Facilitators 1
Our approach embeds evidence-based practices in services, equips teams with solution-focused practice skills, reduces waiting lists, and improves parent engagement. The programmes create lasting, positive outcomes for families, communities, and services.
Since 1995, Parents Plus has developed eight programmes for services that adapt to diverse family needs. The programmes offer universal support for all families, preventative solutions for disadvantaged and at-risk families, and targeted interventions for high-need families facing complex challenges.
As a charity, all profits from training and materials are reinvested into developing new programmes to meet evolving family needs and sponsoring training and mentoring for services with limited-funding supporting high-need families.
After training, practitioners join our Community of Practice, where they receive ongoing mentoring and support with programme implementation and delivery as well as access to additional resources. We believe that continued support is key to successful programme delivery and achieving positive outcomes for children, young people, and families. The Parents Plus Community of Practice is highly-valued by practitioners once they train.
We collaborate with, train, and support a diverse range of professionals working with children, young people, and families.
Professor Alan Carr sits as a Research Advisor to Parents Plus. His research programme has focused on the evaluation of psychological interventions for a range of problems, including research on the Parents Plus programmes. He has produced over 20 volumes and 200 research papers and presentations in the areas of clinical psychology, family therapy and positive psychology.
“The work done to date by Parents Plus for Irish society and child and family mental health and well-being is extraordinary. It has transformed the lives of thousands of families and done this on a shoestring budget. When the charity first began, Irish mental health and social care services were using North American or Australian parent training programmes that were not tailored to the needs of Irish families, were designed for delivery by trainers with professional backgrounds, and were very expensive, meaning many services could not afford them. Parents Plus changed all this.
This remarkable organisation created a suite of affordable interventions designed to meet the unique needs of Irish families, that could be delivered by both professionals and paraprofessional community leaders. They developed partnerships with universities and evaluated the effectiveness of their programmes in Irish communities. Parents Plus programmes are evidence-based and research-informed. They are grounded in family-friendly, solution-focused, strengths-based practice.
Because the costs of training trainers to deliver Parents Plus programmes is considerably lower than non-Irish alternatives, these parent training programmes are more widely available to a range of services supporting families. In other countries such as the UK and the USA with better developed funding systems for psychological research, Parents Plus, would attract significant funding for theoretical groundwork, randomised controlled trials, and replications of these trials by other research teams. The absence of these supports in Ireland makes the achievements of Parents Plus all the more remarkable.”
“Parents Plus programmes have helped us to support families experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties. Parents have reported vast improvements in relationships with their children and in their own skills in parenting. Teachers have also observed corresponding improvements in the behaviours and social interactions of the children whose parents attend the Parents Plus course.”
Patrick Kinsella, Teacher, St. Peter’s Primary School, Wicklow
“The Parents Plus programmes are effective in providing parents with support and achieving the best outcomes. The training also provides knowledge and skills which are applicable to everyday practice, whilst the programmes are organised, and easy to run.”
Marguerite Lehane, Social Worker, H.S.E. CAMHS, Cork
“We had a waiting list of more than six months for young people waiting for counselling, and anxious parents also looking for support. Since running the Parents Plus Programmes our waiting list has reduced enormously and young people are discussing the improvements they feel at home, as they now feel supported and listened to.”
Niamh Kelly, Squashy Couch Adolescent Health and Information Project, Waterford
“We have observed first-hand the success of the Parents Plus for parents. Many parents had attended other parenting courses, and all of them felt Parents Plus was different and that they learnt so much more. A lot of other parents are keen to attend now due to these parents telling them of how Parents Plus has changed their lives.”
Rhonda Murphy, Manager, Chance For Change, N.I.
“Parents Plus training has enabled me to be a better teacher. I can now cater to the hidden needs of young people in an informed capacity. It also gives parents the tools to parent effectively, implement discipline at home and manage the many challenges of parenting teenagers. These practices are then reflected in how young people behave in school.”
Yvonne Kiely, Teacher, St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Rush
“Parents Plus makes sense to the parents who participate in the courses that I run. It is respectful to every member of the family and this is part of its success. Parents say they are less stressed and more relaxed with their families after attending the Parents Plus Children’s Programme. The techniques parents learn transform life at home.”
