Parenting Early Intervention Programmes (PEIPs)

This document intends to inform Local Authority Parenting Commissioners and other decision makers, about the FAST Programme so that they can make decisions on how to best make use of the limited resources available to achieve the outcomes set in their Parenting Strategies, which are informed by local need and Local Area Agreement (LAA) targets.

The National Academy for Parenting Commissioners was established in 2007 to increase the quality and size of the parenting workforce in England. Families and Schools Together, FAST, is one of ten evidence-based parenting programmes commissioned by the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners in 2008 and one of five programmes that has been commissioned for Parenting Early Intervention Programme (PEIPs) work. As part of the Academy’s commissioning process each programme was scrutinised through the Parenting Programme Evaluation Tool (PPET) which looks at four aspects of an evidence based parenting programme. It evaluates a) how clearly the programme specifies its targeted population and includes explicit processes to ensure that appropriate families can be recruited into and participate in the programme; b) to what extent the content (what information parents learn) and processes (how information is delivered to parents) of the programme are based on an explicit and sound theoretical framework; c) to what extent the training, supervision and implementation procedures that will allow the programme to be readily set up and implemented in new and independent settings have been carefully considered and detailed; and d) to what extent there is robust evidence that participation in the programme results in positive, substantial and long-lasting gains for parents (and/or their children). Scores range from 1 to 4, with 4 being the highest and most effective. FAST succeeded in being awarded a 4 for all four components, this demonstrates that the programme has undergone the highest level of evaluation, Randomised Controlled Trials. FAST has been evaluated in four randomised controlled trials. They have shown that the programme can consistently engage low-income, socially excluded families, and retain their involvement over time. The average drop out rate from the groups, if a parent attended once was 20%, so the average programme retention is 80%, although it is even higher in Canada and so far sites in the England are above 90%. Child outcomes for FAST versus control groups show increased social skills and attention span, and decreases in aggression and anxiety. Parents report improved relationships with their child and improved overall family functioning including reduced conflict. Parent leadership and involvement in schools increased over 1 and 2 year follow-ups. 86% of the graduated parents made new friends during the 8 week session whom they continued to see 2-4 years later.

Harvard University (2006) reviewed 13 evidence based family strengthening programmes, and then summarised best practices. They highlighted FAST for having respectful processes towards parents as partners, for programme adaptability which invites expression of local cultural norms, and for high retention rates, especially of socially excluded parents. An established track record across 2000 schools in 8 countries shows an average of 80% of families complete, if they just try FAST once.

The programme developer is currently the Professor of Social Work Research, Department of Mental Health and Social Work, University of Middlesex, London, Archway campus, UK, and has continuously directed the development, research and evaluation of Families and Schools Together. Dr McDonald regularly improves the programme processes with feedback from families, from practitioners in culturally specific settings, and from important new research (brain research) and theories (social capital).

Through the innovative national funding initiative of the Parenting Early Intervention Programme (PEIPs), your community can purchase training for local ‘parenting practitioners’ from health, education and social care, thereby strengthening partnerships amongst your children’s workforce. FAST, as a research based programme, provides improved parenting behaviours and child wellbeing outcomes, increase parent involvement and a school transition programme, which will also build social capital in your local authority across families, schools and communities.

Through the innovative national funding initiative of the Parenting Early Intervention Programme (PEIPs), your community can purchase training for local ‘parenting practitioners’ from health, education and social care, thereby strengthening partnerships amongst your children’s workforce. FAST, as a research based programme, provides improved parenting behaviours and child wellbeing outcomes, increase parent involvement and a school transition programme, which will also build social capital in your local authority across families, schools and communities.

Parenting Programme(s) the Training Supports

The goals of the Secondary FAST programme are to build 10 protective factors for youth (ages 11-13) to increase resilience against risk by

1. Enhancing communication skills between parent and youth and strengthen the parentyouth bond
2. Enhancing family relationships thereby blocking and reducing family conflict through practicing positive behaviours
3. Increasing parental competence and confidence in setting limits & monitoring youth's behaviour
4. Increasing parental involvement in their youth’s life and their school
5. Involving parents in school to support their youth’s school success
6. Promoting relationships and leadership roles of youth with adults in school & community
7. Preventing substance abuse and violence by the youth and other family members
8. Reducing the stress that parents and youth experience from daily life situations
9. Building informal support networks for parents with other parents at the secondary school
10. Linking parents with appropriate multi-agency supports as needed

