James Hunter blog

The Welsh Assembly Government should appoint a national 'parenting champion', a report suggests.

The recommendation has been made by the assembly's children and young people committee after a 13-month inquiry into the needs of parents and children.

Committee chair Helen Mary Jones AM said the move would help ensure the best start in life for children.

However, the Children in Wales charity said it was "not convinced" a parenting champion was the answer.

The parenting champion would have responsibility for ensuring that all parents in Wales have access to the information and services they require, said the report.

Ms Jones explained: "We believe the Welsh government needs to appoint a senior figure who wouldn't be a civil servant or a government minister, but who would work with the government to co-ordinate parenting support.

"We urge the Welsh government to take the recommendations contained in this report seriously for the sake of our children "
Helen Mary Jones AM, committee chair

"We think they should be called the 'parenting champion', and be responsible for providing leadership, better co-ordination of work across government departments, eradicating stigma associated with parenting support, and developing a recognised 'national parenting brand' for all activities undertaken to support parents.

"The impact of parenting on a child is profound and lasts for lifetimes, affecting the contribution a child makes to their society. Yet so often the value of parenting is overlooked in our culture, and only gets attention when something goes wrong.

"We urge the Welsh government to take the recommendations contained in this report seriously for the sake of our children who will, in turn, become parents themselves one day."

Ms Jones added that while there was a lot of good work being done to support parents, there was also a lot of confusion about parenting support, with government departments not speaking to each other effectively, and a lack of strategic leadership.

'Felt embarrassed'

She said: "There is also a cultural perception that parenting support is something to be embarrassed about, as if it's only for 'failed parents'.

"Many of the parents who spoke to the inquiry had said they felt embarrassed or afraid when asking for parenting support, when they should have been applauded for trying to provide the best parenting possible for their children. "

However, Catriona Williams, chief executive of the children's umbrella group Children in Wales, said: "We are not convinced that a champion, other than a lead person in government, is the answer.

"Children in Wales recommended a strong lead within government to ensure proper implementation of the parenting action plan and development of support services for parents such as a helpline for all parents."

She said the main issue should be that there are "lead people" in central and local government and health organisations that are promoting the wishes and needs of parents.

Anastasia de Waal, director of family and education for social policy think tank Civitas, also cast doubt on the recommendation.

'Gimmicky'

She said: "I'm sure that the intentions behind this are noble but it does sound a bit gimmicky.

"I'm not sure this is going to reach the people they are trying to reach - parents living in difficult circumstances who have problems - rather than bad parents per se.

"Although I can see the appeal, the sorts of issues they need to address are not going to come under one neat headline."

Ms de Waal said she suspected a parenting champion would not be able to make a big impact.

"I fear it will mean duplicating a lot of what already exists"
Anastasia de Waal, Civitas

She added that it would be better to concentrate resources on trying to help parents in difficult circumstances deal with the issues they faced, such as unemployment.

She said: "I fear it will mean duplicating a lot of what already exists. It's difficult to put this sort of thing under one umbrella. Is it a champion for better parenting or for better access to information"

The committee's report contains 11 recommendations to the assembly government, and was based on evidence taken during four formal committee meetings, informal meetings with more than 40 parents in Cardiff and Flintshire, and written evidence from over 30 organisations.

Committee members are joining parents at the Ely and Caerau Children's Centre to launch the 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