"Influencing positive changes to local families lives"

I was lucky enough to become involved in a project last year 2018. This was a ten week course I attended at the Summer house children's centre in Sutton in Ashfield. 

The course involved some intensive training over a ten week period. The training was delivered by tutors who work for NCPF. The trainers are assigned by and organisation called EPEC national. The main purpose of the initiative is to teach a group of parent volunteers a package of work in order for these parent group facilitators to group up and go on to teach the 'being a parent' course within their local communities. This stretches over a period of eight to nine weeks.

The work is specifically to deliver evidence based parenting techniques to a broad range of parents. They learn and put to practice many behavioural strategies and healthy play ideas. They have a chance to reflect on their own childhood in going forward to themselves being 'good enough parents' for their own children. They also learn about managing their own stress levels and explore feelings of guilt when things go not so well . With the feeding in to the course of some self care pointers, positive reassurance from the course facilitators, the participants confidence begins to grow. And by the end of delivery, we see some vast improvements in parenting techniques and happier, more empowered parents heading off on their journeys to bring up into this world children who can play in a free, un-cloistered, none directive way, have a valued voice but to know their fundamental boundaries within the home and in the community.

On my completion of my training, I went on to co-deliver this course to a group of parents. We had excellent attendance and hands on participation. 

I thoughtfully enjoyed delivering the course and working alongside two fantastic colleges. We helped one another out, worked well as a team. We all bought our own parenting highs and lows to the table in order to make the parents feel that they are not the only ones that have to deal with toddler outbursts or challenging behaviour. And that there is never such thing as a 'perfect parent'. 

In working for this project, I feel on a personal level, I have gained a great deal from the experience of teaching in this style. I would never have thought I would be able to facilitate a course. The confidence I felt from delivering each session doubled each week. It was very life affirming to realise that other parents were actually listening to the evidence based techniques I taught them and going home putting into practice these new strategies. Admittedly some worked for some children, while some had to be tweaked to the individual child and their home circumstances. Having said that, knowing that I could be the one to make changes in the home was truly satisfying. Especially when parents practised poor discipline tactics pre -course.

Knowing that I could influence positive changes to local families lives made me feel well equipped and able to transfer the skills in to my dream job of being a midwife. 

Last year I failed in my group interview. I was shy, not assertive and let the other competitors over take me.

So I feel that teaching the being a parent package helped 100% with my recent interviews.

The general writing on flip charts, communicating with others effectively and taking leadership within a group situation most definitely helped me in my four interviews for university this last month. Most importantly secured me places at three of these universities. My passion for parents and families shone through during interview and I was so much more fiesty and took control this year during the assessed group exercises. I can't thank EPEC enough for helping  empowering me,  and opening the door to this wonderful opportunity of becoming a student midwife. Thank you so much. A special tribute to my Epec hub co-ordinator Lindsey (you got me through my difficulties). And Andy for help in the early days and accepting me for the role.