parenting

Values, parenting and professional roles

All of us who work with families carry into our work a whole set of beliefs and values about family life and how children should be cared for. This learning object is designed to make you aware of these personal values and how they might impact on your practice. This learning object explores the way that personal values can effect the way you deal with families and seeks to help make practitioners aware of the impact and implications that this can have. You will be asked to capture your initial thoughts relating to 3 case study images depicting different aspects of family life.

How can your agency support you in accessing and using knowledge to be poverty aware?

It is now increasingly understood that there are different types of knowledge, all of which contribute to the ability of members of the children's workforce to do their jobs well. Understanding the types of knowledge that are available, and having access to this knowledge is an important aspect for anybody who is working with families that are living in poverty.

Building character

Report of a research project which studied the development of character capabilities contributing to life chances and the factors influencing their development. It concludes that the early years are the critical years in this regard and that parents are, consequently, the principal character builders in society.

Parental mental health : messages from research, policy and practice

This review focuses on one particular aspect of parenting and family life. It is about children living in families where a parent has mental health problems. The aim of this review is to identify – from a range of publications – sources and messages that might help practitioners and managers improve their understanding of the circumstances of children and families living with parental mental health problems, and find responses that have the potential for achieving positive change.

National care standards: foster care and family placement

These standards were developed to improve the quality of care and service for those in foster care. The standards cover the following activities: recruiting, selecting, approving, training and supporting foster carers; matching children and young people with foster carers; supporting and monitoring foster carers; and the work of agency fostering panels and other approval panels. The standards do not apply to the services provided directly by foster carers themselves.

Safeguarding children in whom illness is induced or fabricated by carers with parenting responsibilities : supplementary guidance to 'Working Together to Safeguard Children'

This document is based on Working Together to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (Department of Health et al, 1999). Working Together sets out how all agencies and professionals should work together to safeguard and promote children’s welfare.

Safeguarding children in whom illness is fabricated or induced

This document is based on two resources: Working Together to Safeguard Children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children; and the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families. Working Together sets out how all agencies and professionals should work together to safeguard and promote children’s welfare and the Assessment Framework outlines a framework for use by all those who work with children and families determining whether a child is in need under the Children Act 1989 and deciding how best to provide help.