The goals of Primary FAST are to build 7 protective factors for children (ages 8-11) to increase resilience against risk by

1. Strengthening family cohesion
2. Strengthening the parent
3. Increasing parental involvement
4. Substance abuse prevention and intervention
5. Stress reduction on daily routines
6. Reducing chronic family conflict
7. Helping the school succeed in school and community

The learning goals for parents of young adolescents and children are achieved through experiential learning and embedded behavioural rehearsals in 9 weeks (Secondary) and 8 weeks (Primary) of after-school meetings lasting 2 ½ hours each, and are then supported in monthly meetings for 22 months. The multi-family groups involve 40+ whole families joining together for carefully orchestrated, fun, research-based activities. FAST is a universal programme and all parents of a year group are invited, in case of Secondary FAST this is likely to be Year 7 which is an important transition year. Parents practice positive family communications with the active support and tablebased coaching by trained team members, who interrupt and block family conflict. Parents have weekly opportunities to try out positive parenting strategies with their youth/children in the safe public setting of the school. All parents are invited to the school for the weekly sessions, and as they have time together and much in common, they form friendships with other parents of the year group. Studies show 86% of the parents who graduate with 6 weekly doses of FAST groups, report 2-4 years later that they made new friends whom they still see (McDonald, et al, 1997). Monthly meetings led by the FAST parent graduates maintain the friendships, as the youth/children proceed through school.

Groups are held as an extended-school programme to increase involvement of ALL parents of the transition year for youth entering secondary school and in primary schools it can be any year group. In the secondary model youth are asked to invite their parents. Recruitment of the youth and families to the groups generally takes 4 weeks, including youth group meetings, school awareness activities and outreach home visits to explain the groups to the parents. Hub groups serve ten families in a room; a school may have 4-5 hubs on the same evening, serving 40+ families. Thus well over 100 people of all ages participating in activities together will gather regularly after school.

FAST programmes do not target children, but schools serving socially marginalised communities are often selected by local authorities. FAST has been locally adapted to fit local cultural and ethnic norms in very diverse schools serving low-income neighbourhoods, including urban schools in Philadelphia, New Orleans, London and Moscow, or extreme rural Aboriginal schools in Northern territories, Australia or Canada. Certified trainers negotiate adaptations with culturally representative teams, while protecting the core components. Flexible strategies and programme values invite local voices representing the unique culture, age, ethnicity, and history of each school to co-produce the local adaptations of this evidence based model, while still evaluating child functioning (SDQ), monitoring retention rates (80% completion is expected), checking core-programme integrity. The goals of building stronger communities, schools, families, and positive parenting can help to achieve the child outcomes of Every Child Matters.

The activity based, group approach seems simple, but it has surprisingly deep impacts because it is a complex systemic intervention to build relationships, based on multiple theories. Family systems theory, family stress theory, social learning theory, attachment theory, adult education (Paulo Freire) and community organising theory all underpin this evidence based parenting programme. Parents learn communication skills with repeated embedded behavioural rehearsals with their youth and children and are coached by trained team members to wait, listen and then respond to them. Trained team members block parent-youth/parent-child conflict and offer alternatives. When youth/children feel connected to their parents and included by their peers, they do better. When parents connect with other parents at the school in small groups and feel less alone, they become empowered. Several randomised controlled trials on FAST have shown high retention rates of socially marginalised parents (average 20% drop out), increased community leadership, parent involvement with school and with other parents of their child’s friends, and positive results on standardised tests of social and academic youth outcomes. The stress of modern living is challenging for all of us, but especially youth. Recent research on cortisol levels (stress biomarkers) has shown that there is an increase in stress levels for youth as they begin attending a new school building. Elevated cortisol levels interfere with a youth’s ability to focus and learn it also reduces immune systems and can contribute to illness. With very high stress, the body goes into crises mode and learning maths then seems unimportant. By hosting the multi-family groups during the transition year into a new school building, stress levels should go down and academic learning should go up. In addition, social research suggests that each youth needs at least one caring adult relationships in order to manage the stresses of being a teenager. Offering multi-family groups for all youth during the transition year can help build new friendships, parent networks, stronger parent youth bonds, which will protect against stress over the next several years of secondary school. Positive relationships both reduce risk and build protective factors. In order to enhance the wellbeing of any child/youth, the parent child bond should be strong, the positive peer group ties should be strong, the parent’s support network should be strong, the parent to school relationship should be strong, and the local community cultural, ethnic history should be taught to each child.

