Dads’ group (Pre-school)
Summary details
- Dads’ and Male Carers’ Group
- Sure Start Homelink project, North Lanarkshire Council
- Coatbridge
Target group
Fathers and male carers with children aged 3-5 in Coatbridge.
Approach
Initially, football was used as a hook to get fathers and male carers involved. The group was initiated in June 2007 through a 3 week outdoor football programme with a coach, specifically aimed at fathers and male carers with their children. The programme was offered free and was promoted through nurseries in Coatbridge. 16 families participated at this stage. On the basis of positive evaluations of the initial programme, another 6 week indoor football programme started in August 2007. This consisted of a weekly 1 hour session in a local high school. 12 families regularly attended this programme.
In the next phase, working with a core group of 8 fathers/male carers and children, a much wider range of activities was introduced by support workers. Between October and December 2007 activities included: Junk modelling, smoothie making, play dough, golf, educational and team games, painting mugs and making calendars. Then, between January and April 2008, the group continued with a 6 week music and movement programme, followed by a 10 week football and fitness programme (including healthy cookery, smoothie making and parachute games).
Outcomes
Since September 2008, fathers and male carers have themselves taken responsibility for running the group. They continue to meet in a local primary school, also booking a community centre for specific activities and arranging occasional day trips. As there is no support available for mixed activities groups for children over 5 years, the group have continued informally and are now seeking to establish themselves as a fully constituted Dad-run club (i.e. requiring a written constitution and risk assessment procedures etc). They are also looking into the possibility of acquiring funding with guidance from Sure Start staff.
The fathers and male carers involved feel that participating in the group has helped them to strengthen bonds with their children, to enjoy and learn about new activities and to interact with a broader cross-section of people than they would otherwise. In addition to the quality time spent with their father/male carer, children have also benefited from learning, physical exercise and mixing with other children and adults.
Strengths
Initially, Sure Start staff found it very difficult to get a Dads’ group up and running in the area. Football was seen as a necessary hook to capture the interest of men. However, once they had experienced the group in this context, a core group were sufficiently engaged to continue and enthusiastically participated in a wide range of activities. This effectively built up the capacity and confidence of group members to sustain the group beyond the end of the funded project through easy, low cost and fun activities.
Although the numbers involved are small, the determination of the fathers and male carers involved to continue the group is testimony to the project’s success.
Contact Details
Kathleen Murray
Community Learning and Development Worker (Schools)
North Lanarkshire Council
Telephone: 01236 638 493
Email: murrayk@northlan.gov.uk
