REU (formerly the Race Equality Unit)

Key Facts

Location

All areas

Project Criteria

BME

Project funding

£349,874

Funding round

Round 1

» Back to Projects

REU is a charity promoting race equality in social care and support. Since 1987 we have been providing consultancy and support to central and local government and voluntary organisations. We also publish reports and good practice guides on subjects such as engaging black and minority ethnic families, the 1989 Children Act, social work and social education. Our research work has covered the use of family centres, the independence of young black and minority ethnic people with a disability, child protection and a number of other topics. We run workshops and conferences and deliver training. We were set up in 1987.

Since February 2000 our promotion of the Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities Parent Programme (SFSC) has dramatically increased the availability of an effective parent education programme for black and minority ethnic (and other) parents in England. With the Parenting Fund project we want to consolidate and develop this work while extending. To deliver these aims we will work on development, training and support and supervision.

Development
We will:

• deliver the highest standards of support to black and minority ethnic parents, including meeting National Occupational Standards
• help a number of voluntary organisations to implement tried and tested quality assurance systems to ensure the best standards of support to Black and Minority Ethnic parents
• carry out outreach in the North West region to identify voluntary organisations interested in and capable of running SFSC
• provide financial support, promotional and practical support to several voluntary organisations to pump prime the delivery of SFSC in the North West region
• support voluntary organisations across England to identify resources, including mainstream resources, for the delivery of SFSC and other parenting support to black and minority ethnic parents
• create new support materials, including two new community language translations of parent manuals
• disseminate good practice through local, regional and national networks, through writing articles, running of workshops and joint working
• establish an advisory group with parents and representatives of organisations working with black and minority ethnic communities.

Training
We will:

• train 50 new SFSC facilitators from the North West
• train a further 20 new facilitators from across England
• run workshops to enhance facilitator skills.

Support and supervision
We will:

• provide expert advice and information in the implementation of SFSC, group work with black and minority ethnic parents and parenting support
• provide intensive support and supervision to voluntary organisations in the delivery of SFSC
• develop peer support groups.

Through this programme we will have supported voluntary organisations to implement the highest standards in delivering SFSC while significantly enhancing and extending the infrastructure that supports Black and Minority Ethnic parents across England