Courses and training for parents
Parenting courses and workshops are available to all parents and carers in Surrey. Most courses focus on helping parents with effective support and communication with their children.
Websites and helplines also offer advice about child development and family life. For families with children with Additional Needs and Disabilities (AND), it can be helpful to have specialist support and advice about how best to meet your child's needs.
Family Learning
Family Learning offer courses for parents and carers to help give children a positive start in life, supporting learning and development at home and school.
A wide range of free courses are offered online. With topics such as parenting and wellbeing, to Maths and English for parents who speak English as an additional language.
For more details and how to sign up, visit the Family Learning web page.
Free online parenting guides
Bringing up children is a lot of fun but can also have its challenges. Understanding your child's emotional development can help to support your relationship and your child's behaviour.
Families in Surrey can access free online guides that include top tips from childcare, education and NHS health experts.
- Understanding your pregnancy, labour, birth and your baby
- Understanding your baby
- Understanding your child 0-19 years
- Understanding your teenager's brain
The guides are available in other languages including Urdu, Chinese and Polish.
Register for free unlimited access to the guides in text, audio and video formats and other languages. Go to the inourplace online learning page; and use the code 'ACORN' to download.
SEND parenting courses
Specialist courses and workshops for parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can help develop strategies. Courses often focus on building effective ways to support children and young people with SEND and their families.
Some courses require the child to have a specific diagnosis. However, some are open to parents whose child shows some traits of a condition, but hasn't been assessed yet or didn't meet the threshold for a diagnosis.
Below are SEND parenting courses that regularly take place in Surrey.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- The Surrey branch of the National Autistic Society regularly run workshops for parents about autism-related topics. Recent workshops have focused on newly diagnosed children and Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA).
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Barnardo's Positive Parenting Course support parents and carers of children (6 to 18 years old) who have, or are in the process of getting, a diagnosis of ADHD. There are two separate parenting courses: the Parent Factor Programme for those whose child is diagnosed, and the Nurturing Programme for families awaiting a diagnosis of ADHD.
- 123 Magic is a parenting course designed to help parents with positive behaviour techniques for their child who has ADHD. The charity ADDISS have trained practitioners in Surrey to deliver this course, so you can contact them to find out where your nearest group is.
Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
- Independent Provider of Special Educational Advice (IPSEA) run a training day for parents with a focus on SEND laws, to empower parents to use the law to ensure they get the right support for their child.
- Surrey's Specialist Teaching Teams help teachers and parents with children's learning and language difficulties, and also with behavioural difficulties.
- Local Offer Events are often updated with workshops for parents that focus on specific SEND issues.
General parenting support:
- The Family Information Service website has an information page about universal parenting courses. These do not focus on specific SEND issues but they can still be useful, especially if you have children with differing needs.
Information and advice
If you cannot attend a course, or you've already been on one and are looking for additional support there are other services that can help.
- Help and support for behaviour and emotional wellbeing gives information about services across Surrey that help children who need additional support.
- Family Voice Surrey advocate for services on behalf of families with children with SEND. Family Voice run conferences for parents, where services will deliver talks and workshops.
- National Autistic Society have a parent to parent support service, run by volunteers. Support includes meeting up socially with other parents, parent workshops delivered by autism experts and an online forum for parents to talk to each other.
Helplines
These are usually free and offer confidential advice and support about any concerns you may have about your child's development or family life.
- Contact is a charity for families with disabled children. Call 0808 808 3555 to discuss a particular diagnosis, educational support and medical and social care.
- YoungMinds has a free helpline for parents who are worried about their child's mental health. If you are concerned that your child is feeling very anxious, or depressed you can call 0808 802 5544 for advice about how best to support them.
- National Autistic Society Families can also make use of their free out-of-hours helpline which provides advice to parents and carers who are struggling with behaviours or difficulties related to neurodevelopmental needs, such as Autism or ADHD. Call Free from 5pm – 11pm, 365 days a year: 0300 222 5755 – option 3