This website uses cookies to help deliver its services. By using this website, you agree to the use of cookies as outlined in our Privacy Policy.
Our Community Action Training Services are the core adult education services provided by Parent Action, as part of our Community Learning Hubs, based in our Parent Wellness Centres.
These services comprise:
- a suite of training programmes, delivered by qualified Parent Action trainers,
- specialised courses delivered by our training partners, and
- bespoke consultancy services, designed to meet your teams individual learning needs, by Parent Action’s Nurse Consultant Parent Carer Advocacy, called Parent Action Solutions.
Our Community Action Training Services, are co designed and delivered, in partnership with health, community health, social care, primary care (GPs), education, housing, community planning(local councils) and childcare provider partners, in private, statutory and voluntary service sectors, in the local area and regionally.
Enables
Parent action enables parent carers to have their voice heard for their child's human rights in vital public services, enabling all children to access, early and safely, early education and childcare, school, community health care, social care and direct payments, play and leisure opportunities, jobs and training, in their local communities.
Empowers
Parent action empowers parent carers and public service professionals and teams, to advocate effectively for the human rights of children and adults with additional needs/disabilities, into vital public services.
Advocates
Parent action supports parent carers and public service professionals and teams to advocate effectively for safety and continuous quality improvement in vital public services to children and adults with additional needs/disabilities.
Using the Parent Action Model©, Community Action Training Services can ensure public service professionals and teams, develop their parent carer participation practice in line with evidence based standards, and public service policy direction. health-and-wellbeing-2026-delivering-together (health-ni.gov.uk) DE. Education Authority Landscape Review June 2022.pdf (education-ni.gov.uk)
The purpose of the Community Action Training Service, is to promote high quality, consistent parent carer engagement and advocacy skills and knowledge, among all public service professionals and teams, likely to have contact with children and adults with disabilities and their parent carers, in their professional practice, across Northern Ireland.
The outcomes of Parent Action’s Community Action Training Services, will be public service professionals, teams, commissioners and policy makers, and ultimately public service cultures and systems, which are responsive to individual parent carer and family need, keeping the child and adult and their parent carers best interests and best wishes, central to all public service provision. (DoH 2016 :Health and Wellbeing 2026 : Delivering Together).
Parent Action Community Action Training Service enables and empowers public service professionals, at all levels of public service systems, to use the Parent Action Model © and:
Recognise strengths
Recognise their own strengths and the strengths and assets of their teams
Build Capacity
Build their own capacity to advocate with and on behalf of the human rights and best interests of the child/adult with disabilities/lifelong health conditions, in effective partnership with parent carer advocates, who know their child best.
Develop advocacy, facilitation and negotiation skills
Develop advocacy, facilitation and negotiation skills with parent carers and multi agency/multidisciplinary public service provider partners in the team around the child/adult with disability/lifelong health condition and their parent carers, keeping the best interests of the child/adult and their parent carers at the forefront of decision making and care planning
Recognise the benefits
Recognise the benefits to their own practice of peer support from colleagues, in developing safety and learning cultures within their public service practice, teams and workplaces, ensuring openness, transparency and candour.
Recognise and respect the parent carer in the family
Recognise and respect the parent carer in the family, as being the leader of the dynamic family unit in which the child/adult with disabilities grows, learns and develops, and effectively engages and advocates with the parent carer, for the best interests of every member of the family, acknowledging that parent carers are equal members in the Team Around the Child/Adult with disabilities/lifelong health conditions.
Facilitates parent carers enablement, empowerment and self advocacy
Facilitates parent carers enablement, empowerment and self advocacy for their and their families needs, rather than delivering a service TO a parent carer. This means developing skills in facilitating the parent carers identification of their own strengths, skills and resilience, personal development and support needs, including facilitating parent carers to re connect with their families, friends and local communities for support in their caring role.
For more information on Parent Action’s Community Action Training Services, contact Parent Action’s Nurse Consultant Parent Carer Advocacy, Orla Fitzsimons on;