The NHS and Early Years Practitioners
Funded by the Scottish Government, our Understanding Paternal Mental Health training works towards the following outcomes:
- An increased understanding by practitioners working within perinatal services including NHS, Third Sector and Local Authority support staff of fathers’ mental health, and the impact this has on children and families.
- All dads being asked about their mental health.
- More mums and dads becoming aware of the importance of their mental health including postnatal paternal depression anxiety and stress & post-traumatic stress disorder in men.
- More staff knowing where dads can access support.
- More dads accessing mental health support.
Families
The resources we provide for families are all based on thorough research. We have a directory of services across Scotland who can help dads and their families to access support and activities near to where they live. Dads can also find support from our WhatsApp group and free SMS support service, the details of which you'll find here.
Child and Family Services across Scotland takes its approach using the National Practice Model: Getting it Right for Every Child, or GIRFEC. The model makes it clear that our practice must be focused primarily on the health and wellbeing needs of a child, supporting the family around the child. However, three fifths of dads said their mental health gets in the way of good connections with their children. So if we're putting children first, it's of vital importance that we consider dads' wellbeing.
Employers
Research overwhelmingly shows that children, families and society as a whole benefits from the positive involvement of dads. By becoming dad-friendly employers means you can also benefit because dads who are supported at work are more engaged and productive.We offer a range of training and consultation for employers. Contact [email protected] to find out more.
Services
Our experience is that collectively, small changes can result in a cultural shift towards consistently father-friendly services - whether that means tweaking publicity materials, auditing customer walk-in experience or simply asking dads for their feedback. Our Understanding Dad half-day workshop that aims to enable participants to consider the implications of their practice on the role of fatherhood.
We also have a Facebook group for professionals who work with dads and families, and weekly Zoom DADx events, during which we hear talks from industry experts and discuss issues that are affecting us in our professional practice.
Criminal Justice and Police
Our Being Me, Being A Dad workshops were initially developed as part of a joint pilot project with Fathers Network Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service. They are the fruits of many years of experience of working with men inside and outside of prison in a wide variety of contexts. They were designed from the outset to achieve a specific effect and with a definite goal in mind – to influence personal change and in so doing reduce reoffending. The approach behind them can be applied within a wide variety of work with men. They are easily accessible at every level and yet have the power to change attitudes and help develop effective skills that support and encourage men to cope better both as individuals and as fathers in the midst of our busy, challenging lives.
Schools
Our Why Fathers' Involvement in Schools Matters 2020 report is a follow up to a parental engagement project started in 2016 when one dad asked his child’s Head Teacher how the school had created such a father-inclusive culture. To reduce gender inequality, Fathers Network Scotland collaborated with the University of Edinburgh to gather knowledge and father-inclusive practices from staff, dads workers, parents and children from an infant school in East Lothian. Their practices formed the basis of the How Father-Friendly Is Your School? guide which could be shared with other schools and communities to support family learning.
Please get in touch with chris@fathersnetworkscotland if you would like to find out about any of our training programmes or events.
Public Sector
Want to make your service more father-friendly? Here’s how.
Read moreCriminal Justice
Being Me, Being a Dad
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