Blogs

Its been nearly 2 months since I took over as Project Manager, and in that time a new government has been elected. Times are changing, and if charities are to survive then new directions, forward thinking, vision and even risk taking will become the order of the day. Uncertainty seems to be the word on everyones lips, and reliance on Local Authority commissions will be a thing of the past, but I firmly believe that the determination and dedication of the Fathers Plus team will lead this organisation onto bigger and better things.

Thanks to everyone who helped make the Including Men in Schools Conference on 14th June 2010 such a great day.

It’s been a busy month for me and the trainers at Fathers Plus. We’ve been working in Newcastle, Northumberland, Sunderland, Lancaster, Leeds, Nottingham and Carlisle.

Here’s what some of the people on our courses said about them:

“I thought the day was fun, informative, helpful and relevant and the instructors were great!”

“Excellent content and very well presented.”

“Lots of really practical ideas.”

“Training was excellent, very warm and inviting, informative and productive.”

I was in Leeds last week delivering a seminar to students who are in their last year of university training to be teachers. Their lecturer Carol Potter, has developed an eight week module in their course which focuses on the importance of including fathers and men in their practice.

The Family Man schools project is going really well and I’m delighted how it has been embraced by local dads and male carers especially in Sunderland.

Each session we usually have about 15 dads book to come along and enjoy a fun day in school, but to Diamond Hall infant’s School in Sunderland’s surprise, they had 90 men sign up for their session!

Looking forward to the BBC4 Season on fatherhood.

A century of fatherhood, the biology of dads and disappearing dads are some of the programmes scheduled. Wonder what they will have to say about some of the issues we face every day - such as trying to ensure that dads as well as mums are supported in their roles as care givers by family services.

From the historical perspective this ties in nicely with the Family Man through the Ages programme developed by Fathers Plus and the NE Museums Hub.

From the BBC4 website - follow the link below to find out more.

Great to see some of the work of the Dads Transitions Programme in County Durham getting recognition by the BBC. You can follow the link to watch the video.

The project has been running for two years and has supported dads, granddads and other carers to get involved in their children's learning at school.

The children and the dads are enjoying it and teaching staff at the school are noticing a positive difference in the children.

Thanks to Chantalle Edmunds at BBC Tees for this piece.

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It has been a busy month since I ‘retired’ from my role of Head of Service for Fathers Plus and I have come across some interesting people, practices and information.

In February I was the morning keynote speaker at the Pre School Learning Alliance conference ‘Fathers Matter – valuing and developing a father friendly approach’. About 80 people attended and I was very impressed by the ‘can do’ attitude the delegates had. There is some very interesting work taking place in Luton, particularly on the issue of engaging fathers and male carers from diverse ethnic groups onto parenting programmes. If you would like to know more about this the person to contact is Shahan Miah.

On the 27th January we held the Fathers Plus conference Involving Men in Children's Learning: Evidence from Successful Practice at the Radisson Hotel in Durham. Over 100 people attended and engaged in a day of lively debate, sharing of learning and making new connexions and contacts. It was interesting that a few months before we held this conference the DCSF sent out a request, through various websites and organisations, for information about any ‘good practice’ that was happening on the topic of including men in children’s learning.