Briefing Note: Psychology of Parenting Project (PoPP)
We received notification from NES on 15 August that Edinburgh has been accepted as one of the delivery sites for PoPP.
PoPP is about engaging the parents of 3 and 4 year olds who exhibit concerning levels of problem behaviour in one of two evidence based programmes.
The estimated number of such children for the whole of Edinburgh is 930.
In our application we proposed to start by addressing the needs of half this number – 465, with the remainder being included at a later stage.
First stage of Implementation
The areas to be targeted in the first stage of implementation are:
- North Neighbourhood – all clusters
- South Neighbourhood – two clusters Gracemount & Liberton
- South West Neighbourhood – two clusters Wester Hailesand Firhill
The later stage brings on the other areas in the city which are West, East and the remaining clusters in South West and South. In year two a similar number of new group facilitators will need to be trained for this work.
The model is “front-loaded” by building capacity to deal with both 3 and 4 year olds in the first year. The level of provision required should reduce in later years. For example, the number of required groups in subsequent years in the stage 1 areas will reduce because only 3 year olds (plus the 4 year olds who have been missed) need to be included.
The national PoPP project is funded to provide training and implementation support for the first year. The cost of staffing the programmes is the responsibility of local services. The PoPP briefing note suggests that an average commitment for staff involved in delivering PoPP is about 1 day per week. The full-time-equivalent of this staffing level is approximately 10 staff per week in year one and about 15 in year two, reducing again in year three to about 10.
The running of groups will also have resource implications in relation to local accommodation capable of supporting both the group and a crèche. The crèche and group set-up costs (eg refreshments and groupwork materials) will also be covered in the first year by the national PoPP project.
One of the two members of staff in each group should be knowledgeable about early child development. There is therefore a potential to deploy members of staff in delivering programmes who work in non-early years services, including adult services such as adult mental health services.
We know from both the PoPP guidance and the experience of other authorities delivering PoPP (West.Lothian and Fife) that there is a significant administrative requirement. Important elements in this are the processing of applications and the reporting of data to a central PoPP database. Both authorities have employed an administrative member of staff. Discussion is underway to finalise these arrangements,
The Parent and Carer Support Team,led by Pat Southall,within Children and Families – a Manager, four Development Officers and a Senior Training and Development Officer – are well placed to prioritise PoPP and to lead its inter-agency implementation.
This is an initiative of the Children’s Partnership, and has been developed with NHS Lothian. Dialogue has also taken place with colleagues in the 3rd Sector who are very positive about contributing.
Identification and recruitment of parents
The criteria for a parent to be included in PoPP is based on the level of their child’s behavioural difficulties as indicated by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The precise levels are a matter for local planning, and will be in the range SDQ 14 to SDQ 17 and above.
Services that work with vulnerable families will have an important role in helping those parents to engage with the process of assessment and then of participation in the group.
Governance and Leadership
Accountability for this work is ultimately to the Children’s Partnership. The progress of the work will be reported regularly to the Partnership by the lead officer, who is the manager of the Parent and Carer Support Team.
We will establish an interagency advisory group – this is a PoPP requirement.
The Children’s Partnership and Senior managers in all relevant services have a leadership role in this work. The commitment of managers at all levels will be required for implementation success. This includes front line managers who will need to communicate the importance of this work, adjust priorities to ensure staff can contribute identify parents and generally support the implementation.
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Donny ScottLinda Irvine
Service ManagerStrategic Programme Manager
Family and Community SupportMental Health and Wellbeing
City of Edinburgh Council NHS Lothian