At Parents Plus, we recognise that post-training support, both through individual coaching and Community of Practice sessions, plays a key role in the quality delivery of programmes and outcomes for families. Ensuring that professionals are supported after training with us has four key benefits:
- Professional Development
- Increased quality of delivery comes with experience and reflective practice. Parents Plus mentors can support the development of your key facilitation skills which are so vital to the success of your groups.
- Parents Plus mentors model important techniques as well as a solution-focussed and strengths-based approach which are the foundations for engaging parents and meeting their needs.
- Facilitators have the ongoing opportunity to deepen their understanding of the Parents Plus model and how it can support your agency’s client base.
- Peer support and networking are a valued element of our post-training support. Online Community of Practice sessions offer facilitators the chance to engage with colleagues from a variety of settings. You can hear of their experiences of delivery, what their challenges are and how they overcome them, as well as getting ideas and inspiration about issues like recruitment or engaging parents.
- A great way to advance your facilitation skills and take your practice to the next level is to engage in the Parents Plus Accreditation Process, which provides lots of supportive guidance to build your confidence and skill set.
- Increase Your Confidence in Delivery
- Our mentors offer a chance to trouble-shoot, explore concerns and identify solutions. We understand that facilitating groups can be a daunting experience. There is lots of support, advice and guidance available to you.
- Fidelity to the Parents Plus Quality Protocol
- Coaching and Community of Practice sessions are opportunities for practitioners to revisit the central concepts, session structure and supporting documentation of our programmes. Our Quality Protocol offers a framework to deliver in a quality and evidence based way ensuring parents get the full benefit of what’s been proven to work.
- Small adaptations of programmes are sometimes helpful for cultural or contextual fit. Our experienced mentors can support you in meeting the needs of your parents whilst retaining the necessary evidence-based features.
- Inspire and Motivate!
- Facilitators who receive post-training support from Parents Plus report that they feel motivated to get their next group off the ground. Hearing from peers and mentors and revisiting the key programme components and skills can reinvigorate practitioners to get planning and delivering, which is what our supports are all about!
Whether you’ve been delivering programmes regularly or would like to refresh your knowledge, our post-training supports can add so much value to your practice. We look forward to seeing you soon.
How individual coaching can support your programme delivery
An important part of all Parents Plus training packages is a one-hour coaching session for a facilitating pair. Training is the first important step towards becoming a confident and effective facilitator. However, we understand you may face challenges to getting your groups up and running. We are here to help you make that leap!
Practitioners may wish to avail of individual coaching sessions for a wide variety of reasons. For example, you might be;
- planning a group or are not quite sure where to start,
- concerned about recruitment or group dynamics,
- experiencing challenges meeting the needs of their group,
- wondering how best to manage time during sessions,
- thinking about ‘tweaking’ the programme to fit their parents’ needs.
For facilitators who may have trained but not delivered in a while, the sessions can refresh the key ideas and offer a boost of confidence! Coaching sessions are informal, supportive and flexible, and will prioritise your particular needs.
For more information or to request a coaching session contact karin@parentsplus.ie. We will be happy to hear from you.