Solihull Parenting Team

The Solihull Parenting Team co-ordinate a variety of programmes to support parents, which take place in various locations across Solihull. These courses are designed to provide parents and parents-to-be with the opportunity to learn more about supporting their child, as well as to share experiences with other parents, and are all available free of charge to parents and carers resident in Solihull.

Programmes available include:

Antenatal

An antenatal parenting group is available, facilitated by Solihull midwives, which runs for 2-hours per week for 4 or 5 weeks. The group will cover a wide range of topics, providing practical information to prepare you for your baby’s arrival, and giving you the opportunity to discuss any concerns you and your partner/birth partner may be having, as well as meeting other mums and dads-to-be. The group is also available as an online version, which is available free of charge to Solihull residents.

Postnatal

Once your baby has arrived, you can join a 6-week postnatal parenting group, facilitated by the health visiting teams across Solihull. The 2-hour group will provide practical information, covering a number of topics, as well as exploring your relationship with your new baby and giving you the opportunity to share your experiences with other new mums. The group is also available as an online version, which is available free of charge to Solihull residents.

Being a Parent

The ‘Being a Parent’ group is open to all parents/carers residing in Solihull with a child aged 0-16 years. Led by trained Solihull parents, the group helps you learn more about your child’s development, and explores different ways to understand and manage your child’s behaviour. Along with other parents, you will cover a variety of topics including play, managing challenging behaviour and communication. The group runs each school term for 2-hours per week, over an 8-week period.

Understanding Your Child’s Behaviour

The ‘Understanding Your Child’s Behaviour’ programme is open to all parents with children aged up to 16 years old. Led by experienced Solihull professionals, the group aims to develop your understanding of your child’s behaviour, while helping you to learn more about your child’s development. The group is also an opportunity for you to meet other parents, exploring a number of topics including child development, parenting styles, managing challenging behaviour and communication. The group runs each school term for 2-hours per week, over a 10-week period. The group is also available as an online version, which is available free of charge to Solihull residents.

Five to Thrive

For parents/carers of children aged from 0-4, the FIVE TO THRIVE sessions explore practical things you can do to enhance your child’s brain development, increase your confidence in parenting and meet local parents. The fun and interactive sessions are held for 2 hours a week for 6 weeks. Visit the Five to Thrive website for more information.

Specialist groups

Specialist groups for parents of children with diagnosed conditions, for e.g. Autism, ADHD, also take place, as well as targeted groups for families with more complex lives, and ad-hoc workshops.

Online courses

Online versions of the antenatal and postnatal parenting groups and the Understanding Your Child’s Behaviour parenting group are available free of charge for Solihull residents. The courses will enable users to gain knowledge, confidence and skills in sensitive and attuned parenting.

Courses include:

• Understanding pregnancy, labour, birth and your baby (Available in Welsh, Standard Arabic, Urdu)
• Understanding pregnancy, labour, birth and your baby (for women / couples / Family)
• Understanding your baby (Available in Welsh, Standard Arabic)
• Understanding your child (Available in Welsh, Bulgarian, Polish, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Urdu)
• Understanding your child with additional needs (Available in Welsh)
• Understanding your teenager’s brain
• Understanding your brain (for teenagers only!)
• Understanding your child’s feelings (a taster course)
• Understanding your child’s mental health and wellbeing

To access the free online parenting courses visit the Solihull Our Place website and use the promotional code ‘APPLEJACKS’ and enter a Solihull postcode.

Face to face groups

Please visit our Eventbrite page to book your place on a face to face session on one of the groups listed above.

For any information about Solihull Parenting groups, please contact the team using any of the methods below:

• Email: bsmhft.parenting@nhs.net
• Call: 0121 301 2773