Race Equality Foundation - Development

<< back to Projects

The development of good practice in parenting and family support for black and minority ethnic families

Background

This project followed on from the black and minority ethnic family policy forum which debated and discussed national parenting and family policy/initiatives and their impact on Asian, African Caribbean and African communities*. It was apparent that black and minority ethnic voluntary organisations needed help in developing their skills and knowledge so they can provide more effective support to parents and families. This project provided a method of doing so.

The aim of the project was to engage black and minority ethnic voluntary organisations through the use of action learning sets to develop and implement good practice in parenting and family support. This involved working with 157 voluntary black led organisations in small networks to:

• share learning, information and knowledge of parenting and family support practices through the establishment of action learning sets with black and minority ethnic voluntary organisations;
• Identify issues, explore problems and find solutions to practice that affects how black and minority ethnic voluntary organisations support families; and
• disseminate good practice.

What we did

We used a programme of action learning sets with organisations who provided a range of support to parents and families such as, those working with young people, fathers groups, counselling services, carers and disability groups, parent support groups and organisations offering family support.

Problems explored include: how to engage black men to volunteer on a project working with black young men, using traditional African folklore as a tool for African parents to discuss issues such as sexual health with young people, and challenging decisions on funding.

Outputs

There were three main outcomes to this work

• the development of greater collaboration and a network of support amongst black and minority ethnic voluntary organisations in each of area;
• the opportunity to contribute to wider debates on parenting and family support issues including consultation on the Parenting Fund in 2002 and Every Child Matters in 2003.
• the sharing of good practice through dissemination events.

For further information about this work contact Tracey Bignall on 020 7619 6225 or email tracey@racefound.org.uk