Concerned about a child

The Parenting Support Service offer a set of evidence-based parenting programmes. 

They offer parents successful approaches and tools to help them manage and improve their parenting techniques.

The programmes offer support with:

• parent and child relationships
• concerns around the child's behaviour
• supporting a child with an additional need.

Courses

The service runs 3 programmes with options for virtual or face-to-face sessions. 

To access the virtual courses, all parents will need access to: 

• a computer or smartphone
• Microsoft Teams app
• a stable internet connection.

Each session is 1.5 hours long, taking place over 6 weeks. 

The courses are: 

• Triple P Primary: for any parent with a child aged 5 to 11 who has general behavioural concerns or conduct problems
• Triple P Teen: for any parent with a child aged 12 to 17 who has concerns regarding their teenager’s behavioural conduct and pro-social skills
• Triple P ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder): for any parent with a child aged 5 to 11 who is being assessed for ADHD by a paediatrician or already has an ADHD diagnosis.

Eligibility criteria

For a family to have a referral to the parenting support programmes, you must meet the following criteria:

• the family must include one or more children aged 5 to 17
• a parent must be a Medway resident
• you, as the referrer, will need to identify the focus of the work needed with the parent and which child is the target child for the referral
• you, as the referrer, will need to discuss the referral with the family and agree with them about whether they're ready to engage and commit to attending a group or one-to-one intervention.

Exclusion criteria

For each referral we receive, we will assess if we can provide safe and appropriate support for parents.

Our service will not be able to accept:

• parents of children who have a primary diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or are being assessed for ASD exclusively
• parents who have a mental health problem that you feel may affect their ability to complete the course
• parents who are currently receiving another parenting programme or one-to-one support regarding their parenting
• parents who have not agreed to attend a parenting intervention at point of referral.

In some cases parents may need some pre-engagement work by a referrer or another service before being ready to attend a parenting programme.

Making a referral

To make a referral you must:

• read the parenting information leaflets
• consider whether the parent is ready, able and willing to attend a parenting programme
• make sure the parent is aware of and agrees with this referral
• be with an agency in Medway
• complete the pre-course strengths and weaknesses questionnaire
• complete the online referral form.

We do not accept parent self-referrals. 

The Parenting Team is not a case holding service. The responsibility of the family remains with the lead professional. The lead professional is expected to remain with the family during the parenting programme to offer support. This process helps the family's chance of success and positive change. 

Complete an online parenting support referral

What happens next

Once you have completed your referral online, you will receive a confirmation email within 7 working days. After the case has been reviewed we will then contact you with the next steps.