Supporting parents
Coram provides parents with the support and advice they need at all stages of parenthood.
Helping parents do their best for their children
If parents are struggling to cope, Coram offers early help so they can become empowered to provde a loving and secure environment for their child, or, if that is not possible, ensure that a timely decision about the child's future is made for the benefit of the chid.
Community parenting in Thurrock
Coram works with Thurrock Borough Council to deliver a range of accredited parenting programmes and one-to-one parenting interventions. These focus on building family resilience and strengthening family and community attachments.
The past year has seen an increase in referrlals where physical chastisement is a concern, so an adapted verison of the parenting programme Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities will be piloted to increase parental self-esteem and to help parents consider alternatives to physical chastisement.
Parenting programmes for adopters
Coram offers two types of parenting programmes tailored to the needs of adopters. Parents of children aged eight and under take part in the Parenting Skills for Adopters programme while parents of older adopted children take part in the STOP programme.
Stay and play
Coram's stay and play events give new adoptive parents and their children a chance to come and play, chat and seek informal support from other new adopters and the post-adoption support team, including a child psychotherapist.
Young parents
Coram supports young parents so that they can develop the skills needed to care for their baby and engage in education. This includes a peer education programme in schools where young parents educate their peers about the impact of having a baby at a young age. For more information see the Young Parenthood programme.
Managing risk for children
The Family Drug and Alcohol Court aims to ensure better outcomes for children and families during care proceedings. It offers an alternative, more successful way of supporting parents to overcome substance misuse, mental health issues, and domestic abuse that have put their children at risk of serious harm. Find out more.