Supporting families in Port Stephens

Since July 2016, The Benevolent Society’s Family Connect and Support (FCS) team in East Maitland have been helping improve parenting skills and positive developmental outcomes for local families through the Port Stephens Positive Parenting Program.

This specialised support is delivered by Shirley Crouch, who joined Benevolent as a Child and Family Practitioner over two years ago.

“Through the program, we aim to create a safe, nonjudgemental, friendly environment where all families are welcomed regardless of their situation,” said Shirley.

“We act as advocates for children to reach their potential whilst supporting the parents/carers in their own journey.”

Image above of Shirley smiling.

Support during a formative time

What is a day in the life for you at Benevolent leading the Port Stephens Parenting Program?

Every day is different. I typically start my mornings facilitating a supported playgroup, where parents and carers of children aged 0 to five years attend a play-based learning environment to engage in a range of specifically targeted activities to support the growth and learning of the children.

It's an opportunity for the parents and carers to enhance their parenting skills in a non-judgmental, supportive environment. Children have the opportunity to build on their skills in areas including fine motor, gross motor, social, emotional, cognitive, speech and much more.

A key part of my role also involves acting as an advocate for children and families within the community. I help connect them into services which may be of benefit to them, and this looks different for every family. Examples of this include accessing food relief, housing assistance, or help with navigating the NDIS for another.

Additionally, I spend one day a week facilitating evidence-based parenting programs, where parents and carers have an opportunity to come along, reflect on their own parenting and upbringing. It aims to create positive change in the parent/child relationship to strengthen the family dynamics.

Over the past 12 months, what major trends has the team noticed in the support you deliver?

We’ve seen more parents coming to us for support around cost of living, housing, challenges with navigating children's behaviours, and safe use when it comes to screen times and engaging in the online world.

We’ve also seen a rise in parents seeking help to navigate the NDIS as more children are getting diagnosed and need early intervention support services, however these support services mostly have extensive waitlists.

What do you enjoy the most about your work?

I absolutely love what I do. It is an honour to be trusted by families to assist them along their parenting journey.

One of the things I enjoy the most is seeing parents feel a sense of pride and achievement when they reflect on all the positive things they are achieving when raising their children. I enjoy helping parents and carers feel empowered, helping them figure out what works best for them and their family and trusting in that to be what that individual family needs.

It fills me with joy watching a parent become more confident in their positive parenting approach. It can take a lot of hard work to change from the way that some of these parents have been parented themselves, and it is always heartwarming to see parents actively making change to break that cycle.

My most cherished moments are when I see the change in parent-child relationships benefit from these supported playgroups. Sometimes parents, carers and their children come in at first with fractured relationships, and over time work on that connection between one another to develop a more secure, attached, and safe relationship.

For more information on our range of early years services and programs, click here or call 1800 236 762.

Support during a formative time

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