Core Components

The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program® is a parenting and family support system designed to prevent and treat behaviour and emotional problems in children and teenagers. The system takes a minimal sufficiency approach, offering families just the amount of support they require. It also takes a self-regulatory approach that encourages practitioners, parents and children to promote independent problem solving. The Triple P System has five levels of intervention, each increasing in intensity and directed towards a different level of family need or dysfunction. The levels range from level 1 which takes a universal approach, to level 5 interventions which include programmes which offer intensive family support for families with complex concerns.

Selected (Seminar) Teen Triple P is a level 2 brief group-based intervention aimed at families with adolescents aged up to 16 years interested in general information about promoting their teen’s development. This level focuses on families whose children have mild to moderate behaviour concerns. The seminars are suitable for parents if they have a specific concern about their teen’s behaviour, and their family is not complicated by significant behaviour problems or family stress.

A practitioner delivers a series of three parenting information presentations to groups of parents (20-200). These sessions are useful as an introduction to the Teen Triple P strategies, and teach parents about raising responsible teenagers, raising competent teenagers, and getting their teenager connected with teachers, friends, and the wider community.  A practitioner (or two if preferred by the agency) delivers three seminars in 90-minute sessions consisting of a 60-minute presentation and 30-minute question time.

The three sessions delivered cover the following session topics: Raising competent teenagers; Raising responsible teenagers; Getting teenagers connected. The sessions can be attended in any order although the seminars are typically scheduled in the same order outlined as above. Parents can also choose which sessions they wish to attend.

Selected (Seminar) Teen Triple P is well operationalised. Each practitioner receives a facilitator’s manual that provides comprehensive guidance around what should be covered in each session. It also gives clear guidance about which strategies are recommended across the different ages. Parents receive a Teen Triple P Seminar Series Tip Sheet corresponding to the seminar they are attending.

Fidelity

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program® has three main fidelity checks / quality assurance strategies across all the programmes:  

• Accreditation of practitioners undertaken as part of a provider training course. Intended to establish a baseline of competence for all practitioners.  
• Session Checklists are provided for every session in the programme manual.  
• Peer Support Networks – Triple P has a Peer Assisted Supervision and Support (PASS) model which is a self-regulatory framework for practitioners where they can support each other’s skills development. The PASS model is covered in the training days. 

Modifiable Components

Triple P practitioners can tailor interventions to meet the needs of individual parents, while maintaining adherence to the overall principles and content of the programmes. Appropriate adaptions are covered during training.

Training in Triple P has been delivered in 30 countries and written and audio-visual materials have been translated from English, dubbed or subtitled into 21 languages, with video clips and workbooks including images of diverse ethnicities. Practitioners can tailor the intervention, so it is culturally acceptable, such as using culturally familiar terminology and examples.

Triple P consultants can offer support to implementing services to consider appropriate adaptions.

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program® was developed in Queensland, Australia. Training and implementation are now available across 30 countries. Within the United Kingdom, training and implementation support can be accessed from Triple P UK.

Support for Organisation / Practice

Implementation Support

Triple P UK has structured implementation supports available to sites. All implementation supports are flexible and tailored to the site’s requirements and are available for all programmes in the Triple P system. Triple P have developed a framework for implementation, which has five phases and are all described in detail in the Triple P Implementation Framework (TPIF). Triple P UK also has Implementation Consultants (IC) available to support new sites work through the phases of implementation. 

The five phases of implementation are detailed below:

• Engagement – ICs share information about the Triple P system and work with key contacts to establish if there is a potential fit.
• Commitment and Contracting – ICs work with the organisation to help establish more detailed plans and goals, choose suitable Triple P programme variants, set up implementation support and communications strategies, and together agree on mutual commitments.
• Implementation Planning – ICs help support development of detailed plans for service delivery, communications, training and accreditation, and evaluation for the organisation’s outcomes, based on their readiness and capacity.
• Training and Accreditation – ICs work with key contacts to ensure there are enough trained practitioners to offer the planned Triple P services. This includes ensuring practitioners are prepared for training, have a high-quality experience of training, and have time after training to work on their skills and prepare for and complete their accreditation.
• Implementation and Maintenance – The goal of this phase is to ensure that Triple P is effectively delivered, that there is an active evaluation process from which feedback is provided to practitioners and leadership, that practitioners are getting the most out of Triple P peer support networks, and strategies are in place to support sustainable, effective delivery.

After training, practitioners can access the Triple P Provider Network which has resources such as questionnaires and monitoring forms, further information for learning and development of competencies and access to the Automatic Scoring and Reporting Application (ASRA). Using the ASRA tool, sites can score questionnaires, analyse and compare individual cases and outcomes, enabling reporting and evaluation of the programme’s effectiveness. Additional implementation support options are available from Triple P UK at an additional cost.

Licence Requirements

No licence is required.

Start-up Costs

Costs can be provided directly from Triple P UK for training groups of staff from 10–20 practitioners or individual open enrolment training.

Costs that need to be considered are the training course, programme resources for working with parents, and any additional implementation support required. Certain locations will require additional costs of trainer travel and accommodation.

Building Staff Competency

Qualifications Required

Triple P UK recommends that for all programmes, practitioners have a post-high school qualification in health, education, early childhood education, or social services. However, para-professionals who actively work with families may also be suitable for training. Para-professionals are expected to have knowledge of child or adolescent development, and/or experience working with families.

