Parents from Enfield’s Turkish and Kurdish speaking community have successfully completed a 13-week programme to increase their knowledge and invest time into improving their parenting skills.
The 16 parents completed the Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities (SFSC) programme, empowering them to access relevant parenting information, advice and support in their own language.
SFSC in Turkish was specifically delivered to reach families from the Turkish speaking community living in Enfield. After English, Turkish is the borough’s most widely spoken household language.
The SFSC is an inclusive evidence-based parenting programme developed by the Race Equality Foundation. The programme fosters confidence and competence in parents, which in turn aids the wellbeing and success of their children.
An award ceremony held at Pymmes Park on 15 July acknowledged and rewarded the efforts of these parents and the collaborative effort to reach these residents who may otherwise have been marginalised because of the language barrier.
The pilot programme was a joint initiative between Enfield Council, Enfield Early Help, Edmonton Community Partnership and Minik Kardes Ltd.
Enfield Council’s cabinet member for Children’s Services, Cllr Abdul Abdullahi distributed certificates and medals to the parents who successfully completed the programme and met the facilitators of the programme.
He said: “It was an honour to meet these hardworking parents who wanted nothing more than to become more confident and to support their children to be happy and successful. Enfield Council works hard with our communities and partners to ensure families can overcome social challenges and to help them learn how to access support so they can lead happy and fulfilling lives and thrive in our borough.”
There has been extremely positive feedback from the participants. One parent said: “My relationships with my children are more harmonious. I try not to shout; when I get upset, I remember what our facilitator told us. I have attended courses before, but this course was better. It increased my awareness more, and my child is very happy.”
The programme helps parents and carers to think about their own experiences and how their culture and family background have shaped their parenting style. Participants were given activities to do at home and they could then share their thoughts with each other during their weekly sessions.
SFSC has enjoyed success with parents from all backgrounds, including Black and minority ethnic parents, teenage parents, parents with learning disabilities and parents from marginalised communities.