To facilitate these 9 (Secondary) and 8 (Primary) weekly social events, teams are formed and then trained for 2 days. Each team of 5-6 people hosts a hub group of 10-12 families. Each team required youth (2 youth aged 14+), adults from the school (1 parent and 1 educator/outreach worker from the secondary school), and 1-2 professionals from health, CAMHS, drug and alcohol services, YOT teams, or social work/care thus training a total of 15 practitioners, 10 youth and 5 parent partners. In the primary model each team consists of school partners, a mental health partner, community partners and parents. A total of 15 practitioners and 5 parents are trained together and they deliver the programme over a period of 8 weeks.

Families shift from weekly meetings to monthly meetings in order to maintain the relationships which were strengthened in the first 9 or 8 weeks. Designed by parents to respond to families’ need and desire to stay connected to the friends and contacts made during weeklies, the 22-monthly sessions are facilitated by the FAST parent graduates themselves with support from the school. These should be supported with a small budget from the local authority. The parent leaders should be supported to meet and make decisions together about activities and food and how to spend the small budget.

The programme developer, Professor Lynn McDonald, MSW, PhD, a family therapist, community organiser, social worker academic and a researcher, brought together multiple best practices into a deceptively simple package. Over 20 years she and others have discovered FAST could be taught through training when combined with on-site supervised practice, to people without specialist training. People with cultural knowledge about the local community of people one wishes to engage need to be recruited onto the teams. Because the research base itself is strongly embedded into the structured group processes, the training and supervision through an experiential learning approach is sufficient. There are no lectures for parents. Experiential learning takes place in family time, group time and one to one time, with activities coached by the trained team members. Certified FAST trainers require professional backgrounds.

The resources required to run the family programme are outlined in detail under question 2 of this document.

Strategies for Ensuring Successful Delivery of the Parenting Programme

• A sufficient number of multi-agency practitioners, youth partners, youth advocate and parent partners, dependent on whether you intend to run primary or secondary FAST, are recruited. FAST can contribute to wider community outcomes and so a variety of community partners will find that their time invested in contributing to the FAST programme will help them to contribute to their own services targets. A list of Local Area Agreement targets, that FAST may be able to contribute to, is listed in Appendix 3. The local authority must either already have or must take the time to form the relationships with the secondary schools or primary schools head teachers and the multi-agency leaders, to bring them together for this training and programme implementation.
  • For primary FAST you will need a total of 15 practitioners and 5 parent partners. Of the 15 practitioners an ideal mix for each hub is 2 staff from the school (s) involved, 1 mental health partner, and 2 other community partners who may be social workers, from the police or fire service, clergy, health visitors etc.
  • For secondary FAST you will need 15 practitioners, 10 youth and 5 parent partners. Each team will need one practitioners coming from the school and 1-2 professionals from health, CAMHS, drug and alcohol services, YOT teams, or social work/care.
• It is advisable to put in place a co-ordinator who helps with the recruitment of multi-agency partners, co-ordinating with the school(s) and practitioners involved. This may be some with an existing role for parenting support in the local authority.
• Practitioners need sufficient time to attend all trainings, plan together, prepare for the multihub family meetings and evaluate the success of the family group meetings. This will involve a total of 13 days for Secondary and 12 days for Primary FAST. Preparation for the weekly sessions will involve setting up the room, ensuring a door/lottery prize has been purchased, supplying the appropriate craft materials, preparing graduation certificates and being available in good time to warmly welcome all families each week.
• After the 2-day FAST training, the team concentrates its efforts on enrolling and recruiting families. This is done in the form of face-to-face meetings; if families feel comfortable with the idea of home visits then this is the preferred approach. Posters and other written recruitment strategies support this outreach approach but have been found not to be sufficient.
  • In case of secondary FAST youth from the identified year group are invited to “come and attend one group session.” The youth and adults in the local 7 community determine the strategies for recruitment which are most likely to draw attendance. Youth and parents participate in the training, and spend time discussing creative local ideas for outreach to youth and families in the transition year. FAST programmes do not target or identify children for recruitment. Only universal/open enrolment is allowed. All youth are invited. Initial presentations about the FAST programme are to the youth. Only when they have expressed interest and have agreed to it, does the team contact their parents to invite them to try the group once. “Just come and try it once”, is the strategy.
  • When running primary FAST recruitment is of the parents and these again are done through face to face meetings, if suitable home visits.
  • Face to face encounters are important for making a connection to recruit whole families to attend. Home visits have proven to be a most effective way to recruit parents. The school reaches out to as many families as possible regardless of their participation in the programme to help them build a trust bond with the school and to recruit them into the FAST programme. Personal invitations have increased participation levels. The visits enable the parents to learn about the programme and understand that the school is taking the initiative to establish a connection with them. Outreach visits are a fundamental part of FAST and FAST is not successful without them. Recruitment is conducted by parent partners and FAST graduates, and in case of Secondary FAST also by youth partners.
  • Once a family comes once, multiple incentives and reciprocity strategies support a family in coming back again. Sometimes another outreach visit is necessary as well. FAST has an international retention rate of 80%, in England retention is even higher in all the pilot sites.
  • Face-to-face meetings are used to explain and describe the structure of the programme and the different activities involved, to ascertain which family members will attend, to assess food restrictions and allergies and to introduce the concept of evaluation. Pre- and post-outcomes questionnaires are discussed and the return date agreed. Rigorous evaluation of outcomes is an important measure of programme fidelity.
• Suitable premises to host a multi-hub training. Training usually takes place in schools, so spaces such as school halls, gyms, canteens, libraries and classrooms are usually used. Each room needs sufficient space to host the ten families in the hub. Each family will need a table and a sufficient number of chairs. Separate rooms are needed when parents and children/youth split and you may need additional space for children’s time. As the activities take place for 2.5 hours after school, arrangements need to be made with caretakers/site staff to ensure the building is open and families are to be made feel welcome.
• Each site needs to consider whether additional help is required to support families with the preparation of a family meal. In some schools there has been help from other parent partners or school catering staff. You may also want to consider how you can have the family meal keeping in mind the importance to reduce waste and saving the resources of the planet. Some sites have prepared special pouches and families bring their own crockery and cutlery, which they return home to wash.
• It is beneficial to have additional volunteers who help with children’s time and are happy to give a helping need throughout the evening.
• Some funding is required to support the weekly family meal, lottery prize and craft materials as well as the 22-monthly meetings once the weekly programme has been completed. In Liverpool which has implemented the biggest roll-out in the UK schools have been given £1,500 for start-up costs and £1,000 per hub to support the 2-year implementation.
• Sites will need to consider whether any additional support in the form of transport (costs), additional child care, interpreters etc is required.
• A CD player

