Help with parenting

Parenting services

Brighter Futures for Children offer a range of programmes for parents of children from birth to teenagers to support parents in developing their parenting skills further.

Children’s centres

Find your nearest children’s centre.

Disability

Visit our disability information page to see how we can support you with your childcare.

Problems at school

If your child is struggling at school (for example, with schoolwork or attendance), speak to the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) at your child’s school.

School attendance

Mental health

To see what is on offer for young people in Reading to support their mental health, look on the Young People’s Zone on the Brighter Futures for Children website. For a list of the full services available, see the Family Information Services directory. If you have significant or urgent concerns about a child, contact the Children’s Single Point of Access (CSPoA).

Free support and emotional wellbeing programme for parents and families

Local residents are being offered free access to an NHS-backed support and emotional wellbeing programme, which contains a suite of online learning resources designed for parents, families, young people and children

Developed by NHS psychologists, psychotherapists and health practitioners, ‘Togetherness’ uses videos and interactive resources to guide learners through a wide variety of topics. Subjects include:

• online antenatal and postnatal support
• understanding your child from toddler to teenager
• support with common parenting topics such as anxiety, sleep and toileting
• understanding adolescence and adult mental health, including trauma information and relationship support.

Residents can create a free account on the Togetherness website using the access code: BWFAMILIES

All learning is self-paced and available on any internet connected device. Personal data is kept secure and never shared.

More than 330,000 learners across the country have already used Togetherness, with satisfaction consistently above 90 per cent. Research has shown that completing the courses improves closeness and reduces conflict in parent-child relationships, and increases parental confidence.

Problems with drugs and the law

We will support you if your child is in trouble with the police. If they get into trouble locally, but not with the police, contact our Reconnect youth team.