About The Parent Network of Neath Port Talbot

What is the Parent Network?

People often describe us as a ‘bridge’ between parents and the information or services they’re seeking. That’s because we use our network of contacts and resources to connect parents with what they need.

We’re the place to go when you don’t know where to go!”

Who are we?

We are a voluntary organisation set-up by parents, for parents.

We define ‘parent’ as anyone who has significant responsibility for the care and upbringing of a child or young person age 0—25 years. In other words, we are:

Mums, dads, and step-parents
Grandparents and other family members
Foster parents, adoptive parents, and
primary care-givers

What we do

Our motto says it all:

"Empowering Parents with Information and Involvement"

We Empower Parents with Information:

We want to make parents and carers more confident in their parenting by providing them with information on anything they may have a question about or want help with.

Babies, pre-schoolers, pre-teens, teenagers and young adults — every age and stage brings with it new questions...but where do you go to get the answers?

The Parent Network of NPT is a FREE
resource for all parents and carers to find the answers and the help they want. We have a large network of contacts across the county and can ‘navigate the system’ for you to find what you want.

From the everyday to the unique...we help
parents and carers find the answers and the help they are looking for.

We Empower Parents with Involvement:

We also ensure parents and carers have more power and authority by providing them with opportunities to get directly involved in the planning and decision-making of services in Neath Port Talbot.

All too often, committees, organisations, and groups talk about parents instead of with them; they plan services for parents, instead of with them.

The Parent Network enables parents to have their voices and opinions heard by giving them direct input into the planning and decision-making of services that affect them and their children.

For example:

A mum contacted us when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer. She didn’t know where to go to find out what support and benefits her daughter was entitled to, and felt she wasn’t getting much information from her GP. We were able to use our network of contacts to quickly gather a list of specific people who could help her make sure her daughter had access to everything she was entitled to.

A dad contacted us saying his teen son’s behaviour was getting out of control, and he and his wife simply didn’t know what to do anymore. We were able to connect them with a FREE, local course for parents on managing their teens’ behaviour, as well as provide him with some basic ‘top tips’.

A mum rang to say that her young son was using the internet, so she wanted to ‘block’ certain websites, but didn’t know how. We were able to send her information on how to safeguard children on the internet and how to set-up internet ‘blocking’.

A dad contacted us about a situation on his street. He and the other residents felt the council wasn’t doing anything, and they were unable to get through the ‘red tape’ to find out anything. We were able to ‘navigate the system’ on his behalf to find and speak to the
person at the council in charge of the situation. We then put the dad in direct contact with the council rep. so that communication would remain open.

The Parents` Panel is a group of parents from a wide variety of backgrounds who meet to talk about a range of issues. Members of the panel then take the group's opinions and views directly to the organisations and services involved, ensuring the 'parent viewpoint' is taken in to consideration.

FatherHood is a new initiative of The Parent Network of NPT to promote the important role fathers, grandfathers and father-figures play in Neath Port Talbot by responding to their unique needs for information and involvement.FatherHood is guided in its development by the FatherHood Forum, a group of fathers, grandfathers and representatives of local organisations who meet on a regular basis to help decide the kinds of activities FatherHood will do.

Consultations - We facilitate focus group discussions with parents and carers for professional organisations, ensuring parents` opinions and views are heard and recognised.

Workshops – we provide free workshops to a variety of organisations and professioanls on how to involve parents and carers more in their service planning and delivery.

No one understands the joys and challenges of being a parent more than parents themselves. From education to healthcare to special services, we're working to make sure the parent's viewpoint is an integral part of planning and decision-making in Neath Port Talbot.

How can you learn more about us?

To learn more about The Parent Network of NPT, what we do and how we can help, simply contact us.

The Parent Network is free and available to all parents and carers living in NPT who have a child/children up to 25 years old.

There are no costs involved - help and involvement is entirely free!