Parenting and skills for families

Suffolk Family Learning offer a wide range of courses for parents and carers.

Being a parent/carer and supporting children’s development and learning is one of the most rewarding and challenging jobs there is.  All these programmes give the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with others parents and carers in a friendly atmosphere.


Parenting Skills

Offers a wide range of taster workshops and courses for parents/ carers, these include:
Living with Children for parents/carers with children up to 11 years
Living with Teenagers for parents/carers with teenagers (12 - 18 years)
Assertiveness for Parents

Parenting Skills programmes give the chance to:
  • share experiences and views with others in a supportive and confidential group·
  • discuss ways of building positive relationships,
  • setting reasonable limits and boundaries and dealing with challenging behaviour·
  • explore ways to build children’s self esteem ·
  • learn new skills and build confidence

Family Learning

Offers a wide range of taster workshops and courses for parents/ carers these include:

Workshops
These are usually run as an introduction to the other courses, using various games and ideas and fun activities. They can range from 2 – 9 hours in length and can run over several weeks.

Living with Babies It provides essential information and ideas regarding baby health, feeding, sleeping and emergency aid to help parents ‘survive’ their first year.

Play and Language For parents/ carers of 0-3 yr olds from 2 hrs to 15 hrs. To support parents and carers of young children develop play and language skills.

Rhythm and Rhyme and Paper, Paint and Play for parents of children 2- 6 years old. These courses explore a variety of musical or creative arts-based activities to enhance relationships with children.

Early Start Baby Talk- 0-1/ Small Talk- 1-2/ Talk Together 2-3 yr olds
A 30-hour programme for parents/ carers of young children, looking at activities to support language development.

Playing with Language
A 30 hour/ 10 week course which aims towards parents with children up to the age of 6. Learn how to share activities with your child, listening and speaking skills and make various learning aids, e.g. Book or game. Work towards an Open College Network Certificate. Children join the class for some of the time.
 
Ready, Steady, Go The course is designed to help parents understand the Early Learning Goals using a variety of creative and sensorial experiences to engage the child.

Working Together
Again a 30-hour Open College Network Accredited course based over 10 weeks. For parents who want to help in a class. Placement in a class is a pre-requisite.

Family Literacy/ Numeracy
A longer course, involving parents and children learning together. Parents work towards a certificate, with a Family Learning tutor, while the children work with an Early Years teacher. Children and parents come together for joint activities.

Keeping Up With the Children
A 12 hour course spread over 6 weeks, giving parents experience of the way literacy/ numeracy are taught in school. Share ideas of ways in which you can support your child’s learning. Introduces new terms that your child will be using within school.

Family Finance Short courses exploring fun ways to look at the skills of family finance including budgeting, working out best buys, loans and savings accounts for your child.

Dad and Me is a course aimed specifically at engaging fathers in their children’s learning. Sessions often involve a creative or sporting element, e.g. printing, construction games, building a robot, cricket, football etc.

The courses are free.