Facilitator Q&A
In this forum, we include questions that have been suggested and answered by Parents Plus facilitators, supervisors and trainers. If you would like to suggest a topic for discussion please submit it here.
Does behaviour management work with teenagers with intellectual disability?
Question: “As a professional working in a disability service, I am concerned as to how some parents with a teenager with a intellectual disability apply behaviour management principles, many of whom have attended a Parent Plus Programme. One such example is where a parent of a teen with intellectual disabilities who is non verbal […]
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Parents Plus Accredited Facilitators Survey
We have designed a short survey for PP Accredited Facilitators to help us get an update on where you are with running the Parents Plus programmes in your agency. Our goal is to consult with experienced PP facilitators, so that your ideas and feedback can help shape the work of Parents Plus. You can […]
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Child Protection and Welfare issues when running a group
Question: “In the group this week a mother became very upset and shared that she shouts at her children regularly and they appear frightened by her extreme emotion. She feels that this could have long-term effects on them and asked if we (the facilitators) thought they were being emotionally abused by her”. Answer: When running […]
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Peer Learning – Engaging Parents from the Traveller Community
As part of a roll-out of the Parents Plus Children’s Programmes with a cluster of ten primary schools and community services in Ballyfermot, Home School Liaison Teacher Anne Marie McGovern, facilitated groups with Traveller Parents and describes her experience here. Her account contains a number of practical tips for engaging and including parents who might be marginalised […]
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Can parents be charged to attend a Parents Plus Group?
Facilitator Best Practice Question: “Can parents be charged to attend a Parents Plus Group? We work in a small community service and have expenses when we run the Parents Plus Groups such as venue hire, and refreshments. Do you recommend that we charge parents a small fee to cover these?” Answer: “One of the strengths of […]
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Should parents whose children are not currently living with them attend a Parents Plus group?
Facilitator Best Practice Question: “Should parents whose children are not currently living them attend a parents plus group? For example, we often get parents whose children are in care referred to our Parents Plus Children’s Programme and also parents (usually fathers) to our Parenting When Separated group who don’t currently have access to their children. […]
Hi Angela, the criteria for attendance at a PP group is the parent having a meaningful client-centred goal that the group could help them with. I would explore with the parent, what they are hoping from attending? How do they think the group could help them in their circumstances? These are the questions that should be explored in the screening via the PWS quality questionnaires. Once the parent articulates at least 1 goal, that the course can help them with, then they can attend. In this instance the parent may want to understand what her child might be going through or to think how they can have indirect contact with child ( via cards, being available to them when they are older) or a personal goal about their own learning. You would need to warn them that they are likely to be in a minority in the group (likely only person) not having access with child and explore whether this would be a problem or whether there are better means to achieve their goals
I have a parent on parenting when separated course who has no access to her child but wants it and who does not want contact with her ex partner. Can we still offer her something worthwhile on this course?
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What to do when parents have little/no contact with their children?
Facilitator Best Practice Question: “I just had a query in relation to parental participation on the Children’s Programme. The next parenting programme we are rolling out is due to begin soon and we have a had a number of parents interested in taking part who have little/ no contact at present with their children due […]
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Using the Parents Plus DVDs when running a group.
Facilitator Best Practice Question: “When showing the some of the Parents Plus DVDS, in my last group, one of the parents said she thought the scenes were too idealistic and not relevant to the behaviour she was dealing with. I was a bit thrown and found this hard to deal with in the group”. Answer: “It […]
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How best to handle the Review of the Week section when running a Parents Plus Group?
Facilitator Best Practice Question: “When running our Parents Plus group, we often find the Review of the Week goes on for much longer than planned. Generally the reason is that we gets loads of specific issues raised by the parents such as getting children to bed on time, mealtime battles etc and we want to […]
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If a parent has no contact whatsoever with their child’s other parent, can they still attend the Parenting When Separated Course?
Parents Plus Facilitators Best Practice Question: “I am planning to run a Parenting When Separated programme and have five parents signed up for the course. Many have previously completed the Early Years programme with me previously. I have three parents signed up who co-parent separately and have two parents signed up who have no […]
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I think it's best if the courses can be offered to parents for free or for a very small nominal cost if at all possible in the service.