all stories

marks for working with fathers

A new Government-backed Fatherhood Quality Mark, designed to implement new standards in the Children's NSF is launched at Europe's largest ever conference on fatherhood

The new Children's National Service Framework specifically requires primary care trusts, local authority and children's services to provide targeted information to all fathers and to gain skills, through training, to work with fathers.

The Fatherhood Quality Mark, which will be awarded to services meeting these new standards, was launched on Tuesday 5 April at the Working with Fathers National Conference in London, hosted by Fathers Direct, the national information centre on fatherhood. The FQM has been developed over two years by Fathers Direct, with DfES funding.

Duncan Fisher, chief executive of Fathers Direct, explained: "The FQM helps service providers show that they are serious about understanding and strengthening children's relationships with their fathers. Supported by information, mentoring and training, the FQM system validates what they are already doing, and helps them plan and develop more effective strategies for the future, which are then externally assessed."

Mary MacLeod, Chief Executive of the National Family and Parenting Institute, said:  "We know how important positive fathering can be right from the start, providing crucial support to mothers and contributing to many aspects of child development.  The Fatherhood Quality Mark is an exciting new tool to help services make the most of dads at a time when family life is undergoing fundamental and complex change."

The FQM is designed to support the new National Service Framework, which states:

"Good parenting by fathers is associated with better mental health in children, higher quality of later relationships, less criminality, better school attendance and behaviour, and better examination results.

The National Service Framework supports a cultural shift in all service provision, to include fathers in all aspects of a child's well-being."