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Parents have been able to obtain support and advice from Parentline Plus's helpline for several years. But now the Referral Telephone Support (RTS) service provides longer-term, one-to-one support for parents in a crisis who do not use our existing helpline and parenting courses.

Professionals refer parents who are matched with a telephone support worker (TSW). The TSW telephones them at a pre-arranged time to introduce themselves, explain the process and agree a further six to 12 calls (usually eight). The TSW will then regularly phone the parent at the agreed time, usually weekly.

During these sessions, the TSW and the parent focus on three areas: relationships with the child or children and family; looking after self and self-esteem; and managing and using other agencies, such as schools. The service aims to work by helping parents to set small goals each week and and build on these week by week.

Many of the parents referred for RTS have been asking social services for help for some time, but do not fit their eligibility criteria (although social services are usually concerned about them). Often, things may have become so bad that the parents do not know which way to turn.

RTS helps social services to refer parents they are worried about to us and saves social work time. It can also be used as part of a Parenting Order by a Youth Offending Team. It complements other services and provides a one-to-one support for parents who may be isolated or lacking confidence and do not feel able to attend a parenting course.

Parents value the anonymity of the telephone, the fact that they can take the call wherever they like on either a mobile phone or landline. Our other services also support RTS, so that parents who want help and support between calls can phone the helpline. Some parents have gone on to parenting courses after RTS and most say they now feel able to use the helpline when they need it.

Most of the work we have done has helped parents in setting boundaries with their children and in developing their self-esteem. Within a relatively short space of time, parents are reporting significant changes. These include feeling better about themselves and an ability to set boundaries and relate to their children differently.

Parents were involved from the start of the pilot and formed part of a steering group. It was the parents who decided to have paid professionals, not volunteers, staffing it, and they also contributed to discussions on how it would work. Many parents were enthusiastic and particularly liked the idea of the anonymity of the phone. Comments included: "We wouldn't have to go out to see somebody in their office, which makes us nervous, and we wouldn't have to have them come to our house and have to tidy up!"

RTS was initially piloted with Essex social services and the Wirral youth offending team in 2000-1. We have been expanding the service and are making it more widely available. We would like to see it available to parents via commissioners nationally. One of the great advantages of the service is that it can be provided anywhere in the country from anywhere in the country.

Regional managers help to negotiate and manage commissions in their areas. We also have a pool of 14 telephone support workers paid on sessional basis for the work they do. Of course, others are indirectly involved. Parents need to be referred by an agency which is commissioning the service, usually social services, a YOT, Sure Start or On Track. They cannot refer themselves and they cannot be referred from the Parentline Plus helpline.

The telephone support workers already have the skills needed for the work. We train them on the method and application of their existing skills to our ways of working and our policies, particularly on child protection.

Social workers and members of the YOT welcome this method of intervention as a valuable service for parents and carers. Most of the families referred by Essex had been in regular contact with the duty desk and the emergency duty service. Since telephone support started, contact with duty services has decreased, indicating both satisfaction on behalf of the parents and a saving of staff time.

As confidence in the value of the service grew, social workers referred families with more complex needs, such as children at risk.


This is an effective method of intervention, which fits with government and agency priorities. Parents find it useful and Parentline Plus has the expertise, structures and systems to provide the service. There are already noticeably improved outcomes for children and an improvement in parenting skills for parents with difficult and complex needs. The quotes (see right) give an insight into how parents and professionals feel about the service and the support it provides.

Gill Loughran is manager, Referral Telephone Support.

Websites

www.parentlineplus.org.uk

 Service views

 "The support worker suggested a couple of things to try with my granddaughter and they worked. I can let her know when enough is enough, but I can also understand her life better. Teenagers are not always as you would like them to be - I can see it in a wider way."

Grandmother talking about her 14-year-old granddaughter

"I got a lot of encouragement and confidence to step back and see the situation - no opinions, no advice but encouragement. I could say anything, get angry and cry. What helped most was talking to somebody without a face. I could say anything as I would probably never see them."

Mother of 12-year-old daughter

"There has been a big improvement with the children. I call it 'welcome to the new mum'. It helped me to put boundaries down. Before I let them walk over me. Before, it was anything for a quiet life. Now what mum says they do. I am beginning to say no to other people, for example to friends and relatives wanting to borrow money. I feel as though I have gained self- respect."

Mother of four children, boys aged 10 and four and girls aged nine and three

"I was surprised at how good it could be. I got a whole lot off my chest. With my son who was in trouble, we laugh and we joke. We didn't before. I have more time for him. We are more like a family. We talk to each other more and he does things for me. I am not so stressed out, more relaxed. It is a pity I didn't have the help earlier.

"My son has special needs and Anna [the telephone support worker] gave me tips which were really helpful - like ignore him and not giving attention for bad behaviour, and listening to him more, which meant that he behaved better. It helped so much.

"I felt as though I had known Anna all my life after the first two calls. I could tell her anything. It felt easier because it was on the phone - I couldn't check to see if she was judging me. I told her things I had told nobody else."

Mother of four children, boys aged 16, 12 and nine and a girl aged four

"Telephone support provides a new approach and a positive alternative by supporting families who may have felt isolated because of the difficulties arising from stressful situations. The development of this project has not only been both fulfilling and rewarding because of the benefits to children and families, but also it is an exciting prospect because of its scope as an alternative method of intervention."

Team leader, child assessment and family support team

"It has worked well for the families we have referred. They like it because it is there for them in their own homes, a contact and a listening ear. It is anonymous which means that worker and parent are less likely to make judgements about each other. It works at helping families involved in the youth justice system manage the crisis in the family and move on"

Senior health practitioner, youth offending team