September 2005 Newsletter

14 September 2005 
Fathers Direct's training brochure 2005

The Fathers Direct Network Newsletter: September 2005

If this email does not display properly, visit www.fatherhoodinstitute.org, log in to your profile to change the way you view emails (html/plain text available). This email will be placed in the News section of the website.
 
Please send suggestions or report any problems to webmaster@fathersdirect.com

THE CONTENTS (Click the links to go to the details!)

NEWS

CASE STUDIES WANTED

SPECIAL OFFERS 

FD TRAINING & CONSULTANCY

FD PUBLICATIONS 

FATHERHOOD DIARY OF EVENTS 

PARTNERS’ RESOURCES 

BOOKSHELF 

THE FD NETWORK 

 

THE DETAIL

NEWS

Fathers offer advice to ‘rookie dads’

The BBC website message boards accompanying the reality TV series HE’S HAVING A BABY (which i s following eight first time fathers) are in full flood. We’re taking part – and we hope you (and dads you work with) will, too, since research is showing that men can get a lot out of email and message-board contact. You can add to topics others have started, or start your own. The ‘Parenting Hot Topic Board’ is focusing on pregnancy and birth http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-perl/h2/h2.cgi?state=threads&board=parenting.hot&&sort=T . And the ‘Dads Board’ is talking generally about being a father. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-perl/h2/h2.cgi?state=threads&board=parenting.dads&&sort=T . Or if you’d like to share your wisdom IN PERSON, come to the Waterloo (London) studio on Saturday and be part of the on-air dads-panel (your partner and children can be in the audience). To take part, contact Rebecca on 020 7960 4077 or rebeccan@hattrick.com  HE’S HAVING A BABY is on BBC 1 early Sat. evenings with Davina McCall and on BBC 3 week nights @ 8.30 pm

Click here to return to the main menu

Fathers’ alcohol consumption and mother-child attachment

It’s long been known that lack of ‘secure attachment’ to key caregivers during infancy is related to all kinds of negative outcomes later – from behaviour problems to friendship-and-love difficulties. Now evidence is gathering that the security of an infant’s attachment to one parent can be powerfully affected by the other parent’s behaviour. For example, i babies whose fathers are heavy drinkers are twice as likely as the babies of light-drinking fathers to be classified as ‘insecure’ in their attachment to their mothers. Research like this underlines the importance of providing ‘family-centered’ maternity care, as specified in the new National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?id=2&cID=84 It’s good to know that policy makers are beginning to understand that if you want good outcomes for mums and babies, it’s important to work with the fathers, too. Durrrrh!

Refs: Das Eiden, R., & Leonard, K. E. (1996) 

' Paternal alcohol use and the mother infant relationship ' 

in Development and Psychopathology, 8, 307-323; Miller, B.A. (1997) 

' Paternal Alcohol Use and the Mother-Infant Relationship ' in Research In Brief (97:3) 

Research Institute on Addictions, New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services; 

Eiden, R.D., Edwards, E.P. & Leonard, K. E. (2002) ' Mother-infant and father-infant attachment among alcoholic families ' 

in Dev Psychopathol. (14(2):253-78

Click here to return to the main menu

Father’s caring responsibilities recognised by Industrial Tribunal

There are only two industrialized countries without any paid maternity or parental leave. One of them is the US – the other Australia. But it seems progress can be made in unexpected places. In Australia, a father who had to leave his job when his employer relocated its manufacturing and warehousing divisions an hour’s drive from his home, has won redundancy entitlements due to his ‘caring responsibilities’. He showed the extra travel would make him unable to care for his 82-year-old mother (who lived alone and was suffering onset of dementia) or drop his children to before and after school care every day (which his wife’s employment patterns made necessary). The Industrial Tribunal Report noted that while the ‘first wave’ of caring responsibilities complaints were (generally) initiated by women (mainly new mothers) the second wave of cases reveals a greater diversity of complainants – including more men. It is likely that as parents’ ‘right to ask for flexible working’ becomes established here in the UK, more fathers will exercise it . 

