Welcome to Year of the Dad, celebrating the difference a great dad can make!

Throughout 2016 and beyond, we’re issuing a rallying call to services and employers to support dads, embrace family-friendly, inclusive practice and reflect the importance of fathers in child development.

For more details head over to www.yearofthedad.org

Getting to the Year of the Dad Launch

Edinburgh Zoo Location

RZSS Edinburgh Zoo, Edinburgh, EH12 6TS

Arriving by Public Transport and Cycling?

Please visit the Zoo website here for more information.

Arriving by Car?

The zoo carpark entrance is adjacent to the main entrance and the hotel.

Parking is free for guests – on your arrival please tell the carpark attendant that you are attending the Year of the Dad Launch.

Please note that parking is limited and allocated on a first come first served basis. During the day, some parking can also be found within the vicinity of the Zoo but please note this space is also limited due to the residential nature of our location.

Getting into the Zoo!

You do not need a ticket to get in! - Please come to the Zoo Entrance’ (rather than the Members entrance). Let the staff on the member’s desk know that you are attending the Year of the Dad Launch and they will let you in free of charge.

Map

Here is a link to the Zoo Park Map to help you find your way around.

The Official Year of the Dad launch is happening in the Education Centre, and Lunch and fun activities will be taking place in the Jungle Café. You will have free access to the zoo for the whole day. The map has some additional visitor information and times and locations of daily talks to help you make the most of your visit.

The Official Launch will take between 30 -45 min. If you don’t think your little ones will sit through the presentation there will be a book bug session happening just outside the lecture theatre or playtalkread bus will be running activities at the Jungle café.

What is Happening When?

As part of the first ever Year of the Dad in 2016, Fathers Network Scotland in collaboration with the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships are hosting a conference on Friday 12th February 2016.

The conference aims to be a day of reflection, dialogue and stimulation for academics, policy-makers, diversity and inclusion leaders and practitioners. The day will highlight the positive contribution fathers make to children, families, communities and society as a whole.

After an overview of families and fathers in Britain, there will be four simultaneous streams of conversations: ‘what children need from fathers’, ‘what mothers want from fathers’, ‘what fathers need at work’ and ‘what fathers need in adversity’. The afternoon session will reflect on these streams and their recommendations. This will then feed into Year of the Dad activities in 2016.

There will also be time to relax and have discussions at stands and posters presented by students researching fathers in Scotland along with music and creative contributions from local communities.

If you require accommodation, please make your reservation directly at the Salisbury Green Hotel on the Pollock Halls Campus with Edinburgh First. 

http://www.edinburghfirst.co.uk/for-accommodation/salisbury-green-hotel/

***You can use the code CONF16 to obtain 15% off prices at Masson House or Salisbury Green Hotel.***

 Outline Agenda

09:00     Registration

09.30     Welcome 

David Drysdale (CEO of Fathers Network Scotland)

Aileen Campbell (Minister for Children and Young People)

09.45     Families in Scotland 

Lynn Jamieson (Professor of Sociology, Families and Relationships, The University of Edinburgh / Co-Director of CRFR)

10:00     The changing role of fatherhood in Britain - Margaret O’Brien (Director of the Thomas Coram Research Unit, UCL)

               Coffee break

11.00    Conversation Streams

What do mothers want from fathers? Chaired by Stuart Valentine (Relationships Scotland)

• Negotiating the domestic contract – how to make your partner an equal partner – Tina Miller (Professor of Sociology Oxford Brookes)
• Men can do it – Gideon Burrows (Author and dad)
• What do mothers want?  - Liz Meenagh (Women for Independence) 

What do fathers need at work? Chaired by Sarah Jackson (CEO of Working families)

• Parental leave in Iceland – how does it work - Ingolfur Gislason (Professor in Sociology, School of Social Sciences University of Iceland)
• The Price of Love – Caroline Gatrell (Professor of Management Studies Lancaster University Management School)
• Making the most of workplace entitlements - Alison Koslowski (Senior Lecturer in Social Policy University of Edinburgh)

What do children need from fathers? Chaired by Dr. Sarah Morton (Co-Director CRFR)

• What children want from dads - Colin Morrison (Co-Director Children’s Parliament)
• Including dads in education - Prestonpans School 
• Gary Clapton (Senior Lecturer in Social Work University of Edinburgh)

