Lots of parents think they are the worst parents in the world

Course director Caroline Penney

"It's like having that handbook, doing these courses."

Clare Howe, who has five children, has been involved in a confrontation with a teacher which came about because she felt her daughter was being picked on.

Now she has learnt to control her anger and challenge people without being rude - to say "I'm not happy with this situation".

Clare Howe: Calmer person

"Whereas before I would just shout. It's made me calmer."

She feels the courses can also help people to have a better relationship with their children.

"You think you are the only one. The courses make you realise you're not the only one and hopefully if we can learn these skills and have the right attitudes these children wouldn't be out there getting into trouble," she said.

According to course director Caroline Penney these are common feelings.

"Nobody teaches you how to be a parent," she said.

Caroline Penney: "Simple skills"

"Some parents think they are the worse parents in the world and it's so wonderful to come to the group and find out lots of parents think they are the worst parents in the world.

"Just to give them some simple skills can make all the differences to their relationships with their children.

"Unless we are very lucky and have received excellent parenting ourself often we are just modeling our parenting on our own parenting which could be good but could have been poor."

She thinks parenting orders would be tremendously helpful.

'Desperate'

"The feedback from parents on this course has been that often the parents have felt as if no-one was supporting them, they were banging their head against a brick wall and they were desperate for help from education, social services, the justice system, and nobody offering anything concrete.

"Now they have been offered a concrete course they seen tremendous changes in their relationships.

"It's not a magic pill but they are given some strategies to support them with their child."

The courses on offer include understanding children and adolescents, living with teenagers, and managing conflict.

Diane Lang: "Everyone can learn something"

Typically they might involve the course leaders acting out scenes of sibling rivalry.

The class members are then split into groups to do the same themselves.

Diane Lang, a mother and primary school teacher, said they were aimed not only at "bad" parents.

"I don't feel you have to be a bad parent to go on a parenting course," she said.

"I feel you need to be a parent or working with children and I feel it helps a lot people.

"It might not necessarily completely change their life, it will enable them to see things in a different way and to approach things in a different way - give you another perspective."

Development worker Siabreen Fairclough said: "Having a baby was an isolating experience. Stuck at home with a young child.

"But having a teenager who is offending or displaying disruptive behaviour in school is even more isolating, and just the opportunity to be in a group, learn some skills and connect with other parents who are in the same boat can change things for parents."