SUPPORTING CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE IN SUPPORTING DADS AND MALE CARERS......
Father’s Day Initiative
Information, services & events for dads &
male carers – June 2013
Celebrating the role of dads & male carers in Central
Bedfordshire
The Father’s Day initiative aims to use Father’s Day as a
focus to:
·
Provide information & resources to dads
& male carers and professionals and settings
·
Raise the profile of good practice taking place
across Central Bedfordshire which offers
support to dads & male carers
·
Celebrate the benefits gained from dads &
male carers being involved in the lives of their children & young people.
Father’s Day Circuit Event
Houghton Regis Children’s Centre are holding an Active Morning on Thursday
13th June from 10:00am-11:00am at the Leisure Centre, Houghton Regis
There is a free goodie bag for all the dads that attend. For
more information, contact Carly Smith ,
Early Intervention Family Outreach Officer, mobile 07805 742992.
Father’s Story Week
An annual celebration of the power of dads reading with their children
Find
out why reading together is so important, and join families at thousands of
schools, nurseries, children’s centres, libraries and other family learning
settings across
www.fathersstoryweek.org
– a great opportunity to focus on dads & male carers in the run up to
Father’s Day.
The website enables you to register and access specific
resources and ideas for activities to support reading between dads and their
children.
Level 1 Forest
School
The Lawns Sure Start Children’s Centre Biggleswade
The Lawns is a Sure Start Children’s Centre that believes in
promoting the role of the father, especially as research indicates that a
father’s role is very significant in bringing about positive outcomes for the
children and, indeed, the whole family.
In recognising the
importance of positive input from fathers, The Lawns recently successfully bid
for Children’s Centre funding for Level 1 Forest School Training for Dads, and
is one of the few forest schools in the Biggleswade area.
The mail underlying theme is developing positive levels of
self-esteem and well-being and includes all those transferable skills e.g.
working as a team, self-confidence, learning about the environment and green
issues, independent learning incorporating different learning styles/schema.
It naturally supports developing strong relationships in the
family and is very suited to fostering relationships between dads and children
because of the hands on outdoor nature of Forest School
Training sessions recently took place over two weekends in
May, and on the last session their families came along as well.
The feedback from
dads was 100% positive in improving their knowledge and skills. Some of the
comments from those attending were, ‘I have really enjoyed learning about how
to help children learn in an outdoor environment.’ ‘I have been taught skills
that I will remember for life and will enjoy teaching my children over the
years to come.’ ‘I loved the whistle making using elder.’ ‘Using the tools,
sawing and whittling.’ ‘The nuggets of child development theory were
fascinating.’
For more information about the Forest School at the Lawns
and how dads and families can get involved please contact Deborah Willcox,
telephone at The Lawns, 01767 312312.
Men’s Health Week 10 – 16 June 2013
Led by the Men’s Health Forum, this year’s Men’s Health Week
is another great way to focus support towards dads & male carers. The week
aims to tackle stigma in men’s mental health and promote mental well-being and
help seeking in men. For more information, visit www.menshealthforum.org.uk/mhw.
Celebrate Father’s Day with Orchard Children’s Centre
Come along and join in the fun on Saturday, 15 June 2013, from
10:00am-11:30am at Orchard Children’s Centre.
For more details, contact: Kate Ellis, Father’s Involvement
Worker, Orchard Children’s Centre, Shefford Lower School, School Lane,
Shefford, SG17 5XA. Tel: 01462 615115.
Father’s Day celebration and launch of link with DAD.info,
providing focus on local information for dads & male carers local to
Shefford and the Orchard Children’s Centre. Activities will include: Dad quiz
with prize, gifts of books and balloons to mark Dads’ Book Day and Fathers’ Story
Week (dressing up optional) and DAD.info information and goodies available.
All welcome! On Saturday 29 June 2013, Action Dads session
from 10:00am-11.30am will be den building in the woods. Come along and test
your survival skills: for dads, male carers and children together.
Orchard Children's Centre is
managed by Shefford
Lower School
Dads worker at Beehive Children’s Centre
My name is Emma Phillips and I am the Dads worker based at
the Beehive Sure Start Children’s Centre. I have been in post since January
this year and am really enjoying what I do. I have been asked to share some of the
activities and sessions that we have run for dads and male carers at the
Beehive Sure Start Centre.
I have taken over the running of the “Saturdads” group which
takes place on the first Saturday of every month here at The Beehive. I would
like to enable and provide dads with the opportunity to meet other dads and to
allow them to feel comfortable enough to discuss any issues with either myself
or with other dads within the group. It also provides a friendly and welcoming
environment for them to spend time and interact with their children.
Other activities that have been provided for dads were a 4
week baby massage course which ran over 4 Saturdays starting on the 11th
May and finished on 1st June. A dad’s first aid course was held on
the afternoon of 1st June and was a great opportunity for dads to
gain some invaluable skills and work alongside other fathers.
