Ethos and Aims
Values Underpinning Parent Network Scotland
Parent support services are most effective when they are inclusive and encourage participation by:
- Removing barriers that prevent people accessing support
- Designing courses that are for anyone in a parenting role, irrespective of family
structure - many different people are involved in parenting - Recognising and valuing different experiences and cultures
- Recognising and valuing different learning styles
- Enabling the sharing and pooling of different ideas and experiences, using difference as a resource
- Recognising that parents and children are individuals and avoiding stereotyping and labelling
Parent support services are most effective when they empower individual parents by:
- Acknowledging the impact of external circumstances and validating parents'
experiences - Recognising that parents want to do their best for their children and building on their
strengths - Supporting parents to make choices and find solutions that work for them
- Having services delivered by people who have experience of parenting
At Parent Network Scotland we believe:
- Everyone needs help from time to time in their lives and parents are no exception to this. Seeking support is a sign of strength, not weakness
- Positive communication is about inner attitude as well as skills. Respect for self and others underpins self-esteem and healthy relationships
- Children and young people will benefit from enhanced communication and understanding in the family
Aims of Parent Network Scotland
- To help parents develop self-esteem and confidence in themselves as parents - and thereby to help children develop self-esteem and confidence
- To help parents develop their understanding of themselves and their children
- To enhance parent-child communication and support the parent-child relationship
- To provide safe settings in which parents can share experiences together and benefit from mutual support
- To provide the quality of support and learning that will enable parents to develop their own skills and strategies to deal with the issues they are facing in their families
- To create a learning environment that is supportive, inclusive, practical, stimulating and fun in order to achieve these aims
- To deliver content flexibly and tailor session plans to meet a wide range of needs
- To model the key skills and values in the delivery of Parents Together
