenting groups.  This has also led to the service running a Dad’s Parenting Programme in the local prison on a regular basis with positive outcomes reported by the prisoners and their families. 

Fathers have reported being able to better maintain their relationships with their children and understand the impact of them being a positive role model in their children’s lives.  As a result of the programme the prisoners stated they wanted a safe space to continue to discuss their role as a father and to revisit the themes from the programme.  We now offer a Monthly Men’s voices program supporting the prisoners to maintain relationships with their children and have facilitated materials around reducing parental conflict and managing emotions work.  The feedback from the men is they really value time, to ‘feel normal’ and be able to express their emotions in a supportive space.  The prison has allowed one of the first prisoners to attend a programme to become a volunteer co-facilitator working alongside our staff to offer the programmes. 

The service has been developed gaining funding streams from multiple sources which includes public health funding, children’s social care, education and the ICB. There has been extensive engagement with strategic leaders which has enabled all contributors to see the value in having a universal offer to families. Parents and volunteers have spoken at committee meetings, national conferences and strategic boards to share their personal stories of the impact of the programme. 

• Do not rush, it takes time to recruit and train volunteers to a level they feel supported and confident to run a programme on their own.
• Do not grow the service before you are ready- plan in routes to employment for volunteers.
• Ensure they have good supervision and support, build a network so they can support each other.
• Integrate volunteers into the wider team.
• Be flexible - adapt what you do based on feedback.
• Think about when, where and who the courses are being offered too.
• Be brave, take a risk and learn from it.
• Partnership approach is key - share the vision, work together to recruit parents and volunteers and co-deliver and fund services.