Menu of Training for the Above Programmes

Collaboration is a crucial component of the FAST process. Parents and youth represent the service user participants on the team and professionals represent available community services. A solid partnership between collaborators is necessary in order to build the most effective FAST team. The support of the Head teacher is critical to FAST success.

Step 1 - Training for Parenting Practitioners takes place within a Team

This basic training, supervision and service development on offer is conducted in 3 stages taking a total of 12 days spread over 4 months. They are allocated as follows

• Stage I: Training for Weekly Groups– 2 days
• Stage II: Onsite supervision (3x) of 9 weekly group sessions – 9 days
• Stage III: Training for Monthly Groups– 1 day
• Stage IV: Middlesex Credits (This is an additional step and practitioners may choose not to take up this option.

Stage I Training for Weekly Groups – 2 days

A comprehensive two-day (16 hours) training and orientation to the Families and Schools Together programme is provided by a Certified FAST Trainer. The training typically is provided six weeks prior to the first weekly multi-family group session. The team of 30 (Secondary) or 20 (Primary) meets for two full days of training. Core required team members must be present or the training will need to be rescheduled. Each team member will receive the FAST programme training manual. At the end of the two day training, team members will plan for recruitment and plan for group sessions with the help of the Certified FAST Trainer. This 2 day training is best offered at a venue away from workplaces with overnight arrangements. This investment will help to avoid interruptions and work distractions. Team building is critical to the goals of these 2 days, and building trust across the multi-agency professionals is enhanced with protected time and place. Any practitioners who would like to facilitate both Secondary and Primary FAST will need to attend two separate trainings.

