Core Components

The Solihull Approach Parenting Group “Understanding your child’s behaviour” is a universal parenting group for parents of children aged 0-18. The programme is delivered in a group setting over 10 weekly 2-hour sessions. Ten to twelve parents are invited to attend each group programme. The programme is designed to be a first response parenting intervention. The programme is clearly operationalised, with the content of each session clearly described. The primary focus is on the parent-child relationship. By exploring the concepts of emotional containment and a reciprocal relationship; it aims to help parents understand their child’s behaviour within a developmental context and promote reflective, sensitive and effective parenting.

Fidelity

The Solihull Approach Parenting Group manages fidelity using a detailed manual, contracts with commissioners, trainers and facilitators and parental and facilitator evaluation forms submitted to the central team. Evaluation forms are periodically checked by the central team, and they follow up any concerns.
The programme acknowledges the limits to their fidelity monitoring and have taken a pragmatic decision to have a limited burden on sites demonstrating fidelity to the central team, to support the widest possible roll out of the programme.

Modifiable Components

The programme can be delivered in mixed age groups or focussed age groups such as 0-4-year olds; 4-11 year olds and 11- 18 years. Additional materials are available free of charge to adapt the group to the needs of parents of children with learning disabilities, ASD or who are adopted. Materials are available in a range of languages. An online version of the group is available, which has the same structure and content. It can be used to support a parent who is unable to attend the group with their partner, or as a standalone intervention. A smaller group size (5-6 parents) is recommended if using with parents and children with more complex difficulties.

The Solihull Approach have written other programmes targeting parents within the postnatal period, and for foster carers.

Support for Organisation / Practice

The Solihull Approach Parenting Group: Understanding your child, is one of the programmes from the Solihull Approach central team at the University Hospitals Birmingham, NHS Trust. It builds upon their two-day foundation training, which introduces the Solihull Approach model to practitioner.

Implementation Support

The Solihull Approach team can provide implementation on request support by phone and email and through resources on its website. Further support is available through linking with mature sites.

The Solihull Approach team can provide direct individual training places in Solihull or provide training locally for groups of 12 delegates. In common with all Solihull trainings, the Parenting group training can be cascaded locally. The Solihull Approach team provide guidance on how training can be run sustainably in local areas. This includes “train the trainer” trainings for both the initial foundation training, and specific parenting group training.

The programme requires that parental session evaluations and facilitator session feedback forms are submitted to central team. They have a set of free outcome measures that they can provide to sites on request.

There are no training requirements to deliver the online version. Purchase of the school based - online multi-user licence includes an implementation kit with advice on communicating the programme to parents. Purchase of the Public Health Multi-user licence includes liaison with Solihull central team about planning the role out of the programme.

Licence Requirements

There are no formal licencing requirements for facilitators; however, commissioners, trainers and facilitators are required to agree to a code of practice.

Start-up Costs

Both facilitators need manuals (£91 each) and at least one needs to attend the Solihull Approach Parenting Group training (£98) in Solihull. Training for 12 delegates can be provided locally (£1999 plus trainers’ accommodation and travel). The parenting group “Train the trainer” costs £197, including training manual. Ongoing costs are primarily the costs of facilitators and group venues, estimated to be £1500 per group.

The pre-requisite two-day foundation training costs £189 per place in Solihull, or onsite for 12 staff costs £1499, plus trainer travel and accommodation. Foundation resource packs cost £77.

The online version cost £39 per person, with discounts available for multiple purchases. Schools can buy a 12-month multi-user licence to offer the online parenting programme in their school for £400. A multi-user licence is available for council area, in negotiation with the Solihull Approach Team.

Building Staff Competency

Qualifications Required

There are no specific professional qualifications required to train in the Solihull Approach Parenting Group. Facilitators need experience of working with children and their families, to have completed the two-day foundation course in the Solihull Approach and have six months experience of using the Solihull Approach.

