Parent and Toddler Groups are available to enable adults to find friendship and support whilst the children play and interact with others. There are a variety of stimulating and age appropriate activities to help children learn social skills. There is a minimal charge for attending the groups to cover overheads. Groups are available in Lambeth on Thursday mornings, Heathfield on Wednesday mornings, and Thanet on Friday afternoons.

TOTS is an opportunity for parents and pre-school children to meet together to learn about Christian stories. Available in Heathfield.

Storysacks are based on the concept that it is the attitudes associated with reading that determine children’s literacy success and enhance the extent to which a love of books will develop from the early years. A Storysack is a large cloth bag containing a good quality picture book with supporting materials to stimulate reading activities. The Storysack Group is designed to help parents/carers of young children to build up these kinds of resources for use with their own children. Bible Storysacks is available in Heathfield.

Group Work with Children and Young People

Inside Out is a group activity to help children coping with the trauma of their parents/carers separation or divorce. The course looks at their feelings - sadness, anger, frustration, loss, memories (good and bad) - and seeks to enable them to cope and learn to support each other in the process. A group of up to six primary aged children meets weekly for eight sessions. The course is currently available in Heathfield.

Banana Bunch is a weekly after school activity for children at Primary/Junior School – developed from a Christian based holiday club. Available at Heathfield.

Bible is Fun (B.I.F.) is one of a number run by Spinnaker Trust in primary schools. This after school club takes place weekly for one hour for 10 to 15 children from a particular year group. The programme consists of games, crafts, Bible stories, memory verses and a time of prayer linked to a particular theme. The children take an active part in the whole programme. The aim is to give primary aged children the opportunity to find out more about Christianity, and especially Bible stories. Available in Lambeth.

For more details of the Bible is Fun material visit www.spinnaker.org.uk, or write to them at PO Box 28025, London, SE27 OSS. Tel: 020 8670 9888.

Group Work with Adults

Parentalk Courses: Parentalk is a registered charity which publishes the Parentalk course. Fegans uses Parentalk course material to help parents in the group to talk about issues that concern them. The course uses videos and discussion topics. There are eight different topics suitable for parents of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs.

In Lambeth, we run the course weekly for nine weeks, providing an opportunity at the end for celebration of achievement and evaluation by the course participants.

Courses run in the daytime and creche facilities are available.

If you would like more information about the Parentalk materials, visit www.parentalk.co.uk or email info@parentalk.co.uk

The Incredible Years: Incredible Years is a programme developed by Carolyn Webster-Stratton to help adults with their parenting skills and looking at ways to reduce children’s aggression and behaviour problems whilst increasing their social competence at home and at school. Incredible Years is available at Heathfield.

For further information about The Incredible Years visit www.incredibleyears.com.

W.O.W. (Women of Worth): WOW is designed as a group activity for young Mums to meet together to explore the positive experiences of their lives, to acknowledge the things they do well, and to re-build self-esteem in a fun and interactive way. It is held in Thanet and Tunbridge Wells.

G.A.L. (Get a Life): Not unlike WOW, GAL is designed for parents (male and female) and provides an opportunity to talk together, learn from each other, have discussions, feel valued and to build self-esteem. It is currently available in Tunbridge Wells.

Pick & Mix: Pick & Mix is a group activity for parents who may feel isolated and are in need of the support a regular meeting with like minded people can bring. It is currently available in Tunbridge Wells.

Aquila meetings provide opportunities for people who are experiencing, or have experienced, divorce to come together, encourage and support one another. Initially a ten week course led by experienced facilitators. Available at Heathfield.

For further information about the Aquila Care Trust see www.aquilatrust.org, telephone 01892 665524, or email to admin@aquilatrust.org.

I.T. Training Courses, led by qualified instructors, are available at Heathfield. Courses usually run for two hours during an afternoon for which period a creche is provided. Courses vary in length according to the subject matter.

ALPHA – The Alpha Course runs over ten weeks to provide a practical introduction to the Christian faith. It offers the opportunity to explore the meaning of life and to explore the validity and relevance of the Christian faith for our lives today. It is a practical introduction to the basics of Christianity with loads of opportunity for debate and discussion. The style of Alpha is informal, friendly and non-pressured. Alpha is available at Heathfield.

Work with Individual Families

Visiting and Advocacy: Our Family/Community Workers operate in Lambeth, Thanet, Heathfield and Tunbridge Wells. They are primarily engaged in ‘preventative care’ although a large degree of ‘crisis intervention’ is necessary because of the limited ability of statutory bodies to respond to the desperate needs in every community. We work in co-operation with professionals from other disciplines such as Health, Social Services, Education, and with other voluntary bodies.

Befriending: On occasions we are able to offer support to a family with the help of a volunteer befriender. A regular commitment of a short period of time per week or fortnight can bring enormous encouragement and a sense of worth to a family experiencing difficulties perhaps through long term illness or disability. Contact us for further information.

Services to the Community

Contact Centre facilities are available at certain times, by arrangement, to provide a facility for children and absent parents to meet with each other in a safe and secure environment. Referrals are usually made to us by Local Authority Social Services Departments or solicitors although we are able to consider individual requests. We are able to provide reports on these times of Contact if requested to do so. Available in Heathfield and Thanet.

Room Hire: We are happy to hire rooms to other groups or agencies who wish to undertake activities for the benefit of the local community which will be in line with Fegans ethos. Rooms available at our Centres in Heathfield and Thanet. Children’s Parties may also be held at Heathfield.