Ref: Aequus Partners' Diversity and Flexibility Newsletter, March 2005: juliet.bourke@aequus.com.au

Click here to return to the main menu

Hot tip from FD’s resident Tecchie

Ever had a problem downloading a PDF? Our own Tom Beardshaw, who designs our websites, organizes our conferences and makes phone calls while zooming through Cardiff on his skateboard, also supports frazzled FD team members who are threatening their laptops with G.B.H. Tom says that when a PDF won’t download, simply highlight the item, ‘right click’ on it, and choose ‘Save Target As . . .’ It works every time! It won’t work from this email, but it’s a useful trick to know when browsing the website. Why not use it to check out our training courses on this web page: http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?id=0&cID=172 ? There are six training courses in different parts of the country, ranging from the general (e.g. ‘Working with Fathers’) to the specific (‘e.g. Working with Fathers in Groups’). All the courses introduce delegates to the Fatherhood Quality Mark (FQM) http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?nID=41, our new strategic tool for improving children’s health and welfare, meeting statutory responsibilities and recognising good practice. For more about the FQM Liz Rand at l.rand@fathersdirect.com, or phone her on 01604 603797. For more about the courses call or email Fathers Direct (training@fathersdirect.com; 0845 634 1328)

Click here to return to the main menu

 CASE STUDIES WANTED

Fathers of Children with Learning Difficulties

Examples of good practice with fathers of children with learning disabilities are sought by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, for their new research project: Recognising Fathers. The research, to last for 12 months, will interview fathers to learn about: 

  • The problems they have experienced using services and receiving help 
  • Their needs and wishes regarding father friendly support 
  • The ways in which they have, or have not, been able to contribute to family life and the development of their child.

The aims of the research project are to change policy and practice so that the contribution of fathers to their child’s support network is recognised.

To find out more log onto http://www.learningdisabilities.org.uk or contact Christine Towers, Research Project Manager, on 020 7803 1158 or at ctowers@fpld.org.uk  

Click here to return to the main menu

Muslim Fathers/Communities Projects (for Fathers Direct)

In partnership with the Muslim community, Fathers Direct is developing materials which organisations can give to new young Muslim fathers. We are interested in hearing from projects working in Muslim communities (or developing work with Muslim fathers) who feel they can help us get these materials right. Please send details of relevant projects/individuals to Kathy Jones: k.jones@fathersdirect.com or 01604 638538.

Click here to return to the main menu

Pregnancy discrimination at work (for BBC 2)

BBC 2s ‘The Money Programme’ is investigating discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace and how their partners and children are affected. For example, a father who had hoped to play a caring role with his baby finds he has to go out to work, or work much longer hours, when his child’s mother loses pay, status – or even her job. The programme urgently seeks examples of individuals or families who have suffered in this way. Please call or email in confidence: Amanda Austen, 0208 752 6032 or amanda.austen@bbc.co.uk

Click here to return to the main menu

Both parents working flexibly (for the EOC)

The Equal Opportunities Commission plans to launch the results of a two-year investigation into part-time and flexible work on September 15th. The EOC is looking for cases where both partners (man and woman) work flexibly so that it can provide case studies for the media. If you are in this situation or know of people in this situation who would be willing to speak to the media about working flexibly in this way, please could you ask them to contact Kristine Ziwica, Equal Opportunities Commission 020 7960 7429 kristine.ziwica@eoc.org.uk  

Click here to return to the main menu

SPECIAL OFFERS

FREE! RESOURCES on FD Training courses.

Fathers Direct is able to offer two sets of FREE RESOURCES (each worth more than £60 and containing a copy of our Six Step Guide to ‘Working with Fathers’, a photopack of images to use in work with fathers, a poster set, and copies of briefing sheets and of ‘DAd’ and ‘FatherWork’ magazines). Delegates from small voluntary organisations (annual turnover below £250,000) can use these resources themselves; others, from wealthier bodies are to give the Resource Packs to small voluntary organisations in their locality, to help develop father friendly practice in their regions. The training courses at which these FREE RESOURCES will be made available are:

Click here to return to the main menu

FREE! Places and FREE! Resources at ‘Working with African Caribbean Fathers’ Seminars

Barnardos’ Babyfather Alliance /Fathers Direct are holding exciting regional one-day seminars on Working with African Caribbean Fathers: Leeds (21 September 2005); Liverpool (13 October 2005). For further details see our website’s Diary of Events: LEEDS EVENT: http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?id=7&cID=281
LIVERPOOL EVENT: http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?id=7&cID=280  

