Lesson video

Hello.

My name's Ms. Willow.

And I'm going to be your teacher for today's lesson.

Today's lesson is called Where Parents and Carers Can Get Support, and it fits into the unit Healthy Relationships: What is Good Parenting? During this lesson, we are going to be talking about mental health issues and some other sensitive topics.

So for this lesson, we require you to have an adult with you.

If, at any point, you do feel worried or uncomfortable, it's important to stop the lesson and to speak to an adult that you trust.

Okay, let's make a start.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain where parents and carers can go for support with all aspects of parenting.

Before we get started with today's lesson, we need to go over some ground rules.

These help to make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable during today's lesson.

First of all, Laura says that, "We need to listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should always listen properly before we make any assumptions, or before we decide how to respond.

When we disagree with someone else, it's important to challenge the statement and not the person themselves." Next, Andeep says that, "We need to respect each other's privacy.

It's okay to discuss some examples, but we shouldn't use any names or any descriptions that could identify anyone, including ourselves." If we want to share a story or an experience, instead, we could refer to someone as, "My friend." This means that we're not going to give away any identifying information.

Next, Izzy says that, "We can choose our level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or to join in with discussion, and we should never put anyone on the spot." And finally, Jacob says, "We need to not have any judgement.

We can explore any beliefs or misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged by others." We're now going to go through the keywords for today's lesson.

The first keyword is health visitor, this is a nurse or midwife who's done extra training to work specifically with families and young children.

Next, we have general practitioner, or GP, this is a doctor who provides general medical care and advice.

Next, we have SENDCO, this stands for special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator, and this is a teacher whose responsibility it is to coordinate support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Next, we have support network, this is people or services that offer help with emotional and practical needs.

Today's lesson is split into three learning cycles.

Our first learning cycle is called Where Can Parents and Carers Get Support? Our second learning cycle is called Why is Support Important for Parents and Carers? And our last learning cycle is called What Does a Support Network Look Like? Let's make a start on our first learning cycle, Where Can Parents and Carers Get Support? All parents and carers need support at times.

Unfortunately, not everyone has access to this all the time.

The good news is that there are many sources of support available for parents and carers.

Some of these are provided by healthcare professionals who specialise in supporting families with children.

First of all, we have midwives and health visitors.

Midwives are health professionals who provide support and care throughout pregnancy, during birth, and after the birth of a child for the first few weeks.

Some midwives choose to complete extra training to also become health visitors.

And health visitors work alongside families with children from birth to five years old.

They support with things like physical and emotional health, immunisation, so these are injections, feeding a baby, and child development.

Zeb's parents say that, "We see our health visitor every month or so for our baby's immunizations.

They have been really helpful with advice around feeding." Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

True or false, health visitors support during the birth of a baby? What do you think? You might want to talk to the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that, "This is false," but why? You might have said that, "Health visitors support families with children from birth to five years old, but it's midwives that are present during birth." Well done if you said the same thing.

There's also general practitioners, or GPs, like Dr.

Elsie.

GPs are the first point of contact for families with school-aged children that have physical or emotional health concerns.

GPs may diagnose and treat common health complaints, or they may write referrals to teams of specialists.

Robyn's dad wants to share his experience.

"I went to see our GP to get Robyn referred for an autism assessment.

Dr.

Elsie sent a referral to the right clinic for us.

It had been a struggle to get the right support for Robyn before, but her diagnosis helped with this." Next, we have special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinators, often known as SENDCO.

A SENDCO is a staff member at a school or another educational setting who's responsible for overseeing the provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, and this is often referred to as SEND.

They will work with school staff, other agencies, and parents or carers to support pupils.

Alex's parents say that, "We went to see Ms. Walsh, the SENDCO, to help Alex see the textbooks clearly at school." Let's do another check for understanding.

Which of the following offer support for children with special educational needs or disabilities? Is that A, SENDCOs, B, midwives, or C, the police? Pause the video to watch the people around you or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that, "SENDCOs is correct." SENDCOs offer support for children with special educational needs or disabilities.

Well done if you got this right.

There's also parent or carer support groups.

These are often run by local councils or healthcare providers.

Sometimes they're around specific topics like feeding babies or around challenging behaviour in children.

They're designed to be supportive and not judgmental.

Any parent or carer can attend them.

Parent or carer support groups can also be found online.

Some can be helpful and supportive, but others are less so.

It's usually best to use sport groups recommended by health and education professionals.

Next, we're going to be talking a little bit about family.

Some people have family around them who are able to and who want to look after children.

This can be a great support for the parents or carers, but it can also have its own problems. Izzy's mum says that, "It's lovely that Izzy and her sister go to their grandparents after school one night a week.

However, sometimes we have small disagreements about our different parenting styles." Some people have partners to parent with, and so they can support each other too.