The core team members in the Secondary FAST model are:

• Parent Partner: parents of youth/child attending school, will help recruit parents, and will co-host the parent group, and coach the parents
• School Partner: an individual working at the school hub team will help recruit youth, coach the parents, and coordinate the youth and childrens activities
• Youth Partners: 2 youth leaders (age 14) at the school per hub team: older secondary school students at the school must be on the hub team; they will help recruit youth and adapt the model to fit locally, co-host the youth group, and coach the youth during parent-youth talk time
• Community Agency Partner: professional representing community services for children and families; they will co-host the parent discussion group with the parents, and coach parents in communication role plays
• Youth Advocate Partner: adult with skills with youth; they will facilitate the youth peer group

A core component of the programme integrity checklist is that the team must have cultural representation of the population served in the school (ethnic, race, religion, language, and social class) and they will then adapt FAST processes to fit the local community norms.

Stage II Supervisory On-Site Visits While Implementing Weekly Groups – Learn by doing

A Certified FAST Trainer will make three visits to each site during its 9 (Secondary) or 8 (Primary) multi-family group sessions. The trainer attends the first session of FAST and provides coaching and support for the team during the session. The following morning, the Certified Trainer reviews the programme integrity checklist with the team, for corrective feedback, in two- hour training with the team to debrief. In addition the local adaptations are negotiated. This is repeated for a middle FAST session and the ninth or eights (Primary) week, graduation session. The International Certified FAST Trainer will also provide information and training for monthly meetings during the debriefing session after the final session (graduation). It is essential that team members and programme participants attend this training session.

In addition to the three on-site supervision, consultation and support visits, the Certified FAST Trainer is available for weekly telephone and email consultations. The trainer is available for phone consultations following each of the programme sessions not attended by the trainer.

Stage III Training for Monthly Groups, Review Evaluation Report and Panel of Service Users

Stage III training is a one-day training attended by the entire team. In the afternoon, the service users: youth and parent FAST graduates participate on a panel to give feedback of their experience. They then are included in the training and planning for the monthly group meetings. Stage III training is held only after the evaluation data (pre & post surveys) have been analysed by Middlesex University with an outcome report. If the data is submitted late by the site, the training must be delayed. During Stage III training, the team and Certified Trainer work together to review the overall experience of the programme cycle, hear feedback from FAST graduates, review the evaluation report and outcomes of the programme provided by the Families and Schools Together Training and Evaluation Project at Middlesex University and celebrate their accomplishments. The Certified Trainer may provide copies of the evaluation report to the team members at this time. During the Stage III training, the Certified Trainer assists service user parents in planning for the monthly follow-up group meetings. If criteria for certification are met, the team as a whole and the individual team members are awarded FAST certification. (They are then eligible to attend the Pre-Certification 5 day seminar to become trainer interns who then are supervised)

Stage IV Middlesex University Credits

Middlesex University offers academic credit (post-graduate or graduate) for FAST training through the submission of a 3000 word essay that meets assessment criteria and CPD credits for participation. This stage is optional.

Step 2 – Train the Trainer

After successful completion of the 2 day practitioner training, which includes one supervised and evaluated site implementation, practitioners may be eligible, to undertake train the trainer training, which encompasses three stages. Ideally FAST practitioners deliver at least two family programmes a year.

• Stage I: Train the Trainer class-based session – 5 days
• Stage II: Supervised training of a team – 6 days (Primary) and 6 days (Secondary)
• Stage III: Supervised training of a team – 6 days (Primary) and 6 days (Secondary). Stage III is recommended but optional

Stage I Train the trainer class-based sessions

• Overview and history of FAST
• Philosophies and values of FAST
• Research basis of FAST
• Programme integrity
• Local adaptation vs. core components vs. drift
• Empowerment of parents on the team and in the groups
• Training the components of a FAST session
• Evaluating the FAST cycle and reading the report
• Building a collaborative team with service user/parents and youth
• About being a Certified FAST trainer
• Managing team conflict
• Cultural Representation
• Implementing FAST Works (22-month programme)

Stage II and III Supervised training of a team – 6 days (Primary) and 6days (Secondary)

During this stage the aspiring train the trainer will serve an internship . Best practice has shown that undertaking two co-deliveries strengthens the skills of the newly trained trainer or training two teams to deliver, but this is a management decision as it adds additional resource pressures.

Once a trainer is certified by FAST, s/he needs to train at least one family programmes and attend a FAST conference each year to maintain certification. The family programmes need to be registered with FAST and an evaluation needs to be carried out through Middlesex University.

