News

Welcome to the new-look Newsletter.  It has been a while since we have had any input into the news section but we are really happy to be back.  There have been so many changes over the past 2 1/2 years with staff moving on and the office re-locating to Glasgow, so bare with us and we will bring you up to date with our whistle-stop tour of the new look PNS.

First of all a very long-overdue thanks to all past staff and board.  It was due to their hard work and determination that we are still here today…so thanks a million.  We did hassle Alison (administrative officer) for a while but she finally cut us loose to make our way with the techy stuff.  It was an anxious time for us all but we stuck in and have now ended up in a very successful position in the field of parenting and gaining many more successes along the way.

We have been in Glasgow now for just over 2 1/2 years and have a very strong and dedicated board, totally committed to the ethos of PNS.  They all have experience of PNS and training as well as a huge knowledge of funding which is invaluable in the current climate.

We have also had many developments over these 2 1/2 years which have been very exciting so I will let you know what has been happening.

Jan 2008 – arrived in Glasgow to a lovely (cold) office in Cranworth St, West End.  We were able to bring all of our important work from Edinburgh and start linking in with new networks.  I carried out many presentations throughout this time and made many new contacts, some of whom bought in the services of PNS and were very impressed by the impact it made on the families.

The first half of the year was dedicated to funding applications. We were successful in  applications to the Robertson Trust and the City of Glasgow Area budgets. The ongoing funding from the Scottish Government helped us with our core work and provided the resources to deliver courses and employ our part time admin.  We were then very lucky to secure contracts with Moray Council, Save the Children, Inverclyde Community Learning and Development and many more.

Next Step – Lottery Application.  A huge piece of work was carried out by the staff and board for the application which enabled us to carry out our external evaluation (this can be found on our website www.parentnetworkscotland.org.uk) and develop a business plan.  Unfortunately we were unsuccessful in other applications but learned lots from the process.

Jan 09 - On the move again.  Having found the office in Cranworth St a little small we decided it was time to move.  We were very lucky to obtain premises in Maryhill Community Centre – the Jannies Hoose! And also in the process acquired great neighbours to share the premises with.  We moved in with Homestart North West and a happy house was had!

Things are really picking up now with courses running in Moray, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverclyde.  Also many enquires about our facilitator training!

With an invitation to attend the Early Years Conference in Edinburgh and deliver a presentation on our project we set off with huge excitement.  The presentation was a great success and one of our parents (Frank Pringle) delivered a very heartwarming and funny speech.  Good enough to be contacted by Adam Ingram (Minister for Early Years) who invited himself along to see exactly what we were up to and how we could develop.  Mr. Ingram attended out 10^th anniversary and was very impressed by our approach to parenting.

We also received more enquires about our facilitator training and secure 2 contracts to deliver it in Fort William and Shetland.

These were substantial pieces of work and resulted in 18 new facilitators being trained. Along with 4 in Glasgow and our original 8…a thriving organisation to say the least.!!!

Once again this brings us back to funding and we are embarking on our new funding strategy for the next 3 years.  We were successful in receiving funding from the Hugh Fraser Foundation and the Network for Social Change.  A real relief for us, as it lets us secure our admin support for the next year. We are also confident that we will secure funding to train around 10 parents to become our new pool of parent link workers.  We are also in the process of training a further 8 facilitators in East Renfrewshire to keep  PNS courses reaching communities.

We hope that our newsletters will keep you up to date and inspire you to keep in contact with us and support us in our developments. We are also looking forward to delivering our courses throughout Scotland and looking at new and innovative ways of supporting parents and enabling them to support each other.