Why It Matters: Taking Parenting Lessons in Camden

There’s nothing quite as brutal as the school summer holidays to test parents to their organisational, emotional and financial outer limits.

Juggling the daily stresses of family life isn’t easy at the best of times, but chuck in back to back, often rain-sodden weeks all cooped up together and it quickly can start to feel like a particularly gruelling exam in, well, being a parent. Does that chime with your last few weeks, by any chance?

Yet child rearing is something that we embark upon with very little in the way of training at all. The question is, could things be made better for families? Could we be helped to have more of the cherished memories, less of the tears and tantrums… for children and adults alike?

Although fairy godmothers waving magic wands haven’t been sighted in Kentish Town in recent times, the local area does have a new – and free – way that parents can get support and tips on making family life happy ever after.

Camden is one of only 3 places in the country running a trial scheme called CANparent. Funded by the Department for Education, it is putting a £100 voucher into the hands of every parent or carer of a child under 6 who lives in the borough. No questions are asked about income, and parents have a choice of a number of providers so that they can find the information, advice and classes that suit them.

I’ve been involved with Camden parents and schools for over 20 years as my three children (now 26, 23 and 21) attended local primary and secondary schools. I’ve been a governor, parent representative and adult teacher and I know that every parent has moments when they need a bit of support with the delightful, important and perplexing business of raising the next generation.

I set up Ampersand Learning in 2007 in order to share knowledge that helps parents understand their children better, enables them to support learning at home and improve family relationships. I developed the ‘Easy to Read’ workshop for parents whose children are learning to read and, over the past three years, more than 350 parents in 22 Camden primary schools have taken part.

For the CANparent scheme, I’ve developed a series of classes called ‘Once Upon A Time’ which look at common parenting issues such as setting routines and boundaries, separation anxiety and encouraging learning. This unique short course uses children’s books as a way of understanding children’s perspectives and encouraging communication.

Taking place in nurseries, primary schools – as well as friendly venues like my kitchen – these small classes give parents the chance to stand back from daily life, get some new ideas and work out solutions that are right for their family.

A new ‘Once Upon a Time’ course starts on Wednesday 26th September in my kitchen on Ospringe Road, so if you’d like to come for a coffee then to find out more (or another time that suits you better), do get in touch.

What happens in Camden on this trial matters – for our area and the rest of the country too. We are lucky to have a government-funded opportunity to explore parenting in this way, so I hope everyone eligible takes up their voucher.