The council’s officers, who work with children and families, have created a programme called ‘Your Family Toolkit’.
This is an ‘adaptable and flexible resource’ for all professionals working with children, young people, and their families to improve parenting strategies.
The toolkit is designed to complement the council’s universal offer of online parenting courses through the Solihull Approach, which more than 3,000 North Yorkshire residents currently access.
Unlike traditional programmes delivered over set weeks, this free resource provides a different level of support, advice, and guidance for families.
Staff can choose the specific modules they consider right for the families they are working with and they can select as many or as few as needed.
Councillor Janet Sanderson, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for children and families, said: “Our officers and partners have such an extensive wealth of knowledge, experience, and expertise between them that it made sense to bring that all together to create an adaptable and flexible resource that could be used by all.
“They’ve been piloting ‘Your Family Toolkit’ for a year now and the feedback has been wonderful.
“They’ve added more modules to help parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and will be listening to the feedback from mums, dads, and carers to ensure the modules meet their needs.”
The modules, suitable for all ages, cover core topics such as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), coping with change and conflict, and understanding the role of a parent.
Each module can be delivered either face-to-face or online, discussed in a group situation or on a one-to-one basis by the staff member who knows the families best.
The modules are designed to be delivered within a two-hour timeframe, but this will vary according to the shared conversations and questions they spark.
Mel Hutchinson, North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director of children and families, said: “Most parents and carers often say they wish they had a manual when they first have children.
“There are so many challenging situations to navigate in a child’s development and it’s hard to know how to handle these.
“We know that every family is different – there is no ‘one size fits all’, so Your Family Toolkit is a pick’ n’ mix package of parenting support.”
For further details about accessing the toolkit, families should contact their early help consultant or their locality hub.
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