Parenting in Cardiff
Support for parents and other carers bringing up children in Cardiff
Page contents:
General family support services
Parenting Help and Advice
Self Help
Professional Help
Programmes which need a referral
Open Access Groups
If you come across a really useful service that you think other parents should know about, or if you have a query which cannot be resolved through the contacts suggested above, please e-mail
Llinos Davies, Parenting Co-ordinator on Llinos.Davies@actionforchildren.org.uk
General family support services
Information about services to support families in Cardiff is available online at the Family Information Service website. Cardiff Children and Young People’s Partnership manage this website. There is also a hard copy directory in GP surgeries, schools, family centres and libraries but this is currently awaiting an update, so details need to be checked out online.
Parenting Help and Advice
Changes in children’s behaviour can be triggered by many things, including:
- Becoming a toddler
- Starting school
- Becoming a teenager
- Changing house or school
- Parental separation or other family trauma
- Problems at school
Parents and other people bringing up children may just want to inform themselves about children’s development and behaviour or they may be experiencing some problems and need professional help.
We have listed sources of advice and information under two headings: self help and professional help.
Self help
There are a number of ways to get information and advice:-
Information Leaflets
There are a number of leaflets produced by the local CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health) service that are available from your local school or clinic, for example:
- Parenting toddlers
- Parenting teenagers
- My child won’t sleep
- Managing problem behaviours
The Welsh Assembly Government/Children in Wales jointly produced leaflets, which have been distributed by health visitors and through primary schools:
- From Breakfast to Bedtime (Helping you and your toddler through the day)
- Over the Top Behaviour in the under 10s
(Normal childhood behaviour or problem behaviour?) - Help at Hand (Taking a positive approach to parenting)
Bibliotherapy Service
This is a scheme which lets you borrow books from your local library to help with common problems. You can access the scheme through a health visitor, GP or social worker, who can recommend books and give you a voucher to take to any library, without you having to be a member. If you are already a library member, you can just visit your own library and ask to look at the list of recommended books.
Websites and help-lines
There are dozens of websites for parents and other relatives raising children. While many of these sites can offer valuable information and/or contact with other parents, we recommend being cautious about:
- following advice from unknown sources
- sharing personal information online
If possible, check advice with a professional, such as a health visitor
The following websites and help-lines have been checked for reliability by our child and adolescent mental health services and primary mental health team:
Websites
Parentline Plus
National charity providing help and support to anyone caring for children – parents, grandparents, step-parents.
www.parentlineplus.org.uk
NCT
Help over a million mums and dads each year through pregnancy, birth and early days of parenthood. We offer antenatal and postnatal courses, local support and reliable information to help all parents.
www.nct.org.uk
BBC website
NSPCC
National charity running a wide range of services for both children and adults, including national helplines and local projects.
www.nspcc.org.uk
Directgov
A wide range of information about parents’ entitlements.
www.direct.gov.uk
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Mental health information
www.rcpsych.ac.uk
Kidscape
First UK charity established specifically to prevent bullying and child sexual abuse. Believes that protecting children from harm is key.
www.kidscape.org.uk
Talk to Frank
Information about drugs
www.talktofrank.com
Eatwell
Reliable and practical advice about healthy eating, understanding food labels and how what we eat can affect our health.
www.eatwell.gov.uk
Help-lines
Parentline plus 08088002222
Kidscape 08451205204
Young minds 08000182138
Childline 08001111
In addition
Parentchannel.tv
Government supported website offering expert advice on parenting, through short videos. It also provides links to other websites. The videos cover learning, behaviour and wellbeing.
www.parentchannel.tv
Net Mums
Run an online parenting course in partnership with Family Links. This is based on the Parent Nurturing Programme which is run in Cardiff.
www.netmums.org.uk
Grandparents Plus
Organisation for grandparents raising grandchildren, with links to other useful sites.
www.grandparentsplus
Dad Info
Information on pregnancy, birth and babies; work, money and law; relationships. parenting and separation from a fathers' perspective.
www.dadinfo
Families Need Fathers
Advice and information for fathers who are separated or divorced.
www.fnf.org.uk
Professional help
Under 5s
For families with young children, your Health Visitor can give advice and can also refer you to other services if necessary. If you aren’t sure who your Health Visitor is, you can find out at your GP surgery.