A “Young dads to be” course started at the Beehive Children’s
Centre on the 8th May. This course enables young expectant fathers
to meet others in similar situations and, share any concerns or worries they
are experiencing and gain a whole array of knowledge regarding both pre and
post birth. During the half term week a football activity run by Bedfordshire
FA for dads/male carers and their children took place.
We are also currently looking into possibilities of
providing male only antenatal classes as we recognise that preparation for
having a baby can be a very scary time for both mum and dad.
My role is to support and advise dads no matter what their
age, ethnicity or background. I want to ensure that dads feel valued and
welcome within our centre and want to make them aware that their opinions
really do count!
As you can see there are already a lot of activities and
information for dads at the Beehive Sure Start Centre, so to find out more
about what dads and male carers can access, please contact me, Emma Phillips, Dads worker at The Beehive Sure Start Children's Centre,
Westfield Road,Dunstable,Beds,LU6 1DW, or telephone 01582 699092.
ASD information sessions for dads and parents
Family Information Service
Information for dads and families
This includes:
·
Activities and local family events
·
Childcare providers in your area
·
Family support services
·
Leaflets on financial support available to
families
·
Leaflet of support services for children with
additional needs.
Contact us on fyis@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
or 0300 300 8119, or browse our online directory available at www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/fyis.
Dads at Central Bedfordshire Schools
Some schools across Central Bedfordshire are using Father’s
Day as an opportunity to focus learning or events around dads and male carers. Clipstone
Brook Lower School are inviting fathers & grandfathers into school during
the Friday morning before Father’s Day for bacon butties and coffee followed by
fun activities with their children.
Gothic Mead Lower School are having a Fathers’ Day breakfast
for male carers in the week before Father’s Day.
Other schools can make use of resources available online;
focussing on dads and family men through the ages. This is a fun site that dads
may want to explore themselves with their children. The site explores how dads
and family men have been important throughout the ages. Take a walk through
this interactive website and explore how different dads lived throughout
history. http://www.family-man.co.uk/
Information for expectant and new dads
As part of the Think Father survey, dads and male carers
responded that they wanted more and better information for new and expectant
fathers in Central Bedfordshire. We have responded by developing a specific
page for new and expectant fathers on the parenting section of the CBC web
site. This will is due to go live by the beginning of July.
This has links to other resources and sites that offer
support and information for dads and male carers, and will also look to answer
specific questions from new and expectant dads living in Central Bedfordshire.
A group of new fathers in Central Bedfordshire have offered some of their
questions and concerns regarding becoming a dad and we will be asking local
mid-wives and support to answer these questions.
So if you are about to become a father or know someone who
is, encourage them to look at the www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/parenting
page and look for information for expectant and new fathers from July 2013
onwards.
Top tips for Father's Day
It’s easy to say that the gesture is more important than the
gift but if ever there was an occasion that this was true, Father's Day would
be it.
While it’s great to get the fancy presents, funny cards and
packs of beer, it’s often the more personal touches that lets dad know how much
he means. So to give you a head start, here’s a list of top tips from DAD.info
for making Father's Day one to remember.
Why
have Father's Day? Write a list and tell Dad all the reasons why he should be
celebrated. Even the appreciation for the smallest things he does can mean a
great deal.
Award
ceremony You
will always find a small plastic trophy or homemade certificate announcing
'BEST DAD' tucked away in Dad's 'man draw'. There’s a good reason why these
simple things often out live the pricey gifts – they mean so much more!
Artistic
license As well
as a certificate, there are some great make at home ideas you can do – cards,
pictures, poem or even a song / rap.
The
basics There’s
no denying it, breakfast in bed (especially a cooked one) is usually a winner
but why not get the children in on it and all have a picnic breakfast in bed
together.
Let’s
party There's
only one true way to celebrate a special occasion – A party. Invite all the
family and let the dads kick back and enjoy being spoiled (or at least take
care of the BBQ).
Enjoy it his way What does Dad like to do? If it’s going to the cinema, go and see
a family film all together. If its golf, find a crazy golf attraction. Maybe he
just loves pizza, so go out to an Italian restaurant for lunch. Let the whole
family share with dad what he enjoys most.
Capture
the moment
Whatever you do to make Father's Day special, remember to grab a great family
picture. Frame it and give it to Dad. Then he will remember every day how
important he is.
Finally,
you may have a great gift for dad this Father's Day but remember it's not a
substitute for quality time between Dad and kids.
Family Film Club at Downside
Downside Dad’s Community Group and Downside Neighbourhood
Centre are running a Family Film Club on Sunday 16th June. The event
will offer a U/PG film with popcorn and snacks, cardboard castles, face
painting, barbeque and soft drinks.
This Father’s Day activity takes place between 12-4.00 pm
Come at Downside Community Centre, Suffolk Road, Dunstable LU5 4ES For more
information contact Downside Neighbourhood Centre on 01582 666403
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