Title: “Early Intervention Developments in Manchester using the Incredible Years Programme”
Presented by: Caroline White, Clinical Psychologist, Central Manchester & Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Abstract:
The Incredible Years Programme was initially piloted in Salford as part of the Little Hulton Project (White, Agnew & Verduyn, 2002) a two-year funded project providing a community based clinical psychology service to pre-school children and their families. The significant improvements in child behaviour and parental mood led to successful mainstreaming of the service after twelve months. These positive outcomes formed the basis of a multi-agency bid, involving Early Years, Educational Psychology, and the voluntary sector Family Service Unit, for NHS Modernisation Fund monies to provide Incredible Years (IY) parent groups to parents of pre-school children citywide across Manchester in the Children & Parents Service (CAPS). Provision of groups took place in nurseries and outcomes were again evaluated, leading to mainstream funding after three years. Over the past five years links with the twelve Sure Start centres in Manchester have developed, providing an increase in resources and a comprehensive parent group network.
A further bid to the Children's Fund, involving the same partners, provided a training resource team aiming to provide effective IY parent groups to parents of children aged five - eight years (CAPS-Training in Partnership (TIP)). The team provided accredited training with ongoing support and supervision to frontline workers committed to delivering parent groups in their own school or agency. This has enabled parents, within the hardest to reach populations (e.g. ethnic minority groups, traveling families, drug using parents in rehabilitation), to access effective parent groups, with successful outcomes. The development of a Parents' Forum has led to further user involvement and parents themselves have been involved in recruitment and delivering groups. This service too is now provided through mainstream funding.
The early intervention developments in Manchester will be presented in detail with data on outcomes for parents and children. The model of service delivery will be discussed in the context of government policy and funding streams; and the paper will present a framework for a successful multi-agency, early intervention parenting initiative using the IY Program.
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Here are some comments about Caroline's talk made by those attending the conference:
"Caroliine White has an excellent learning style - you can tell she has had hand's on experience!"
"Superb delivery and the content showed what is possible"
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