Parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) face increased risks of mental and physical health problems as they often prioritise their caregiving responsibilities and neglect their own needs. This could be because they feel too tired or stressed or guilty about taking time for themselves.
The Healthy Parent Carers Programme encourages parent carers to prioritise improving their health and wellbeing, so they can support their families better. It promotes greater empowerment, confidence and resilience by encouraging people to make small changes in their thinking and actions that have a significant impact on their health and wellbeing.
It was inspired by and developed together with parent carers and health researchers at the University of Exeter, and the in-person and online sessions are delivered by trained facilitators who are parent carers themselves, so they have first-hand knowledge of the challenges and joys parent and carers encounter.
They are currently training facilitators to run the programme in their local area. Training is all online, and the programme can be delivered either online or face to face. If you would like to find out more about the programme and how to run it in your area, you can join them at their free hour long ‘Online Information Event’ at 10:30am on Tuesday June 11 2024. Book your free online information event ticket now!