Trust for the Study of Adolescence

Home » Staff Development » Case Studies » North East Forum of Father Workers

North East Forum of Father Workers -
Practitioner Support Network

Fathers Plus in Durham is a project of Children North East, a well-established charity serving the needs of children and families in the North East of England. Fathers Plus aims ‘to ensure that the role of the father is valued, supported and included in all approaches to work with children and families.’ In 2004, Fathers Plus was awarded a major Parenting Fund award to enable a Regional Resource Centre for Fatherhood to be established in the North East. The Centre acts as a voice for fatherhood, feeding back to policy makers and strategists (regionally and nationally) the experiences of practitioners and parents at the sharp end of service delivery. The Centre also aims to help practitioners and organisations in their work engaging fathers and promoting the importance of fatherhood.

Fathers Plus facilitates the North East Forum of Father Workers which meets every two months and provides opportunities for practitioners working with young fathers to meet, network, and discuss issues and developments relating to their work. The forum meetings include guest speakers and regular skill building workshops for the members. For example, the Child Psychotherapy Trust (CPT) has delivered a series of workshops on the ‘importance of fathers’ to Forum members. The North East forum also supports a number of sub-regional groups running in Gateshead, County Durham, Sunderland and Teesside. Plans are in place to develop similar groups in Newcastle, Northumberland, and Tyneside.

Contact:
Roger Olley (Project Manager)
Tel: +44 (0)191 256 2444

Go back to case studies list