Triple P UK note that professionals who usually undertake the course are those who may be involved in occasional support for the client and are able to provide focused therapeutic interventions, including teachers, school counsellors, nurses, health visitors, family physicians and allied health professionals. Triple P UK suggest that the intervention is carried out by a professional in the course of providing routine care for families.

Training Requirements

Practitioners are required to attend two days of training. This is followed by a one-day pre-accreditation and a half day accreditation workshop. Prior to the accreditation session practitioners need to complete a quiz and competency preparation. In total, it is estimated that training and accreditation should take four days of practitioner time.

Organisations can host agency training at a time and location convenient to them or alternatively individual practitioners can apply for open enrolment training held remotely (video conference) through the UK open enrolment timetable.

Training in Selected (Seminar) Teen Triple P is available as a standalone course or as an extension to Selected (Seminar) Triple P (0-12 years) and several other Triple P courses. There are no pre-requisite participation requirements for a standalone course.

Supervision Requirements

No official supervision requirements are detailed by Triple P UK. However, they do have a professional development and peer support model; Peer Assisted Supervision and Support (PASS). This approach brings together Triple P practitioners to support one another to strengthen and refine their Triple P delivery.

Theory of Change

The Triple P system aims to enhance family protective factors and reduce risk factors associated with severe behavioural and emotional problems later in childhood. Triple P interventions are based on social learning, cognitive behavioural and developmental theory.

Values

Triple P interventions aim to promote positive caring relationships between parents and their children/adolescents and to help parents develop effective management strategies for dealing with behaviour and emotion problems. Selected Teen Triple P aims to provide general information about promoting teen development and briefly introduce parents to Teen Triple P strategies.

• Is working with families to promote a positive caring relationship with their adolescent match with your service values?

Triple P takes a minimal sufficiency approach, offering families just the amount of support parents requires to resolve a problem and enable parents to be confident, competent and independent in their parenting. It also takes a self-regulatory approach that encourages practitioners, parents and children to promote independent problem solving.

• Does taking a minimal sufficiency approach to offering support align with your service values?

Priorities

The Triple P system has been developed as an early intervention strategy within a preventative framework. Selected (Seminar) Teen Triple P for parents of adolescent children aged up to 16 years who are interested in general information about promoting their teen’s development and are uncomplicated by significant behaviour problems and a high level of family stress.

• Is taking an early intervention and prevention approach to adolescent behaviour and emotional difficulties a priority for your service?

Existing Initiatives

• Is the delivery of a brief targeted intervention for parents of adolescents with a discrete behaviour or developmental issue aligned with the priorities of your organisation?
• Does your service already provide early intervention / prevention programmes aiming to improve adolescent development and mental health outcomes?

Workforce

At least one practitioner is required to deliver Selected (Seminars) Teen Triple P. Triple P UK recommends that practitioners have a post-high school qualification in health, education, childcare, or social services. 

Practitioners require time to deliver the intervention, Triple P UK recommends that in addition to the session time (three 1.5 hour sessions) practitioners are allocated about 1.5 hours for session preparation and post-session debriefing. Practitioners require time to attend training and accreditation, which is estimated to take four days.

• Do you have the required staff numbers to meet the need of the demand in your service / area?
• Do you have appropriate staff with the capacity to train and deliver this intervention?

Technology Support

To implement Selected (Seminars) Teen Triple P, a computer/data projector and screen is required to show the presentation and video clips (available for practitioners to download or access online).

• Do you have the technology to support practitioners to download, print and photocopy the materials they need to deliver the programme?
• Programme delivery can involve families viewing a DVD with the practitioner, do you have the technology available to practitioners to do this?

Administrative Support

Administrative support is required to collect evaluation data and feedback, print off materials along with co-ordinating and booking of venues.

• Do your current administrative procedures support your practitioners to implement a programme like this?
• Do you have access to facilities to host Selected (Seminars) Teen Triple P?

Financial Support

Costs can be provided directly from Triple P UK for training groups of staff from 12–20 practitioners. In addition to training, the costs of programme resources and any additional implementation supports need to be taken into consideration.

• Do you have the finances available to support the training and implementation of this programme?

Comparable Population

Selected (Seminar) Teen Triple P is for families with adolescents aged up to 16 years who are interested in general information about promoting their teenager’s development, have a specific concern about their teen’s behaviour, and where their family is not complicated by significant behaviour problems or family stress. Generally Triple P has been shown to be acceptable, useful, and culturally appropriate for parents from culturally diverse backgrounds. Selected Teen Triple P has been assessed for efficacy in New Zealand, with approximately half the families being NZ European and a quarter Pasifika.  Most were married, held a university degree, and employed.  

• Is this comparable to the population you serve?

Desired Outcome

Selected (Seminar) Teen Triple P is a brief group-based intervention aimed at families with adolescents interested in general information about promoting their child’s development.

Research has demonstrated that this intervention is effective in significantly reducing lax parenting, parental conflict with adolescents, and interparental conflict.  Improvements for adolescents included significantly greater family cohesion, connection to family and connection to school.

• Are the improvements of parenting practices and adolescents’ behaviour a priority outcome for your organisation?
• Is supporting parents to develop skills to resolve conflicts and cope positively with stress a priority for your service?
• Do you have other existing initiatives that would be supportive of addressing this need and achieving these outcomes?