Nursery World - Positive Relationships: Working with Parents

How Midlothian Sure Start is helping new fathers who require extra support. By Annette Rawstrone

Supporting a teenage dad who had his own childhood challenges to become a ‘security blanket’ for his two-year-old son, and reassuring a grandfather of his ability to be a kinship carer for his young granddaughter, are just two standout moments experienced by Midlothian Sure Start (MSS)’s dads co-ordinators Tim Porteus and Keith Smith.

MSS has deliberately aimed to become more ‘dad inclusive’ throughout its six Family Learning Centres, which are based in a large semi-rural community affected by issues such as poverty and poor housing. The voluntary organisation – which won the Nursery WorldWorking With Parents Award 2017 – runs a number of successful free initiatives for parents with a number aimed at dads, including a Dads2b course for expectant fathers and dads’ groups such as Dynamic Dads, while also signposting fathers to other initiatives open to all parents (see box, overleaf).

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