Marion Clarke, Community Development Worker, Ballyhoura Development CLG
“We see the evidence – The Parent Plus Early Years Programme has proven to be very successful and practical for the parents we work with and has become a valuable part of our multi-disciplinary team work. To watch parents believe in themselves again because of the Parents Plus Programmes is so powerful.”
Kathleen O’Hara, H.S.E. Early intervention Team, Mayo
“I’ve used the Adolescent Programme in my every day practice since attending the training. Before I became a Parenting Plus facilitator, I thought I had a good idea of what the best interventions to support families were. Since the training, and being part of implementing the courses in our region in the U.K., I have a more profound and deeper understanding of what it takes to support families to make changes in their life.”
Jon B. Churchill, Family Support Practitioner, Devon County Council, U.K.
Evidence based Parents Plus Healthy Families Programme to launch in Autumn 2020.
Sign up here to receive further information
“As Occupational Therapists we focus on ability rather than disability. Similarly the Parents Plus programmes use a strengths based approach to provide parents with strategies and resources to support their child with additional needs. A lot of the O.T. goals identified by families are centred around independence skills, routines and positive behaviour strategies. The Parents Plus Special Needs programme provides these strategies and resources to help families achieve their goals.”
Molly Fallon, Occupational Therapist, Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service, Dublin
“As a Public Health Nurse, I have facilitated Parents Plus programmes in community settings for the past four years. We have received very positive feedback from parents, and when meeting these parents at a later stage, they often report the programme having ‘changed their lives’. I offer the programme to all parents at their children’s developmental checks, and many report the positive feedback they have also received from their friends who have done the Parents Plus programmes.”
Noreen Gorman, Public Health Nurse, H.S.E., Wicklow
Evidence based Parents Plus Healthy Families Programme to launch in Autumn 2020.
Sign up here to receive further information
“Since training in Parents Plus we now have an excellent resource to reference during access visits to assist us in promoting positive relationships between parents and their children. We also run individual Parents Plus sessions for parents who want to improve and build confidence in their parenting skills. As a result, we have seen improvements in the quality of access visits and parents are more confident in their ability to parent their child in area’s such as discipline and play.”
Jacinta Doyle, Access Worker, TUSLA Contact Service
“The Parents Plus Training has by far had the biggest impact on the way I work as an SLT with children and parents. The biggest change has been learning to become solution focused to empower families to make long term positive changes.”
Ger Buckley, Speech and Language Therapist, H.S.E. CAMHS, Dublin
“Parents Plus programmes provide an evidence based, cost effective, systematic approach, which can be used to support children with a wide variety of issues and their families. When parents use these positive parenting tools, we can prevent issues such as anxiety, social phobia and depression, occurring in children. Moreover, this approach is one of the most helpful methods for many psychiatric conditions and preventing mental health disorders when used in community settings.”
Onur Burak Durson, Professor of Psychiatry, Ataturk University School of Medicine, Turkey
What you will learn
At the end of the 3-day training, you will have gained the skills and learning essential to achieving best outcomes for the families that you work with.
Your 3-day training will focus on
- Developing an in-depth understanding of the Children’s Programme
- Learning how to deliver the programme to groups and individual families, both face to face and in online sessions
- Opportunities to observe and practice the skills necessary to become an effective solution focused facilitator
- Building on parents already present strengths to become the basis for ongoing change
- Strengthening family, school and community partnerships
Training Schedule
17th June – Short Optional intro session (2- 3pm) ensure everyone is ready for training
22nd June – Goals, PPCP background, evidence base, structure of programme, getting started with delivery
25th June – Individual and groupwork skills, Face to face and online delivery
10th Sept – Engaging parents, getting groups started, family sessions, dealing with challenges
The days run from 9:30 to 4pm and are delivered online via Zoom with tea breaks and 1 hour lunch break. To enhance learning participants are invited to complete 1-2 hours study time between sessions.
The cost of the training is €490 per person, which includes follow up supervision. Please contact us if accessing finance is difficult and we will do our best to provide some financial assistance.
Parents Plus Children’s Programme – Training for professionals
It takes a village to raise a child. You can prepare the children that you work with for tomorrow by creating strong partnerships with their parents today
Through solution focused training in the evidence-based Parents Plus Children’s Programme, you will learn how to equip parents to effectively support their children’s learning and emotional well-being, as well as deal with behavioural and emotional problems.
