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CHILDREN IN WALES / PLANT YNG NGHYMRU

CHILDREN IN WALES / PLANT YNG NGHYMRU. SUPPORTING FATHERS – A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE FROM WALES. Why are Fathers Important?. Better outcomes for children and young people. Economic benefits – flexibility in work-life balance. Reduces the burden on mothers. Men’s personal development.

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CHILDREN IN WALES / PLANT YNG NGHYMRU

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  1. CHILDREN IN WALES / PLANT YNG NGHYMRU SUPPORTING FATHERS – A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE FROM WALES

  2. Why are Fathers Important? • Better outcomes for children and young people. • Economic benefits – flexibility in work-life balance. • Reduces the burden on mothers. • Men’s personal development. • Equal Opportunities. We will never achieve parity for ..women in the workplace until we achieve parity for ..men in childcare.

  3. Who do we mean by “Fathers”? Fathers are not a homogenous group, they may include, Biological fathers Teenage fathers Stepfathers Single parent fathers Grandfathers Separated fathers, etc.etc. All these groups of men often have quite different sets of needs. A ‘Father Figure’ can be anyone one who acts as a significant male role model in the life of a child.

  4. Gender and Family stereotypes • Historically the role of men was seen primarily as that of breadwinner. This was particularly true in the South Wales valleys where heavy industries such as coal and steel predominated. • However family life today is changing, • The number of women with a pre-school child engaged in wage ..labour has virtually doubled over recent years. • The number of children living in lone parent households has ..increased to 25% • The number marrying has halved, and the numbers separating has ..probably trebled.

  5. Parenting Support Services in Wales • These can be broadly divided into two categories, • Universal Services such as Midwives, Health Visitors, Websites, proposed new Telephone Helpline. • Targeted Services such as Flying Start, Surestart, YOT’s, Social Services, along with various voluntary sector projects and initiatives.

  6. Parenting Support Services in Wales The strategic lead, taken by the Welsh Assembly .Government. .In 2005 the Assembly published the Parenting Action .Plan for Wales. .Input from Fatherhood Wales ensured that the plan, .- - “recognises that the needs of mothers and fathers, of .male and female carers are not always the same”.

  7. Parenting Support Services in Wales As a result of the Action Plan, the Welsh Assembly also published a practice Guide on Parental Participation. This stated: “all parents are different from each other - - - key groups of parents/carers may need additional support to participate. First on the list of key groups were Fathers and other male carers.

  8. Parenting Support Services in Wales • Some of Welsh Local Authorities either have, or are ..currently developing, Local Parenting Strategies. ..These are designed to map local services and share ..best practice and resources. • Service delivery, most often by voluntary sector ..organisations such as NCHCymru, Barnado’s, NSPCC ..etc. • The role of fathers needs to be incorporated in each of the three levels.

  9. Childcare workforce The recent Care Council for Wales mapping has revealed that around 99% of the childcare workforce is female. (The work is often seen as part time, low pay, with few opportunities for career progression.) Although the new Duty to Gender Equality is now in place, the Specific Duties which should deal with issues such as these are not yet decided for Wales.

  10. Examples of good practice Pen Pych Super Dads. Attached to Pen Pych primary school in the Rhondda, the group has been running since 2001 and carries out a range of activities designed to offer fathers an opportunity to become more involved in their children’s lives.

  11. Examples of good practice Ty Hapus Family Centre. Ty Hapus is a small local family centre in Carmarthen. It has run weekly sessions for Dads for a number of years. Prior to the group few men used the centre, however since the inception of the group the centre is now seen as men friendly, and in the last year alone some 137 men took advantage of the services they were offering.

  12. Examples of good practice RCT Dads Matter Project. Funded through the Surestart initiative, the project offers One to One support to fathers of vulnerable families across the Authority. As well as encouraging greater involvement from fathers, it also offers them a range of support on a wide variety of issues.

  13. FATHERHOOD WALES Fatherhood Wales is the multi-agency network established in response to the increasing recognition of the important role that fathers play in raising their children. The Forum offers professionals opportunities to share best practice, along with access to workshops and specialist training. The Forum has also provided an opportunity to influence related policy initiatives by it’s representation on a number of Welsh Assembly Government Working Groups.

  14. For further information, contact:- tony.ivens@childreninwales.org.uk

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