Change is in the air.
Leaves are beginning to change from green to orange, a new school year is under way and we at FNS we are changing too.
Goodbye and Hello
After five years of working for Fathers Network Scotland we are sad to be saying goodbye to Chris Miezitis who has been a leading light and a huge force for positive change during his time in the charity. However as we bid a very fond farewell to Chris we are delighted to announce that Scott Mair will be joining the team as Head of Training and Community.
Chris has spent almost 5 years delivering training and talks to thousands and thousands of professionals across the length and breadth of Scotland. When talking about the importance of dad, and some of the simple steps services can take to welcome and include the whole family, he often reassures staff by saying "It's not rocket science - small changes can make a big difference". It is very difficult to accurately measure the impact of the work that FNS has on individual families or society as a whole for that matter. However we are certain that if it hadn't been for Chris igniting the desire to make simple changes in the many teachers, early years practitioners, midwives, health visitors, social workers, researchers, prison officers and policy makers we simply would not be seeing the positive changes we are today. We would like to offer our huge thanks to Chris, as he takes up a new challenge of managing a Community Development Team in Fife Council, and warmly welcome Scott into the organisation to develop and grow this important work.
Scott is an accomplished keynote speaker, parent educator, and mental health trainer specialising in paternal mental health and cultural differences. He is one of the leading lived experience specialists in paternal mental health in the UK after his own mental health was impacted by several traumatic births and an absence of support when it was needed. With over 19 years’ experience as a parent of 7 children Scott uses his knowledge to advise and educate services on how they can support and provide better engagement with fathers and help prepare dads and partners for the journey into parenthood.
As Scott steps into this new role Chris will continue to support him and the organisation over the coming months and will put in some guest appearances at upcoming events and training.
We will be running our first DADx meet-up of the new season on 29 September at 11am where you can meet Scott and find out what FNS has in store on the run up to Christmas as well as having a chance to meet and talk to other professionals about how best we can support families over the coming winter.
To attend the DADx Meet-up event on zoom please register using the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvf-2pqDIiH9eQzf4wMRDYj4BXop0xW37I
Dads Survey 2022 - The Results
In May 2022 the Office of National Statistics revealed that 77% of UK adults reported feeling worried about the rising cost of living, with 50% saying they worried "nearly every day". During May and June we conducted our own survey to find out from dads how they were doing? Over 250 dads responded.
Join us on the 11 October at 10am as our researcher Jessica Moran reports on the findings from this survey. We will reveal how the dads and families across Scotland were coping as we emerged from a global pandemic and were thrust into a global economic crisis . Hear what dads told us in their own words and find out what trends are emerging as we reveal:
- How dads are finding balancing work and home life?
- How much time dads are spending with their children
- How is dads mental health and wellbeing? And what is currently causing dads most distress?
- Are dads relationships with their children and co-parents changing?
- How dads want to parent in the future?
To attend the DADx Meet-up event on zoom please register using the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAtceugrzorH9SFOJYQ0Nil15Bl8B8jseZm
Our New Resource and Learning Hub
We have almost completed developing a new dynamic resource & learning hub to help professionals understand, include and support dads and whole families. The hub's relaxed space is designed specifically for busy professionals to gain inspiration, share expertise and access essential knowledge and resources. If you have already signed up to test the platform and our new Understanding Dad e-learning taster course thank you so much - we are hoping to start testing the new platform at the start of October - If you would like to help us test out our new virtual home please sign up to the hub and we will get in touch about joining our beta testing team.