PARENTING CLASSES FOR SEPARATING PARENTS

There appears to be a massive increase in the number of separating parents ordered by judges to attend parenting classes. Presumably that is a good thing. But it’s a shame isn’t it that parents can’t work out for themselves that the less they argue, the less traumatic it is for the children.

I had envisaged a lot of stress and fighting within the classes but apparently the warring parents do not go to the same classes together. Phew.

As many as 12,000 parents will have undergone parenting classes by next April on the orders of judges, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) predicts. It seems that the attendance fee being dropped is the main reason for the increase in attendees.

The classes are intended to limit the impact of parents’ separation on their children.
The courses are run by specially trained mediators at contact centres, where separated parents sometimes have to have meetings with their children under supervision.

The focus is on the impact of separation proceedings on children. The parents watch a video that shows children saying how they feel about their parents arguing, and highlighting the damage that this can cause. They are also then helped to look at ways to reduce conflict and to communicate better. The courses are free and Cafcass said that feedback was “positive”.

According to a report in The Times today, from April 2009 to March this year, 945 people participated in the programmes. But in the five months from April to August 31 this year, the number taking part rose to more than 3,000. The growth in the use of parenting orders is disclosed in figures obtained by the Law Society Gazette this week.