Support for the Implementation of the FAST Parenting Programmes

Support for implementation of the parenting programme is an integral part of the practitioner training and clinical supervision and supervised evaluation over 4 months, the 13 (Secondary) and 12 (Primary) days outlined above. This is a unique feature of FAST as each practitioner training is automatically connected with the support of about 40 families, depending on the successful recruitment by the newly trained team. The learning of this evidence-based experiential family intervention is carried out over the full cycle of planning, doing and reviewing, this is why individual stages cannot be purchased separately. In the 2-day training practitioners learn key concepts as well as core FAST values of cultural representation, shared governance and parent empowerment and through coaching and constructive feedback by the certified FAST trainer during the implementation phase, practitioners and parent partners learn to deliver the activities with fidelity. FAST has a programme integrity checklists and site visit reports. During the supervised implementation stage, each core component is monitored by the trainer with the programme integrity checklist and site visit forms on three visits and by the team members each week.

In addition e-mail and telephone support are available throughout the training, implementation and evaluation phase.

There are few written materials needed for the programme and these can be photocopied from the Team Training Manual and are supplied at the practitioner team training. Craft materials for the programme are not supplied by FAST, and must be bought by the implementation team. However the team has a CD to support the music and singing activities. There are no programme materials sold by FAST.

Experience Working with Local Authorities in the UK

Since 193, FAST has provided training for parenting practitioners on teams at 2000 schools in Canada, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, USA, and UK. Worldwide, there are over 500 certified FAST trainers ready to train teams at schools. However, at this time there are just a few certified FAST trainers in UK. Middlesex University in London is the headquarters for the organisation in England. The base charity is located in Wisconsin, USA. FAST has been adapted successfully in many different cultural, racial, religious, social class, and language groups for 20 years. Multi-family FAST groups have been facilitated in 51 inner city schools at a time in Philadelphia, 40 inner city Cleveland schools, 40 schools in Milwaukee, 45 schools in San Antonio Texas, etc. FAST groups have had high retention rates in 30 rural tiny schools in Northwest Territories led by Aborigine teams for local families, and in rural areas with primarily farm families attending country schools; also in schools serving immigrants and political refugees. The group processes are produced and adapted by the local teams which are culturally representative.

History of FAST in the UK is recent; FAST was introduced as a pilot in England 3 years ago in Lewisham, London, and has now been implemented with supervision in 12 schools in England. Liverpool committed PEIPS funds and FAST has been trained in 8 secondary and 3 primary schools there with success and high retention rates. 15 more local authorities have committed to training in autumn, 2009 for primary schools. FAST trainings have been completed in Enfield, Havering, St. Helena, Scunthorpe, Rotheram, and highly evaluated. In 2005, the FAST programme founder relocated to London. Dr McDonald is available to give information and help train practitioners. One FAST group was held at a Surestart in Lewisham for teenage mothers in collaboration with academic social workers at Goldsmiths’ College (2006); one was hosted in Hillingdon at a Junior school (2007), one at an Infant School in Milton Keynes and another at a secondary school in Milton Keynes (2008) in collaboration with academic social work at Brunel University and University of Bedfordshire. Several UK head teachers, social workers and parent team members have expressed a willingness to share their experiences of FAST with PEIPS applicants. The retention rates were over 80% for these groups, and the UK outcomes for children and families were positive.

What Features Make FAST Different and How Compatible is FAST with Other Evidence-Based Parenting Programmes?

FAST has many features that make it attractive, cost-effective and sustainable for local authorities to make it an integral part of their parenting strategies and it is sustainable with other funds.