Some families with a child under 4 years old can access parenting advice and groups through Flying Start. Flying Start is an early years programme introduced by the Welsh Assembly Government and delivered by the Children and Young People's Partnerships. It offers help and guidance to families with very young children who live in specific areas, generally the catchment areas of the following schools:
- Adamsdown Primary
- Greenway Primary
- Glan-yr-afon Primary
- Herbert Thompson Primary
- St Mary the Virgin CW Primary
- Trelai Primary
- Windsor Clive Junior
- Mount Stuart Primary
The Flying Start website has a postcode checker to confirm whether you are eligible for the service. Go to www.cardiff.gov.uk
(Click on Learning, then Learning Projects)
5 - 18 year olds
If you have concerns about an older child, you can ask to be referred for help via the child’s school or your GP. The Directory of Family Support Services (hard copy or online from the Family Information Service (where information is likely to be more up-to-date) can be used by any organisation to help identify sources of help:
Parenting programmes/courses
There are a number of parenting programmes run by different organisations in Cardiff, for example, the Parent Nurturing Programme (for under 12s) the Incredible Years programmes (baby programme, toddler programme and basic programme for children up to age 10 years), Triple P ( teens), Strengthening Families (10-14 year olds). These are all based on research evidence about what works for children and parents. Raising children can be difficult at times and in a group setting, parents, or other carers, can be a big support to each other.
Programmes which need a referral
Most groups have criteria which you have to meet in order to get a place, for example a child being a particular age, living in a particular area, or attending a particular school. Many programmes need a referral from a professional, such as a GP, health visitor or social worker. Professionals can find out what groups are running at any time, through the Family Information Service website, where there is a timetable for professionals.
Open Access Groups
There are some groups to which parents can refer themselves:
Strengthening Families Programme
Open to anyone with a child aged 10-14 years (the young person also has to attend). There is an easy application process.
Contact details
Strengthening Families Programme, c/o CADT, House 54, Cardiff Royal Infirmary, Newport Road, Cardiff CF24 OSZ
Tel: 029 2046 8589
E-mail: sfp@cardiff.gov.uk
Cardiff Parenting (Action for Children)
Offers services to anyone whose children are between 5-15 years old and who lives on the east side of the city of Cardiff. You do not need a professional to refer you, just contact the project. The project often runs parenting groups in schools and these are open to all and advertised via posters and leaflets.
Contact details
Tel: 02920 360556
Barnardos Combined Family Support Team
(515) in Ely offers support to families with children aged between 5–15 years who live, or go to school in areas on the west of Cardiff. You don’t need a professional referral, just contact the team. The 515 team use a variety of group parenting programmes but will also give one-to-one help to parents if preferred. There is also a service for parents with children 0–5 yrs old, but, for this, you need to be referred by a social worker.
The Combined Team also offer a group programme and individual support especially for women with post natal depression.
Contact details
Barnardos team on 02920 577074
Barnardos at Neville Street, Riverside
Run occasional Parent Nurturing & “Triple P Teens” Programmes for families from Butetown, Grangetown or Riverside areas.
Contact
Jackie Vining
Tel:02920 229585
Parent Nurturing Programme
Open to anyone with a young child in a Flying Start area.
Contact details
Parent Nurturing Co ordinators
Pembroke Suite, Eastmoors Road, Cardiff CF24 5RR
Tel: 02920351384
Other parenting programmes
Offered in all schools in Ely and Caerau, through a Community Focused Schools and Communities First Initiative.
Contact details
Ruth McDonald, Community Learning Manager, Glyn Derw High School and Michaelston Community College
Tel: 02920 590920 07812 377453 and mcdonru@aol.com
Treganna Family Centre, Canton
Runs groups for parents. The First Time Parents Group is only open to parents from Canton but all other groups are open to people from any part of Cardiff. Pre-booking is essential for language and play groups.
Contact details
Julia or Marian
Tel: 02920 231340
Email : enquiries@tregannafamilycentre.co.uk
Other groups
Other church and voluntary groups sometimes run their own parenting programmes. We are currently unable to provide information about these or to make recommendations. You may find differences in approach between courses on offer, for example whether or not physical punishment is included as part of discipline. Programmes recommended in Cardiff Parenting Framework do not include the use of physical punishment.
Cardiff Council Adult and Community Learning Service
Run courses which can be useful to parents, for example Understanding Children. You can find your nearest centre by looking on the Council’s website
Please Note
This information was accurate at the time of publication but is subject to change and always needs to be checked with the service concerned.
Disclaimer
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information published here is up-to-date and accurate but we accept no legal liability for errors or omissions and reserve the right to make changes without notice. We accept no responsibility for any inaccurate advice or information given by sites which have been reached through links from these web pages.
