Latest news

• Relate2you: A great scheme - but where’s the cash?
• Facing up to autism
• Getting to grips with anger
• Bequest gives fresh impetus to young people's service
• Parent Mentoring Training Courses

Relate2you: A great scheme - but where’s the cash?

Relate2you: A great scheme - but where’s the cash?

Bridget Gilliatt quotes “For some Relate2you has been the turning point in family life. So where do we go from here?”

• An £85,000 grant from the Government’s Parenting Fund enabled Relate to offer parenting support services at three inner-city sites: the Jesse Boot Primary School in Bakersfield, the Ellis Guilford Secondary School in Basford and the Southglade Children’s Centre in Bestwood.

• Feedback underlines the success of the Relate2you Project, not only in providing counselling and group work for parents, children and families, but in building more informal support networks where parents and friends can drop in for coffee and a chat.

• Funding is desperately needed if Relate Nottinghamshire is to maintain the impetus of its highly effective 18-month parenting support pilot scheme.

“Already we are receiving approaches from other schools and children’s centres in the city, eager to take up the same service and we are equally keen to roll it out,” says director Bridget Gilliatt.

“The statutory sector has also been interested to hear about the work which we have been doing , as it links with the Parenting Strategy developed by the local Strategic Partnership for Children, Young People and Families. But as yet there are no financial resources for us to tap into.

“This is very worrying as a continuity of support is vital , particularly for parents who are coping with very difficult life circumstances.”

From our Newsletter – August 08

Facing up to autism

Facing up to autism

Confidential help for parents of youngsters diagnosed as on the autism spectrum has been provided by a Relate Nottinghamshire team, at eight half-day themed training sessions with The Maze Support Group in Arnold.

The focus was on helping parents to talk through, and handle, the impact of the diagnosis on their own adult relationships.

From our Newsletter – August 08

Getting to grips with anger

Getting to grips with anger

A course for adults focusing on looking at anger was run early in the year at the Southglade Children’s Centre in Bestwood, as part of the Parenting Fund project. It proved so successful that a second course has followed , and Relate Nottinghamshire will be organising more in the future if funding can be found.

Clinical supervisor Peter Saddington explains: “The courses help people to look at the root causes of angry feelings – it is often provoked by anxiety and frustration – and at how they can best be dealt with.”

In the words of one of the students..

‘it started me on the path to being a better person and achieving better things in my personal life’.

From our Newsletter – August 08

Bequest gives fresh impetus to young people's service

Bequest gives fresh impetus to

young people service

A bequest from a former counsellor, Ursula Leonard, is being used to kick-start a broader money-raising campaign by Relate Nottinghamshire, to develop the city headquarters in Mansfield Road as the hub for a countywide service focused on helping eleven to 19-year-olds.

“We have proved the vital need for young people’s counselling in the Greater Nottingham area and are determined to make it a vibrant part of our core service,” says director Bridget Gilliatt.

Ursula lived in the Mapperley area of the city until her death last year. She worked for Relate and its predecessor, the Marriage Guidance Council, for more than 20 years, as counsellor and later as one of Relate’s first local sex therapists.

Keltie Ward, who was recruited by Ursula for counsellor training 30 years ago and rose to become national head of Relate training and leader of its sex psychotherapy service, describes Ursula as ‘a true friend,’ and adds: “She was a remarkable woman with the personality to connect with people of all ages and from all walks of life.”

From our Newsletter – Summer 08

Parent Mentoring Training Courses

Parent Mentoring Training Courses

As part of a wider project on parenting support, commissioned by Nottinghamshire County Council Youth Offending Service, Relate Nottinghamshire has offered a Parent Mentoring Course which was adapted from the Relate Federation OCN accredited Life Skills training package. The courses offered were pitched at an introductory level and carried an internal Relate Certificate.

The initial brief was to offer two courses aimed at parents in north Nottinghamshire, and locations in Worksop and Mansfield were selected. The first course started in March 2008 and ran until May. This was successfully attended by eight parent volunteers who completed the ten-week training course. A second shorter course was planned for Mansfield which will now be taking place in the autumn. Relate will also be offering additional support through groups and group work, facilitated by experienced Relate staff.

The aim of the course was to enable parents, volunteers and workers to feel confident in supporting others in their often challenging and difficult role as parents.

The first course produced some very positive feedback from members and a significant number of them would like to convert the introductory course to an accredited programme.

Kate Harvey, Relate Training Team Leader, says:-

“Participants believe that they now have the skills to pass on what they’ve learned about raising children in a supportive and informal setting. We are sure this will prove very effective.”

The Youth Offending Project is currently drawing to an end and Relate staff are compiling a project exit report which they will present at a final meeting in August. As part of the ongoing Relate training programmes several courses will be offered in partnership with Bassetlaw Council for Voluntary Services commencing this autumn. The programme will include an introduction to mentoring, and counselling courses.

Kate says: “We are planning more mentoring training for volunteers in the city and county, and will be delighted to hear from experienced parents who would like to be involved. The training is free, of course.”

From our Newsletter – August 08