Resources
WTPN 2021 Good Practice Guidance update
WTPN Regional Directory of Services
Policy essentials
English earlier GPG versions:
- 2016 WTPN Updated Good Practice Guidance (PDF, 1,374kB)
- Original 2007 Good Practice Guidance on Working with Parents with a Learning Disability
Scottish:
- Scottish Good Practice Guidelines for Supporting Parents with Learning Disabilities
- Supporting Parents with Learning Disabilities in Scotland: Challenges and Opportunities
- GIRFEC
- The best start: a five year forward plan for maternity and neonatal care in Scotland (2017)
Information about parents with learning disabilities
- Facts and figures
- Introduction to parents with learning disabilities
- Parental Learning Disability and Children's Needs: Family Experiences and Effective Practices - Hedy Cleaver and Don Nicholson
- Children’s Needs – Parenting Capacity: Child abuse: Parental mental illness, learning disability, substance misuse, and domestic violence - Hedy Cleaver, Ira Unell and Jane Aldgate
- Fathers with learning disabilities experience of adult social care services (PDF, 1,068kB)
- Being a family: Parents with learning disabilities in Wales (PDF, 670kB)
Joint working protocols
The first 3 documents are outputs from the NIHR SSCR 'How do adult services work with parents with learning disabilities project?' They are a free to use resources to support LA’s to develop joint working protocols. The documents are:
- Context (PDF, 282kB) Overview of key contextual issues to consider when developing local policies and protocols.
- Main document (PDF, 430kB) Example Protocol which address the key issues in this area of practice.
- Underlying core concepts (PDF, 350kB): Key information regarding Definition of learning disability, Parents with learning disabilities, Joint working, assessment, advocacy, legal and policy context.
- Cornwall Supported Parents Protocol
- BathNES - Protocol for Supporting Disabled Adults in their Parenting Capacity (PDF, 363kB)
Positive practice
- wtpn_top_tips (PDF, 343kB)
- Finding the right support (PDF, 511kB) - Beth Tarleton, Linda Ward and Joyce Howarth (2006)
- Supporting parents with learning disabilities and difficulties: stories of positive practice (PDF, 932kB) - WTPN (2009)
- What Works for Parents with Learning Disabilities? Sue McGaw
- SCIE Research briefing 14: Helping parents with learning disabilities in their role as parents
- Supporting learning disabled parents to keep their children – Community Care Article
- Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children’s Board Procedures: 6.11 Children of Parents with Learning Disabilities
- Working together to support disabled parents
- Llais, Chantelle's story (PDF, 102kB)
- How to Guide - Parenting Projects (PDF, 3,088kB)
- How to Guide - Social Connectedness Projects (PDF, 3,175kB)
- Successful professional practice working with parents with learning difficulties (PDF, 817kB)
- Supporting Parents with a learning disability through child protection system (PDF, 1,095kB)
- Joint Presentation WTPN Regional Seminars 2018 (Office document, 392kB)
- Successful practices in supporting parents with learning difficulties
- Information and resource hub for parent-and-child foster care
Assessment of parents
- wtpn assessment key messages (PDF, 235kB)
- Parenting Assessments for Parents with Learning Difficulties (Office document, 2,498kB)
- Learning Curves: The Assessment of Parents with a Learning Disability: A Manual for practitioners - Penny Morgan and Andy Goff
- Kingston Local Safeguarding Children Board Joint Protocol for the Assessment of Parents with Learning Disabilities May 2013
- Assessing Parents With Learning Disabilities - Sue McGaw (Powerpoint)
- Parent Assessment Manual - Sue McGaw and South Coast Productions
Training packs
- Enabling Parenting with Support Effective working with parents with learning disabilities - Deborah Chinn
Easy information for use with parents (See also information for parents)
- How to make information accessible
- You and Your Baby; Your and Your Little Child (1-5); My Pregnancy, My Choice; Sex and Relationships pack; Safe Sex and Contraception; Friendships and Relationships
- Finding the Right Help – Including a list of resources for use with parents with learning difficulties
- Parenting in Pictures – Australian on-line resource including videos, facts etc. on all aspects of parenting
- Pregnancy support pack: an antenatal resource for parents with learning disabilities or literacy problems
- Booklets explaining how to recognise abuse: emotional; physical; sexual; neglect; keeping your child safe; controlling and threatening behaviour
- Pregnancy and Me - From Bump to Baby (PDF, 2,702kB)
- Easy read guide to wellbeing (PDF, 2,447kB)
- Meanings of different Social Services Meetings (PDF, 391kB)
- The Court and your child: when social workers get involved (PDF, 2,165kB)
- When Children, Young People and Families Services are involved (PDF, 5,178kB)
- Official Solicitor easy read booklet (PDF, 1,448kB)
- Supporting Parents with a learning disability through child protection system (PDF, 1,095kB)
- Stop it now! Easy read resources on online grooming and sexual images of children
- University Health Board - Breastfeeding booklet and other helpful information
- Supporting parents well (PDF, 1,520kB)
- Hidden Voices of Maternity - Easy Read
- Baby Buddy app
- Example of Letter before Proceedings (Office document, 1,812kB) - Miriam Williams, West Sussex County Council
- Example of Care Plan (Office document, 1,981kB) - Miriam Williams, West Sussex County Council
- Example of Danger Statement (Office document, 861kB) - Miriam Williams, West Sussex County Council
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- How to use a solicitor in England and Wales - Easy Read (PDF, 1,940kB)
- Going to Court: Easy Read Information for Parents/Carers (SCOTLAND) (PDF, 1,131kB)
Guidance for specific professional groups
Midwives and Nurses:
- Pregnancy and disability - RCN guidance for midwives and nurses
- Identifying parents with learning disabilities
- Hidden voices of maternity (PDF, 2,504kB)
Social workers:
Information for Parents with Learning Difficulties
- Plain Facts - Being good parents (PDF, 2,796kB)
- Plain Facts - Helping parents with learning difficulties to speak up
- Good practice guidance-working with parents with learning disabilities/easy read (PDF, 1,893kB)
- The Court and your child: when social workers get involved (PDF, 2,165kB)
- Successful practices in supporting parents with learning difficulties
Fathers
- Being a dad leaflet (PDF, 2,962kB)
- Being a dad booklet (easy read) (PDF, 3,844kB)
- Barbers edit (wav 52kB)
- Policy Briefing 70 The importance of being Dad: services working with families should recognise and support all fathers, including those with learning difficulties
- Lift the Baby
- The Barber Shop - video captioned (mov 628kB)
Videos
- Central Advocacy Partners - I AM a good parent
- People First Parenting
- Starting Primary School: for parents who have learning disabilities
- Impetus - Improving support for parents with learning disabilities
- Central Advocacy Partners - Parents' Network Map
- Improving support for parents with learning disabilities
- Dads with learning disabilities
- Elfrida parents peer support group
- Successful practices in supporting parents with learning difficulties
- Lift the Baby
- The Barber Shop - video captioned (mov 628kB)
- TEDx Talk - What we can learn from parents with disabilities - Marjorie Aunos