Click here to return to the main menu 

FREE ADVERTISING on the Fathers Direct Website

Tell us about fatherhood events – or events with a clear gender-awareness element – that you are planning, and we will advertise them on our widely-read website for FREE. Email us at diary@fathersdirect.com  

Click here to return to the main menu

FD TRAINING & CONSULTANCY

About our training and consultancy

We offer a wide range of public and in-house training courses (some accredited), and work in partnership to help agencies develop effective approaches to support children’s relationships with their fathers and other male carers. Our culturally diverse male and female trainers have in-depth knowledge of how to set up father-friendly services, particularly in deprived communities, and guide trainees through a range of practical approaches, backed up by detailed handouts and our ‘Working with Fathers’ Six-Step Guide. Clients include maternity and early years services, child and family support services, child protection agencies, schools, Connexions, CAMHS teams, teenage pregnancy teams, YOTs, YOIs, prisons etc. There are courses for beginners, and courses for managers; general courses, and specialist courses; 1-day, 2-day, and 3-day courses. We also offer audit, consultancy and project management, and external evaluation; and can help you organise an Awareness-Raising Conference in your district, to explore key issues for local families and services. All our training courses also introduce delegates to the Fatherhood Quality Mark (FQM) (See below)

Read more about our training and consultancy and see course outlines http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?id=0&catID=7

For an exploratory discussion about in-house and local support contact David Bartlett on 01422 847825 d.bartlett@fathersdirect.com

For enquiries or to book a place phone 0845 6341328 or download a PDF price list and booking form by right clicking here and choosing ‘save target as…’:  http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/download.php?pID=1235.8

To read PDF price list and booking form download ADOBE ACROBAT here: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Click here to return to the main menu

Fatherhood Quality Mark IconAbout our Fatherhood Quality Mark (FQM)

The Fatherhood Quality Mark (FQM), which is available to service providers in a range of social care sectors, is a kite-marking process supported by information, mentoring and training. The FQM helps validate what you are already doing to strengthen children’s relationships with their fathers, and develop future strategies, which are then externally assessed. The FQM can be obtained at two levels and helps agencies:

  • improve children’s health and welfare
  • meet statutory responsibilities
  • recognise good practice

Read more about the FQM http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?nID=41 or Liz Rand at l.rand@fathersdirect.com, or phone her on 01604 603797

Click here to return to the main menu

Fathers Direct’s FREE workers’ telephone helpline

Fathers Direct offers FREE! telephone advice of up to 15 minutes per call to workers and managers trying to engage with fathers, or attempting to make their organisation or and service father-inclusive. The telephone support is provided by Fathers Direct trainers. To obtain this support email workershelpline@fathersdirect.com or telephone 0845 634 1328. Messages will be passed on, and someone on the team will come back to you.

Click here to return to the main menu

FD PUBLICATIONS

All FD publications can be purchased on line http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?nID=shop or by telephone on 0845 634 1328

FatherWork MagazineFatherWork Magazine

The latest edition of FatherWork profiles an outstanding project that helps dads keep children drug-free. The magazine showcases support for refugee fathers and a unique venture: Who Let The Dads Out? We prelim a major new BBC series on fatherhood, question Government plans on leave policies and offer ways for fathers and children to understand each other and play better. And of course there’s the usual great writing and images, and the three detailed case studies you now find in every issue highlight ‘lessons learned’. These case studies also support our accredited ‘Working with Fathers’ trainings as well as our six-step booklet Working with Fathers: a guide for everyone working with families by enabling you to build up a bank of 12 ‘best practice’ case studies per year when you take out a subscription to FatherWork,

We’ve designed FATHERWORK not just to give you INFORMATION but to act as an ATTRACTIVE RESOURCE. Don’t file your copy away – leave it lying around: colleagues and service users will read it, and its presence will act as a ‘welcome’ to dads. And if you want material to give to fathers, think about ordering back copies of FATHERWORK.