Training Requirements

One facilitator needs to have attended the specific one-day training in the Solihull Approach Parenting Group (£98). Training in the pre-requisite two-day foundation training, and the one-day Solihull Approach Parenting Group are readily available via individual training places, or on-site as groups of 12 delegates. Training in the Solihull Approach Parenting Group is also now available remotely, delivered online via Zoom/MS Teams.

The Solihull Approach encourages a local cascade of training. A “train the trainer” group training is available for practitioners that have completed the both the foundation and group training and run at least one group.

There are no training requirements for rolling out the online version of the programme.

Supervision Requirements

Supervision is recommended but not mandated.

The Solihull Approach Parenting Group: Understanding your child’s behaviour has demonstrated positive child and parent outcomes in one RCT with a mixed age range, and in one evaluation that included children 0-36 months. An evaluation of the online version has also shown positive parental outcomes.

Theory of Change

The Solihull approach brings together three psychological constructs from psychoanalytic theory, developmental psychology and social learning theory in its theory of change. It emphasises the importance of emotional containment and reciprocity in parent-child relationships as the foundations which are necessary for behaviour management skills to be effective. The aim is that the group provides a containing experience for parents so that they are able to be calm, process emotions and have a capacity to think. This in turn enables parents to be more in tune with their child's feelings and developmental needs so that where necessary they can use individualised, sensitive and appropriate behaviour management strategies with their children.

Values

The Solihull Approach Parenting Group focuses on the importance of the child-parent relationship, and helping parenting understand their child’s behaviour in the context of the own child’s development. 

• Does this align with the key values of your organisation?

Priorities

The Solihull Approach Parenting Group is a universal intervention, designed as a first response parenting intervention. 

• Is working with parents of babies and young children in an early intervention approach a current priority for your organisation?
• Is helping parents understand their child’s behaviour a priority for your organisation?
• Is having a first response parenting intervention a priority for your organisation?

Existing Initiatives 

• Does your service already provide early intervention programmes aiming to improve child development and mental health outcomes?
• Does your area have practitioners trained in the Solihull Approach?
• Do you have links with CAMHS, Adult Mental Health Services and Child Protection services, to refer on to if required?

Workforce

To deliver the Solihull Approach Parenting Programme, it requires at least 2 practitioners with experience using the Solihull Approach and running groups, available for 1 session per week, for 10 weeks of the group.  

• Do you have practitioners with appropriate experience and competencies?
• Can your organisation protect time needed for training and delivery for these practitioners’?

Technology Support

The Solihull Approach Parenting Group does not have any specific technological requirements. The online version requires the parents to have access to an internet enabled device. 

Administrative Support

• Do you have the administrative support to book venues?
• Do you have the administrative support and systems to advertise the groups and manage referrals?

Financial Support

The minimum training costs are one practitioner attending training, (£98 plus travel) and two manuals (£91 each). Practitioners also need to have completed the two-day foundation training (£189 each) and have access to foundation manuals (£71 each). 

• Do you have the finances to pay for practitioners to attend this training?

Ongoing costs are primarily the costs of facilitators and group venues, estimated to be £1500 per group. 

• Does your service have the finances to meet these running costs?

Individual places on the online programme can support parents unable to attend the group.  The online programme cost £39 for individual places, or from £400 for a 12-month multi-user licence. 

• Does your service have the finances to support either the funding of individual places, or a wider role out of the online programme?

Comparable Population 

The Solihull Approach Parenting Group runs with groups of 10-12 parents. Typically, groups run each term of the school year, so that parents do not have to wait a long time for a group. 

• Do you have sufficient demand for parenting support to run groups three times a year?
• Is the running of groups suitable for the geographical spread of your organisation?

Desired Outcome

Attendance at the Solihull Approach Parenting group is associated with improvements in behaviour problems, and the parent-child relationship. 

• Are these outcomes a current priority for your organisation?
• Do you have other existing initiatives that would be supportive of addressing this need and achieving these outcomes?