• FAST is sustainabile. Extended schools funding can pay for FAST groups offered after school to increase parent involvement in schools. FAST strengthens families and has been funded by delinquency prevention, substance abuse prevention, and health promotion funds. FAST can help achieve almost 20% of Local Area Agreement targets.
• FAST has a very strong research base. The Parenting Academy’s Commissioning Toolkit holds the scores of all the National Academy commissioned programmes and many others against the Parenting Programme Evaluation Tool (PPET) and FAST received the highest possible ratings in all 4 categories including its research base.
• FAST is a way of engaging families and working with them which is respectful, empowering and non-threatening. High retention rates of 80% completion not only establish protective factors but increase families’ interest and willingness to consider participating in other more didactic programmes such as Triple P, Incredible Years or Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities. These other programmes are already well settled in the UK. We consider our strengths complementary. For example, in Liverpool, where the local authority has a long-standing and successful investment in Incredible Years, heavy commitment to FAST has had positive effects for IY. When parents had attended a FAST family programme first, and then went to IY, the IY retention rates increased.
• FAST promotes and enables multi-agency working and supports specific outcomes such as each of the 5 outcomes of Every Child Matters and specific targets as set out in Local Area Agreements. A list of 199 Local Area Agreement targets are listed with ones that FAST can contribute to (33) highlighted in Appendix 3.
• FAST is a whole family programme, all members are welcome. Because it is delivered on a big scale – you can reach up to 40 families in one 8-week programme. Any training of the parenting practitioners for the Academy is automatically linked to the delivery of a family programme and therefore improving outcomes for children/youth, parents and families.
• FAST is an experiential programme – families learn by doing and receiving personalised coaching, called table-coaching. The parents are empowered to be in charge of their families while getting the support they need to improve their interaction with their children.
• FAST helps families create social capital through forging better links to schools and establishing relationships with other families. Parent involvement in schools increases.
• FAST has got very high retention rates. Retention is calculated on the basis of families attending at least 5 out of the 8 sessions. In the US retention is at 80%, in Canada at over 90% and the UK sites report even higher retention rates than in Canada.
• FAST can be adapted to local needs – 40% of the programme is fixed and 60% can be adapted.
• FAST is a sustainable model. Many authorities are currently able to roll out family programmes because of free training through the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners and Parenting Early Intervention Programme funding. We offer and encourage local authorities to train local trainers to ensure the viability of expanding FAST to as many sites/schools as possible and to continue annual family programme delivery.
• Research by two educational researcher – “In a study of 200 in-service programmes for teachers, Joyce and Showers(1987( demonstrated that, while the teachers were often enthusiastic about training they received, they rarely applied it in a sustained way that led to long-term changes in practice. They concluded that the following components were necessary for effective training: theory, where the new approach is explained and justified, demonstration, to give a model of how this can be put into practice, practice, so that the teachers can try out the new approach, feedback, on how well the new approach is working and coaching to help the teacher discuss the teaching in a supportive environment and consider how it might be changed or refined.” Philip Cox, LSDA FAST training for practitioners includes all these elements and is therefore good practice in workforce development.

Sustainability

Parent training funds can be used to train practitioners. However, FAST has sustainability in accessing other ongoing funding streams. We are aware that for many local authorities, sustainability of programmes is of paramount importance. We have developed a way of both providing sustainability and ensuring programme fidelity. So, if you’re local authority is considering Families and Schools Together as an ongoing element of its prevention programming, and there is interest in developing the infrastructure to sustain FAST, then using your parenting training funds to build a team of local certified FAST trainers is advisable.

With PEIPS funding, we recommend that each local authority train 3 to 4 local practitioners to become certified FAST trainers. We will however also support fewer and larger groups of practitioners. As each training also will benefit many families (40+), this will ensure not only that your workforce is trained but also that outcomes for youth/children, parents and families are improved.

The following model is an example only. We have also prepared a calculator tool, which will show you how much it costs to train a set of trainers and how many families may be positively affected through the implementation of this expansion model.

This model is based on local authorities that have chosen a FAST training as part of the free offer through the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners and who have ensured to put forward practitioners suitable and appropriate for the Train the Trainer training.

At the end of their first FAST cycle, three to four of the initial team members could be selected to attend the FAST Pre-Certification Seminar for trainer interns, while the remaining team members continue on the original team. Additional team members would need to be recruited for the second cycle of the pilot site as well as for the new expansion teams.

The trainer interns would then serve their internships under the supervision of FAST National Certified trainer supervisor/s during the spring 2010. During the autumn 2010, interns would complete their internship, which would typically require telephone consultation and supervision and perhaps one on-site visit from their supervisor. By the end of the third cycle, the community would have at least four certified trainers available to continue the expansion process in your local authority.

The train the trainer cost and benefit analysis calculator mentioned in the costings below will also outline the number of sites and practitioners trained as well as the number of families affected.

Contact for Further Information and Discussion

Key Contacts:

Dr. Lynn McDonald, MSW
Professor of Social Work Research
Families and Schools Together Training and Evaluation Project
Department of Mental Health and Social Work
Middlesex University, The Archway Campus
2-10 Highgate Hill
London N19 5LW
United Kingdom
Mobile 07910771086
l.mcdonald@mdx.ac.uk
fastuk@mdx.ac.uk

USA Key Contact
Pat Davenport, CEO
Families And Schools Together, Inc.
2801 International Lane Suite 212
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
USA
608-213-9557
pdavenport@familiesandschools.org
www.familiesandschools.org

Appendices