Back in November the Government published research showing that despite guidance requiring them to do so, Britain’s family services are failing to engage with fathers and support father-child relationships.

We at the Fatherhood Institute pledged support to the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ new campaign, Think Fathers, and ourselves challenged local services to take a stronger lead on this issue, which is key to children’s wellbeing and outcomes.

Now we’ve produced two attractive, evidence-based* resources (available now via our website www.fatherhoodinstitute.org) to help services reach out to dads – and meet the growing raft of policy directives that require them to do so.

The Fatherhood Institute Poster Pack

A set of four striking and beautifully produced A2 posters of real fathers and father-figures, each displaying a message that underlines their importance to their children, and with the words ‘welcome’ and ‘dad’ in a range of languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Hindi, Polish, Somali, Spanish, Turkish and Urdu.

The posters are available in sets of 4 (one each of four designs) and cost just £12 plus VAT. Discounts apply for bulk orders. For more details click here.

The Fatherhood Institute Photo Pack

This set of 10 A5 photo-cards is designed to stimulate thinking and discussion about fathers and fatherhood. Each card features an attractive image or set of images and, on the reverse, key research findings, facts and simple exercises.

The cards, which provide the ideal ‘way in’ to talking with and about dads, can be used in group work or one-to-one, on parenting courses and in individual discussion, in meetings, supervisions and workshops – to train staff to think differently and distinctively about dads, to help mums and dads talk about their roles, and to allow teenagers or quite young children to speak about the people who ‘father’ them, in age-appropriate ways. Suitable for use in schools and nurseries, further education and training, Children’s Centres and social care settings, youth work, maternity and primary care services…

Subjects covered on the cards include: the ‘mother and baby’ culture; dads and childcare; dads and the workplace; dads and mums; dads and child development; dads’ capabilities; diverse dads; dads and child health; inviting dads in.

The Fatherhood Photo-Pack costs £12.50 plus VAT, with a 25% reduction for 10 copies or more. For more details click here.

Notes for editors

*Research shows clearly that displaying positive images of fathers in childcare, health and education settings, and that training ALL staff in how and why to engage with them, are key steps to successfully drawing fathers in.

For more information on these products, and to receive sample copies and jpegs (these are available showing each of the 4 posters; all 4 posters together; and the photopack), please contact Jeremy Davies, Publications Manager on                0780 371 1692         or j.davies@fatherhoodinstitute.org.