Some people are single parents or single carers.

Zeb's parents say that, "It's great that we have each other for support and discuss parenting issues with, but sometimes we disagree." And Robyn's dad says, "Being a single parent means that I make most of the decisions myself, but I do have a good support network for help and advice." We've also got friends, so friends who have children of a similar age can be a great source of support.

The children can play with each other, and it can also provide a safe space for adults to share their parenting struggles or their own strategies.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Is this statement true or false? Friends who have children of similar ages can provide support because they may understand similar challenges.

What do you think? Is this true or false? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that, "This is true." It is true that friends who have children of similar ages can provide support because they may understand similar challenges.

This can provide a safe space for parents and carers to talk about what's going on for them and their children.

We're now moving on to our first practise task.

And well done for your hard work so far.

I'd like you to read this conversation between a first-time parent and the parent of a toddler.

I'd like you to continue the conversation where the more experienced parent tells the first-time parent about at least three sources of support that's available for them.

First, we have the first-time parent who's holding a screaming baby.

"Maya just won't stop crying.

She doesn't sleep, and I'm exhausted." The more experienced parent then says, "Oh, that does sound hard.

I struggled with mine at first too.

It can be brutal.

I wonder what support you have." Can you finish this conversation, so that the more experienced parent tells the first-time parent at least three sources of support that could be available to them? Pause the video, and we'll go through what you might have said in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what you might have said.

The more experienced parent might say something like, "Oh, that does sound hard.

I struggled with mine at first.

It can be brutal.

I wonder what support you have.

Have you got any family close by to help out? Maybe they could walk Maya around the block to give you a break.

My parents live far away, but I made some friends from attending a support group.

We'd go for a coffee or a walk in the park, which helped me feel like it wasn't just me having a hard time.

If you're worried about Maya, you could also talk to a health visitor.

They offer really good advice and guidance." Well done if your answer looked anything like this.

We are now moving on to our second learning cycle.

Why is Support Important for Parents and Carers? What do you think parents and carers need to think about? Maybe you want to reflect on this or discuss this question with the people around you.

Tory and Savannah say that, "Becoming a parent is exciting and also overwhelming." "There's just so much to think about, to plan, and to make decisions about." They might think of things like, "How do we balance work and childcare? What do we think about feeding?" "How do we know whether our child is following typical development patterns? Should we choose a nursery or a childminder? When should they start?" Well done if you suggested any of these ideas.

Being a parent or a carer isn't easy.

These are just some of the things that parents and carers have to manage, a sense of responsibility, emotional investment, a lack of sleep, financial pressures, needing to balance multiple roles, for example, in work and at home, their feelings about how they were parented, these could be positive or negative, and about how this affects their parenting.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

Which of these areas might parents and carers need support with, A, healthy sleep, B, managing the care of a newborn baby, C, feeding babies and children, or D, balancing work and childcare? Which of these areas might parents and carers need support with? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that, "All of these are correct." Healthy sleep, managing the care of a newborn baby, feeding babies and children, and balancing work and childcare are all areas where parents and carers might need support.

Well done if you said the same thing.

Sometimes there are extra challenges for parents and carers too.

Some parents and carers experience serious mental health difficulties, such as postnatal depression, and this requires professional support.

Others may face devastating loss as a result of a miscarriage or perinatal death.

All parents and carers face challenges and should access support when required or when they feel that it's needed.

Now, we're going to be talking a little bit about postnatal depression.

Some symptoms of postnatal depression include persistent and intense feelings of sadness, anxiety, and fatigue, often accompanied by difficulty sleeping, a loss of interest in activities and negative thoughts, support from trained professionals, for example, a GP or someone more specific, is really important, and this usually involves therapy and sometimes medication to help manage the symptoms. We are now going to be talking about miscarriage and perinatal death.

Sometimes, very sadly, a pregnancy ends in loss.

A miscarriage occurs when a pregnancy ends unexpectedly before 24 weeks, whilst perinatal death refers to when the foetus dies late in pregnancy, and this is considered to be after 24 weeks of pregnancy, or shortly after birth, so within the first week.

People affected may feel shocked, confused, guilty, angry, or deeply sad.

These are all natural reactions to loss and grief.

Support is available through hospital counselling services, charities, and organisations that help people who've experienced something similar.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Is this statement true or false? A perinatal death is pregnancy loss after 24 weeks gestation.

What do you think? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that, "This is true." A perinatal death is pregnancy loss after 24 weeks gestation.

We are now moving on to your second practise task.

And well done for your hard work.

I'd like you to write one paragraph explaining why this person is incorrect.

I'd like you to include at least two ideas of why support is important for parents and carers.

So this person says, "Good parents and carers should be able to manage without support.