Annual Subscription: £34 (for an additional £10 you get another whole year’s subscription for someone else in your organisation) – subscribe to FATHERWORK http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?prodID=8  

FatherWorld MagFatherWorld Report

There’s never been a publication like FATHERWORLD: it’s a special 28-page one-off international edition of our quarterly FatherWork magazine. Double the usual size, packed with stunning images and gripping fathers’ tales, it introduces projects from Siberia to Sweden, Brazil to Cameroon, South Africa to Australia, and reveals the extent to which fatherhood is a growing area of concern all over the world. Read about the Aka Pygmies from Central Africa (the international stars of paternal involvement), South Korea’s national ”Dads Club’, the work done with rival Latino gangs in the ‘third world’ streets of Los Angeles – while not forgetting the ‘best of British’ . It’s a MUST for your reception area – and everyone at home will read it, too. Price: £5.99 Order ‘FatherWorld’ Report http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?prodID=16

Working with FathersWorking with Fathers: our Six-Step Guide (for everyone working with families)

This unique user-friendly 32 page guide is full of practical tips and strategies and sets out a six-step process for engaging effectively with fathers and other male carers, in both dedicated and mainstream services. (Attendees at our training courses receive a free copy.) Price: £6.95. Order ‘Working with Fathers’ http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?prodID=5  

Inside FatherhoodPrison Briefing (‘Inside Fatherhood’)

This Fathers Direct FatherFacts briefing paper, INSIDE FATHERHOOD, details latest research and best practice in supporting relationships between children and convicted dads, both in and out of prison. Price: £5.95 Order ‘Inside Fatherhood’: Prison Briefing http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?prodID=12  

FatherPhotos packPhotopack and Posters

Three full size quality posters of positive images of fathers and children for display purposes, together with a pack of 20 high quality A5 laminated images of fathers, children and mothers for use in individual and groupwork with dads. Each A5 image is accompanied by a key research fact showing the importance of fathers in child development.
Price: Photopack £19 inc VAT Order ‘FatherPhotos’ http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?prodID=1  Posters £12 inc VAT Order ‘FatherPosters’ http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?prodID=6  

Fathers in Maternity ServicesWorking with Fathers in Maternity Services
Our Maternity Services Briefing Paper – ‘How to Build New Dads" – is of particular interest to midwives and anyone involved in maternity and post-natal care. This paper deals with the research on the impact of fathering behaviour and attitudes on maternal and infant outcomes: case studies of good practice relating to fathers in the maternity services; recommendations for practice in maternity services. Order ‘How to Build New Dads’ Price £4.95 http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?prodID=13

What Good Are DadsWhat Good Are Dads?

This Fact Sheet is out of print, so we let you download the text in pdf format for FREE – http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/download.php?pID=1202.4

Click here to return to the Main Menu

 

FATHERHOOD DIARY OF EVENTS

Online Events Listing

We keep an up to date DIARY of EVENTS http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?id=0&catID=6  listing on our website, laid out month by month. We only include events that contain at least a fatherhood or gender-awareness ‘thread’. 

A busy autumn at the N-E Regional Resource Centre for Fatherhood

It’s a busy autumn for Children N-E’s new Regional Resource Centre for Fatherhood http://www.workingwithfathers.com  Not only are they running their amazing community-based ‘Celebration 2005: Fatherhood Past and Present’ on October 1-2 at the Beamish Open Air Museum, they’re also ‘Supporting Work with Fathers in the Tees Valley’ on November 9th in Middlesbrough, and inviting practitioners to come to Durham for 3 days in October to ‘Let’s think about Father Figures’. Apply now online http://workingwithfathers.com/events.html or contact Eileen or David at the Resource Centre on 0845 880 0707.

Click here to return to the main menu

U Tell Us

We are keen to hear about other fatherhood events – or events with a clear gender-awareness element – scheduled for 2005/6. Email us at diary@fathersdirect.com and we will advertise them for you FREE!

Click here to return to the main menu  

PARTNERS’ RESOURCES

Oxfam: ‘See Both Sides’ & ‘What Men and Women Want’