What do fathers in adversity need? Chaired by Paul Bradshaw (Director of ScotCEN)

• In work poverty – Ann Henderson (Assistant Secretary STUC)
• lone fathers - Brock Lueck (One Parent Families Scotland)
• Mellow dads - Alan McMaster (Mellow Dads Co-ordinator) 

12.45     Lunch - stands and poster exhibition 

13.30     Welcome back 

13.45     What’s good for families?

Feedback on discussions from each stream. (Paul Bradshaw, Stuart Valentine, Sarah Jackson and Sarah Morton)

14.30     Reply from key notes

Margaret O’Brien, David Drysdale and Lynn Jamieson 

14:45     Now what? - Sam Pringle (Head of Research Fathers Network Scotland)

Comments from the audience   

15:00     Close 

The presentations will be available online after the event and the workstream notes will be written up in a conference report. 

This conference is funded by the Scottish Government and is therefore free to attend. 

Are you a first time dad? Want to learn new skills in maintaining a healthy balance between your home and work commitments?

Research overwhelmingly shows that children and families benefit from the positive involvement of dads. We all know that work and family life can have conflicting demands, and dads want to know how best to spend their time with their children and how to continue good relationships at home and work.

We are looking for dads with 1 child under 2 years old, in employment and a relationship to participate for a series of three pilot workshops. The workshops are free for you attend and we just ask for feedback on your experience, and to complete questionnaires before and after the events.

There will be up to 15 dads in the workshops and it will be run by experienced facilitators with content designed by the University of Edinburgh. Your feedback will inform further research to support fathers at work as part the Year of the Dad program.

Please find more information here.

 ***This workshop consists of three workshop sessions and we would ask you to attend all three sessions, in order to be eligible for the pilot. The other dates are: Monday, February 29th and Monday, March 7th. Times as above.***

We will serve snacks from 5.30-6 pm.

Families need Fathers Scotland will be hosting this meeting on March 14 2016, from 7-9 pm at 10 Palmerston Place.

It is an opportunity to meet other fathers and to share thoughts on fatherhood and family.

Two speakers will talk about their work:

• Family lawyer Robert Gilmour from SKO 
• David Marshall from Dads Rock (www.dadsrock.org.uk)

There will also be a chance to talk about the Scottish Year of the Dad.

We will also take time to discuss the issues that people bring to the group.

The purpose to the workshops is to help new you as a new dad gain a greater understanding of the issues, research, emotions, relationships and policies that may affect you.

Each workshop will touch on the following themes:

• Your relationship with your child
• Your relationship with your partner
• Your relationship with you employer

You will also have the opportunity to share you personal experiences with other first time dads. 

Outline agenda for the first session:

• Welcome and introductions
• Child development stages
• Relationship qualities
• What relationship issues might you face?
• What are your thoughts on how you will manage work?
• HR policies Q&A session

Before the event you must fill out an online survey here.  The survey has been developed by the University of Edinburgh researchers who created the workshops. All information provided by you in this survey will remain confidential. Only researchers directly working on this project will have access to the information.

The purpose to the workshops is to help you as a new dad gain a greater understanding of the issues, research, emotions, relationships and policies that may affect you.

Each workshop will touch on the following themes:

• Your relationship with your child
• Your relationship with your partner
• Your relationship with you employer

You will also have the opportunity to share you personal experiences with other first time dads. 

Outline agenda for the first session:

• Welcome and introductions
• Child development stages
• Relationship qualities
• What relationship issues might you face?
• What are your thoughts on how you will manage work?
• HR policies Q&A session

Before the event you must fill out an online survey here.  The survey has been developed by the University of Edinburgh researchers who created the workshops. All information provided by you in this survey will remain confidential. Only researchers directly working on this project will have access to the information.

Outline agenda for session 3

• What is good fathering?
• Core domains to partner relationships
• Work/life balance
• Planning goals for change
• Wrap up review

Outline agenda for session 2

• Child attachment theory
• Relationship skills- active listening
• Discussion on workplace paternity policies
• Second session on HR policies

Outline agenda for session 3

• What is good fathering?
• Core domains to partner relationships
• Work/life balance
• Planning goals for change
• Wrap up review