Parenting education and support has become a significant tool in tackling social exclusion and anti-social behaviour. This has resulted in a professionalisation of the sector to ensure that support is acceptable, comparable and effective.
In response to this, City and Guilds (C&G) has developed relevant qualifications to enable practitioners to achieve recognition of their skills and knowledge at appropriate levels
The C&G award/certificates in Work with Parents are new courses on the Qualification and Credit Framework and have the potential to be placed on the new emerging Integrated Qualification Framework (IQF), as they allow for progression, continuing professional development and mobility across the children's workforce.
They have been developed in conjunction with the Sector Skills Council Lifelong Learning UK, with support from the National Academy of Parenting Practitioners and Parenting UK. They have also taken into account recommendations made by the Pye Tait report, Research into qualification needs for work with parents.
Flexible routes
The aim is to equip and build upon the knowledge and skills required to support parenting. The certificate at level 3 will help practitioners to improve parents' understanding of their role and their children's social, emotional, intellectual and physical needs in the context of family life.
Practitioners may choose a combination of level 2 and 3 units from a range of 23 units such as 'Building and maintaining relationships with parents and wider communities'; 'Working with parents to support their children's needs'; 'Engaging young parents, working with groups of parents'; 'Effective communication with parents, Reflect on and update own knowledge and practice'; 'Enable parents to develop ways of handling relationships and behaviour that contributes to everyday life with children'; 'Enable parents to reflect on the influences on parenting and the parent-child relationship'.
The suite of Work with Parents qualifications consists of flexible routes at level 2, 3 and 4. Practitioners may choose to progress from the award to the certificate or may just want to top up units to support their CPD. Either way there is flexibility to undertake individual units.
The award at level 4 is for practitioners who wish to accredit knowledge and skills at a higher level relating to 'Engaging fathers in the children's early learning' and 'Providing environments that are sensitive to the culture, religion, gender or disability of the parent'.
Guide to Award and Certificate in Work with Parents
- Designed for practitioners working with parents in a full range of settings
- No formal entry requirements
- Incentives to use the structures for continuing professional development
- Proves that learners have the knowledge to work competently with parents
- Offers great flexibility, being on the QCF
- Recognised by the workforce and service regulators across the UK.
Aims of the qualifications
- Provide individuals working with parents with essential skills and knowledge required to support parents in their parenting role
- Provide 'top-up' training and continuing professional development opportunities for staff working in the sector
- Provide practitioners with recognition for their experience, knowledge and skills
- Equip frontline parenting staff with skills and knowledge to work effectively.
Which levels suit which learners?
Learners at Level 2 may be parents themselves who have been through parenting courses and are now parenting mentors, or they may work as part of a team supporting a level 3 practitioner.
Learners at Level 3 may be delivering frontline services to parents in children's centres and/or extended schools. The units can be used to accredit the skills and knowledge they have and they may progress through the levels or on to other qualifications and training in a related field such as family learning, trainer/adult educator, community development work, youth and community development work, Connexions, children's centre parenting co-ordinator, etc.
Learners at Level 4 may be managers or potential ones who are working in a managing capacity delivering parenting services. This qualification is for those who may want to move across a range of settings and will be able to transfer the skills and knowledge gained from the level 3 certificate.
What is the qualification structure?
The qualifications sit on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). This means that learners can accumulate credits by taking the units and can choose whether to take an award at levels 2, 3 and 4; or a certificate at level 3.
- Level 2 Award in Work with Parents: 12 credits - 1 mandatory unit and 2 optional units at level 2
- Level 3 Award in Work with Parents: 12 credits - 1 mandatory unit and 1 to 2 optional units (dependent on credit value) at level 3
- Level 3 Certificate in Work with Parents - 30 credits - 5 mandatory units and 2 to 3 optional units (dependent on credit value). At least 21 credits must be obtained at level 3
- Level 4 Award in Work with Parents - 6 credits - 1 mandatory unit
More information on the qualification structure can be found in the Work with Parents handbook located on the C&G 3599 qualification web page.
How will qualifications be assessed?
The units and qualifications will be assessed by a candidate portfolio of evidence, with the exception of candidates taking unit 310: Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Candidates taking this unit will be observed directly by a qualified tutor and peers delivering a 30-minute micro teaching session, in addition to completing one theory and one practical assessment.
Each unit has been broken down into specific learning outcomes and assessment criteria. Candidates must produce sufficient evidence for each of the learning outcomes, as indicated in the unit guidance within the qualification handbook.
Funding
Funding may be available through your local sector skills council or local authority. Please contact them for further information.
Do the qualifications form part of a recognised framework?
These qualifications are approved by qualifications authorities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and are recognised by the regulators and workforce development organisations as the benchmark for the sector.
Further information
www.cityandguilds.com/childrenandyoungpeople
Opportunities for progression
- Progression to employment within the sector
- Progression from team member/development worker role to a team or project leader and to a policy officer role
- Being a worker at a family centre such as a nursery nurse or a social worker and progressing to supervising and managing the family centre
- Graduating from attending a parenting facilitating course to running courses for parents themselves
- Moving from level 2 Award to the level 3 Award/Certificate in Work with Parents
- Moving from level 3 Award/Certificate in Work with Parents to level 4 Award in work with Parents