In particular you will learn how to support parents to:
- Build their children’s self-esteem and confidence
- Encourage their children’s learning and school work
- Manage behaviour and emotional problems
- Establish positive daily routines
- Problem solve with their with children
- Develop connected and close family relationships
- Reduce their own stress as parents
The Children’s Programme is suitable for parents of children within the normal rage of development, as well as children with additional needs, such as ADHD, developmental delays and other difficulties.
Our Next training is Online across three days on 22nd and 25th June, and the 10th September Book Now
Who can be a Parents Plus facilitator?
Our evidence-based, Children’s programme is an effective tool for ALL professionals and managers who want to improve outcomes for primary school children. If you want to gain knowledge, in practical, evidence based, yet effective strategies to empower parents to change the future path for their children, then this training is for you.
A wide variety of education, mental health and community professionals already use this solution focused programme successfully, with impressive outcomes in a variety or Primary Care, School, Health, Disability and Mental Health settings
Note
- Attendance at the Parents Plus Trainings is compulsory for facilitators prior to delivering the programmes.
- Prior to accreditation, Parents Plus groups are to be co-facilitated. Therefore, at least two facilitators need to be trained before groups can be delivered in an agency.
- Prior to booking a training please read the full Parents Plus Licensing Guidelines.
Impact of the Children’s Programme
Studies in primary schools, mental health and disability settings have shown that families who complete the Children’s programme report
- Increased child positive social behaviour
- Reduced behaviour problems
- Reduced emotional problems
- Decreased parental stress
- Increased parental confidence
You can learn more about the success of Parents Plus programmes in school, community, disability and mental health settings here
Your comprehensive package of support
At Parents Plus our mission is to empower professionals, services and communities to positively change the futures of children and families with our evidence based programmes. Evidence shows that the best outcomes for families are achieved when managers and professionals are supported pre and post-training to deliver their first groups or individual sessions to families.
As a result, Parents Plus provides a comprehensive package of pre and post-training supports to professionals and managers who want to ensure a sustainable and effective delivery of the programmes within their agency.
These include:
- Implementation support to get groups off the ground, including planning workshops and coaching for managers
- Individual and Group Supervision Sessions with an experienced Parents Plus Trainer*
- Advanced training workshops on specific topics
- Extra resources to facilitate delivery, e.g. parent fliers, posters, certs, practice articles, parenting articles, extra handouts
- Support to promote and market your Parents Plus courses
- Advice and guidance on evaluating and monitoring outcomes in your agency so you ensure your groups are effective
You can access two individual supervision sessions completely free of charge in the first year post training.
Sponsorship for further supervision is available on application.
Full details of our comprehensive package of pre and post training supports are available here
Certification
Certification
Completing the three day Children’s Programme training will license you to co-deliver the programme under supervision in both group and one to one sessions with parents. See full licensing guidelines
Advanced Certification
For facilitators who want to take their practice to a higher level, Parents Plus also have an established accreditation process which supports facilitators to refine their facilitations skills and professional practice and reach a high standard of delivery. Representing a major CPD achievement, gaining accreditation allows professionals to deliver the programmes independently in a private capacity and to work towards becoming a Parents Plus Supervisor. See information on Accreditation here
Programme Materials
The Parents Plus Childrens Programme Training includes a comprehensive range of materials to ensure effective delivery of your groups.
- Two DVDs containing 2.5 hours of footage of 80 real and role-played scenes of family interactions, which are backed up by comments from professionals, parents and children.
- A comprehensive Facilitator’s Manual that contains the full text of the DVDs, extensive background information, a full guide on how to prepare and run each session of the course, including suggestions on how to structure group discussion and use role-play.
- Two parents booklets that contain all the handouts and worksheets for participants.
- The package also comes with an accompanying parents book, ‘Positive Parenting‘, by John Sharry and Carol Fitzpatrick, which contains extra chapters on tackling common childhood problems.
In running subsequent courses, additional parent books can be purchased at cost price by trained facilitators. Trained facilitators are also licensed to copy additional worksheets and handouts from parent books as needed.
Does your organisation want to host the Children’s Programme Training onsite?
Parent Plus also provide onsite training in organisations and communities both in Ireland and internationally. This is a cost effective way of training your team and also partnering with other agencies to deliver evidence-based programmes in your area.
If you would like to avail of onsite training within the convenience of your organisation, contact us to discuss training packages, by emailing
Change the future for families
become a solution focused facilitator and make this difference.