The ones that want support are just looking for excuses." Can you write one paragraph explaining why this person is incorrect? Pause the video, and we'll go through a model answer in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what you might have said.

Your answer may have included that, "This person is incorrect because all parents and carers may need support from time to time, and this doesn't make them bad parents or carers.

Some parents and carers do face extra challenges.

In these situations, there are extra pressures, and more specialist support might be needed, for example, from SENDCOs, healthcare professionals, or counsellors, as well as the more typical supports needed by other parents and carers, like community, family, and friends." It's now time to move on to our final learning cycle, What Does the Support Network Look Like? "It takes a village to raise a child," you might have heard of this quote before.

I'd like you to think about what this phrase means to you and how could this be applied to parenting today.

The phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child," perfectly captures the importance of support networks in parenting.

Just as traditional villagers provided a community of people to help raise children, modern parents and carers rely on their support networks, family, friends, childcare providers, and community organisations, to share the responsibilities and challenges of parenting.

This shows that successful parenting isn't meant to be done in isolation, but with the help and guidance of others.

So we are now going to be talking about support networks and why these are important for parents and carers.

A support network is a collection of individuals and organisations who parents and carers can turn to when they need support, advice, or encouragement.

They'll be different for different families to suit their needs and their circumstances.

Zeb's dad says, "It's a relief when my wife comes home.

It's exhausting looking after a young baby.

Zeb barely slept last night.

I do the nights to let her sleep, as she works long days as an anaesthetist.

I try to catch up on sleep when Zeb naps in the day, but it's hard to do all the chores too." Willow's dad says, "My partner had postnatal depression.

She became very anxious and couldn't sleep, even when I was looking after Willow.

I knew something wasn't right, but our friends, who also have a new baby, suggested that we speak to the health visitor.

My partner is now seeing a therapist and going to a support group, which is helping." We are now going to do a check for understanding to see how you're doing.

I'd like you to decide who is right, Layla or Sophia? Layla says, "All families need the same support networks.

The networks just change over time." Sophia says, "Different families need different support networks depending on their specific circumstances, and these will change over time." Who do you think is correct, Layla or Sophia? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that, "Sophia is correct." It's true that different families need different support networks depending on their specific circumstances, and that these support networks will likely change over time.

Well done if you said the same thing.

Robyn's dad says that, "Robyn's primary school is very small, and there were no other autistic girls around her age.

I found a local support group in our community for parents and carers or for autistic children, and they've been really helpful when we face problems. Every child is different, but it helps to know about the experiences of others too." We are now moving on to another check for understanding to see how you're doing.

I'd like you to match each professional to the families who would most likely need their support.

So here are our professionals, health visitors, SENDCOs, counsellors, or GPs, and the families are all families for general healthcare, families experiencing mental health challenges, families with children who have special educational needs, and all families with children under five.

Can you match each professional to the families that you think most need their support? Pause the video, and we'll go through the answers in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what you might have said.

You should have matched health visitors to all families with children under five, SENDCOs with families with children who have special educational needs, counsellors with families experiencing mental health challenges, and finally, GPs support all families for general healthcare.

Well done if you got this right.

We're now moving on to our final practise task, and well done for your hard work today.

Keep it up.

For this task, I'd like you to suggest at least three sources of support for the parents involved in this scenario, and how the sources would be useful.

So here is our scenario, "My toddler seems constantly unsettled.

She fights snaps, wakes frequently throughout the night, and gets frustrated at meal times, often refusing foods she used to eat.

I feel like I'm always one step behind.

I'm utterly exhausted, and I can't work out what I'm doing wrong.

It feels like nothing I try is helping, and I'm starting to lose confidence in myself as a parent." Can you suggest at least three sources of support for this parent and how these sources would be useful? Pause the video, and we'll go through what you might have said in a few minutes.

Okay, let's see what you might have said.

Your answer might have included that, "A health visitor could support this parent for support with parenting and routines.

This parent could get support from a GP if there are any suspected health issues, like food allergies.

Support groups can help with feeding routines, and friends and family might be able to offer emotional support and also help with childcare if they're able to." Well done if your answers were anything like this.

We're now going to summarise the key learning from today's lesson.

In today's lesson, we've learned that all families need support at different times.

Healthcare professionals, like health visitors and GPs, provide medical support, while parental carer support groups and online resources offer practical advice and shared experiences too.

Support is available for all types of families, and seeking help show strength and not weakness.

However, parents and carers sometimes need to be persistent advocates to get the right support for their children and themselves.

The key is knowing where to look for help and understanding that needing support is normal.

In today's lesson, you might have found that you've got some worries or some questions.

And if you do, it's really important that you share these with a trusted adult.

There's also some resources on the screen that are there to help you too.

Well done for your hard work today.

I hope to see you in another lesson soon.