fpa (formerly known as the Family Planning Association)
Key Facts
Location
Project Criteria
Project funding
£250,637
Funding round
The fpa's mission is to advance the sexual health and reproductive rights and choices of people throughout the UK. We work with the public and professionals to ensure that high quality information and services are available to those who need them.
We are using the Parenting Fund for our SPEAKEASY EARLYSTART project. It will build on the fpa's successful Speakeasy programme in children's centres and Sure Start's across England.
Speakeasy enables parents and carers to have more confidence and knowledge in speaking with their children about sex and relationships. The accredited course provides parents with the knowledge, information and support that enables them to be sex educators at home. Using group work parents increase their knowledge and skills in sexual health. They explore their values and attitudes and improve their skills in talking to their children about sex. Speakeasy is targeted in areas of multiple deprivation and high teenage pregnancy rates.
The project's aim is to change the climate around sex and relationships education in the home. Speakeasy provides a complimentary approach to the school based 'Sex and Relationship Education' (SRE) and builds on the benefits of making parents the first source of information in this area.
Our training and support package is accredited through the Open College Network. Each course involves a two-day training block followed by a gap of 8-10 weeks during which participants lead their first Speakeasy parents' courses. A final 3rd day of training allows participants to take part in the marking and moderation of the parents' learning portfolios. The trainers will keep in touch with the participants up to the end of the funding period. Our aspiration is to embed the Speakeasy course or elements of it within mainstream parenting courses across England.
For the Midlands please contact:
Maureen Lothian (Midlands) Barnados Amazon project, King Edward Building, 205 Corporation Street, BirminghamB4 6SE. Tel: 01902 736 340. Email:maureenl@fpa.org.uk