Charity pilots fathers programme in children's centres

The children's charity, working with the Fatherhood Institute, will pilot the Dad Test in a number of centres before rolling it out nationwide. The institute developed the test as part of the government's current Think Fathers campaign, which aims to raise the profile of fatherhood among children's service providers. It is designed to help managers and practitioners assess how father-inclusive their service is.

Action for Children has published its own briefing for practitioners on the importance of fathers.

"This is a useful stock take of the work that is going on in our children's centres," said Kate Mulley, Action for Children's policy and research manager. "What we are particularly interested in is making sure our services are responsive to the different circumstances of fathers and that it is reflected in our universal services, as well as in specialist services."

Norfolk is one area that will take part in the pilots, after a recent review by Action for Children Norfolk showed that 43 per cent of staff in the area do not interact with fathers. The review also yielded some positive results, with signs of well integrated services, popular among parents, and a clear emphasis placed on the importance of preventative work.