Legal News
England Offers Free Parenting Classes (20 October 2011)
Date: 20/10/2011
It has been announced that parents in England with children aged five years or younger are to be offered free parenting classes. The classes will cater to all parents, not just those struggling to raise their children. Around 50,000 Middlesbrough, High Peak, and Camden parents will be offered vouchers to claim places on the classes from mid-2012. Labour has criticised the Government for making financial cuts to the children's programme that it had previously set up.
The classes, to be taught by parenting experts, are expected to cover communication and listening skills, teamwork, managing conflict, and “strengthening positive relationships in the family”. The classes will also focus on discipline, with “firm, fair and consistent approaches” being encouraged and the importance of setting “boundaries” for children emphasised.
Children’s Minister, Sarah Teather, claims that the classes will help to abolish the stigma parents may face when asking for help. The trial of the classes is expected to run for two years and its impact will be tracked. It is hoped that the classes will lead a greater number of parents seeking help and advice.
The Government claims that the finer details of the project have not been finalised but it is thought that vouchers for classes will be distributed through a variety of routes. Miss Teather added that overwhelming evidence suggests that a child's early development is the biggest factor in influencing their future life chances, health, and education attainment.
Duncan Lewis’ child care law department comprises an expert team of experienced child care law solicitors, trainee solicitors, and paralegals. Between them, they specialise in all aspects of child care law.