The planning stages
Getting the right people in the room to plan it was an important first step.
A review in 2019 by the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) ‘Engaging disadvantaged vulnerable parents: An evidence review’ found that ethnically minoritised groups tend to be less likely to engage ‘because they are often underrepresented in existing service provision.’ It was crucial that, in order to be culturally responsive and sensitive, we found facilitators who parents could identify with and who would be most able to tailor the modules to families’ needs. We were fortunate to have Jamad, a Somali family engagement worker in our team who would facilitate the group. In Islington we have an organisation called Minority Matters who helped us find an interpreter, someone who understood early years and who would help spread the word about Incredible Years so that other parents might sign up to future programmes. Incredible Years is so successful because it builds on parents’ experiences, their strengths and uses peer support as a powerful tool for parents to learn from each other. It’s essential therefore, that parents trust each other and the facilitators.
So how did it work and what were the challenges?
As Jamad explained:
"I've been working with Somali families for a long time, playing with their children is not something that many Somali parents would heavily prioritise: we don’t engage very much in play.”
Signing parents up for the course was therefore one of the biggest challenges, as this was a new service offer for this community of parents.
The EIF review recommends ‘multiple communication channels, well-integrated services and a personal offer’ to successfully recruit. Luckily Jamad is an Islington resident, an active member of her community and used social media and local connections to recruit families. We also approached parents who had previously expressed an interest but hadn’t joined because of the language barrier.
Another challenge was the content. Other programmes were already being delivered in different languages but this was a first for Incredible Years.
"Translating key concepts into Somali…I gave more hours than I should have. Somali language does not have a lot of words related to child development and learning so you have to put a lot of thought into how to translate”
- Jamad
The time spent on this was invaluable, and the hard work paid off. Parents were quiet at first but quickly began to open up through the trusting relationships they built with the facilitators. One parent in particular was quite closed at the start but because she felt safe in the group she was able to talk about her child’s behaviour and her own mental health. Another parent said she didn’t play with her children much but is now creating special time each week for each of her children. The EIF review states that it’s equally important for sessions to be enjoyable, engaging and adapted if necessary to cater for parents’ needs. Because parents opened up about their mental health, more time was spent reflecting on their experiences, concerns and worries for the future.
“From the middle of the group they were more open….We talk about mental health and feelings, attention and play, limit setting and social outcomes. [This] led to them talking about their feelings and mental health”
- Jamad
Through the evaluation we learnt that the programme had helped participants to feel more positive about the future. They were able to develop their children’s confidence, have warm and loving interactions and build resilience. Parents reported they are now more confident that listening attentively, setting boundaries and using positive strategies will help them build more mutually respectful relationships in the future leading to improved mental health and fewer behaviour difficulties.
So what did we learn as an organisation? And how can our experiences apply to other situations or settings?
- Allow plenty of time for planning and preparation. It can take more time to get it right but the potential outcomes make it a worthwhile investment.
- If you don’t have a member of staff who is representative of the community you wish to engage, parents are a brilliant resource. Involving them in planning and recruiting will ensure ‘that the content is culturally relevant for engaging ethnic minorities’ (EIF 2019) and will help get the word out there for you.
- Create space and time for parents to share their experiences.
One of the mothers from this group said:
“When we talking about the challenges and barriers I like the way facilitators normalising and giving us opportunity to talk.”
Jamad also supports this:
“We gave parents time to talk [about] their emotions, mental health and culture and they really opened up about the barriers of using services and what services can do differently as well as what the community can do differently.”
- Don’t be afraid to try something new.
- The most important thing we’ve learned is to listen, really listen.
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