Parent Network started in London in 1986 and began working in Scotland in 1991. In 1999 we became independent when Parent Network joined our sister organisation Parentline Plus. Despite maintaining close links, we established ourselves as a Scottish charity and limited company. We are supported by the Scottish Executive and The Big Lottery Fund, as well as a range of statutory and voluntary agencies who purchase our services.
- 1986 - Parent Network is set up in London.
- 1990 - The first Parent Network courses are run in Scotland.
- 1991 - The first Scottish facilitators are trained.
- 1994 - The newly forming Scottish Branch runs its first facilitator training course.
- 1996 - The Scottish Branch is formalised when a committee is elected at an AGM.
- 1997 - The Scottish Branch raises funds to open an office in Edinburgh and employ an administrator.
- 1999 - The National Office reaches a funding crisis and amalgamates to become ParentlinePlus.
- 2000 - The Scottish Branch decides to remain independent and is launched as a separate charity and limited company: Parent Network Scotland (PNS).
- 2002 - The Developing Links project is launched to set up partnerships with agencies in order to meet the needs of more vulnerable parents.
- 2003 - Extra courses are added to meet the needs of different groups of parents and children at different ages.
- 2004 - PNS is awarded a Big Lottery grant that will allow us to expand over the next 3 years, offering more courses to a wider range of parents. Project Manager is recruited.
- 2005 - Two Development Officers and Support Officer Recruited. An extra 7 new parenting programmes are bought from Parentline Plus.
What We Do
Our core work is delivering courses and workshops in parenting skills to parents and professionals. Our courses are informal, practical and participative. We encourage parents to recognise and celebrate their existing skills, as well as developing new strategies for the future. In addition we:
- Provide information and other resources to parents and professionals.
- Work in partnership with voluntary and statutory agencies to support and educate families.
- Use our experience to develop and inform national and local policies on family issues.
What We Stand For
Our vision is of a Scotland where family relationships are rich in mutual trust and respect, between children, parents and carers.
Our mission, as a parent led organisation, is to improve family relationships for parents, carers and children. We do this by offering support in changing patterns of behaviour and dealing more positively with the challenges of family life.
Our values include respect for others, openness and honesty and maintaining high quality in all we do.
Staff
Throughout Scotland, our network of trained Facilitators lead our courses and advise parents on setting up local support groups. They are supported by a national staff team with a Head Office in Edinburgh. This team co-ordinates, trains and supports facilitators and ensures that all our courses are quality assured. They also work to constantly develop and promote the work of Parent Network Scotland.
Heather Gordon is our Project Manager with overall responsibility for overseeing our plans to develop links with agencies to offer more courses to those parents most in need.
We also have two Development Officers, Sue Kennelly and Mary McConnell and our Support Officer, Alison Thomson.
We currently have 20 course Facilitators throughout Scotland with plans for more to be trained this year.
Board
Read the profiles of our Directors.
Annual Report
View our latest Annual Report: - 2004 - 2005