Just as the word ‘parent’ is mostly used to mean ‘mother’, so ‘gender’ studies have generally explored only the experiences of women. Oxfam UK is challenging this by pioneering a range of practical tools to explore ‘gender’ in its fullest sense – i.e. the different experiences of women and men, girls and boys. What Men and Women Want: a practical guide to gender and participation will be of use to anyone who wants to build awareness of gender, carry out a community consultation, or plan a course of action using participatory tools to bring out the different responses of men and women. See Both Sides, written for Oxfam by Karen Richardson, Chief Executive of York’s One Parent Families Support and Information Network (currently being re-launched in a truly gender-inclusive way as the ‘Centre for Separated Families’) helps practitioners recognise whether their service discriminates against women or men – however indirectly; explains how to improve equality of opportunity (for women and men) within an organisation, and in the delivery of services; and provides tools to improve access to support for both sexes. These publications will become ‘must haves’ as new legislation embodied in the Equality Bill hits all public services in 2006 with the new Duty to Consider Gender. Priced at £4.95 each, order What Men and Women Want http://publications.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam/display.asp?isb=0855985364& and See Both Sides http://publications.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam/results.asp?sf_01=CTITLE&TAG=&CID=&st_01=See+Both+Sides&SORT=SORT_DATE%2FD&x=10&y=10

ContinYou: ‘Top Dads’ Seminars and Tool Kit

ContinYou’s Top Dads ‘Parenting Fund’ project (an exciting and innovative approach to supporting vulnerable young fathers, which is being delivered in partnership with the Youth Sports Trust) is offering a series of FREE morning seminars across the country designed for practitioners who already support, or who wish to engage with, young fathers (e.g. Connexions staff, family support workers, parenting co-ordinators, Sure Start workers, and so on). The September Seminars are already booked out, but there are still a few spaces on the October events in Manchester (4th) and Peterborough (13th). Delegates receive lunch and a FREE copy of the Top Dads Toolkit, which contains case studies and lessons learnt from the project so far. To find out more email tricia.curtis@continyou.org.uk  or go to http://www.continyou.org.uk/events_details.php?EventID=70  

Click here to return to the main menu

BOOKSHELF

Gary T. Barker: Dying to be Men: youth, masculinity and social exclusion (Routledge, 2005)

Gary Barker is an outstanding Action Researcher working in gender equality, violence prevention, HIV/AIDS and youth development. In this book, which is based on a decade of field work with young men in Brazil, the Caribbean, the US and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, Barker explores how some individuals come to question the destructive versions of manhood that are forced upon them. An important finding is that there are multiple and qualitatively different pathways to non-violent and gender-equitable masculinity – one of which is involved fatherhood. This thoughtful and moving text should be on the shelves of all those working with, or developing policy relating to, socially excluded young males, including those from African Caribbean backgrounds. It will also prove invaluable to students and researchers of gender studies. Purchase direct from the publisher: Barker, G.T. (2005) Dying to be Men: youth, masculinity and social exclusion. Routledge, £23.99 http://search.tandf.co.uk/bookscatalogue.asp?URL=https://ecommerce.tandf.co.uk/catalogue/DirectLink.asp?ResourceCentre=SEARCH&ContinentSelected=0&CountrySelected=0&USSelected=0&ChangeCountry=0&search_text=0415337755&SearchGroup=ISBN&results_order=ByTitle&querytext=Dying%20to%20be%20Men&database=Books  

Click here to return to the main menu 

THE FD NETWORK


Communicate with us

We have a central phone number: 0845 634 1328, or can be contacted on mail@fathersdirect.com. We look forward to your comments on this website, and are delighted when you notify us of anything you’d like publicised such as events, employment opportunities, relevant books, journal articles or reports, and details of work with fathers – all over the world. We can often publicise these in this email newsletter, or in our other publications.

Search for other network members
Fathers Direct has an extensive database of fatherworkers and people interested in working with fathers. We are able to email a post-code-based-section of our database on your behalf, for a fee of £20. We send an email that you yourself write, and recipients can choose whether or not to respond. This way, full confidentiality is maintained. We are, of course, unable to guarantee a response. Price (Incl. VAT): £20.00. Contact us to purchase a search. http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?prodID=15  

Register for this free monthly email newsletter

Our Network of researchers, practitioners and policy makers is now over 4,500 members strong. All Network Members receive this FREE monthly email newsletter. If you do not already receive it, you can register here http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/index.php?nID=register If you know anyone in your organisation who should also receive it, please send their details to us at mail@fathersdirect.com.

De-Register from this Newsletter

If you would like to unsubscribe from this newsletter, go to www.fatherhoodinstitute.org and log into your account (if you can’t remember your password, you can request it to be sent to your email address from the site. Once you’re logged in, click on "My Account" in the top right hand corner of the website and untick "Monthly Email". This will ensure you do not get these newsletters.

Click here to return to the main menu

Share |