Job losses likely when parenting academy transfers to CWDC

Funded solely by the government, the academy will come to the end of its three-year funding cycle in March 2010. The decision was made by the government to fund the CWDC to continue the academy’s training programmes from April 2010, while King’s College London remains responsible for research.

Mark Molden, Napp chair, admitted that none of the current staff have a guaranteed role in the new CWDC set-up.

"All of our staff are aware their roles are at risk. The CWDC traditionally tends not to have dedicated staff members, but rather tenders contracts to people in the sector," he said. "It would be a great loss if our staff’s experience and expertise were not captured as part of the exchange."

The move to CWDC could affect the entire academy staff of 47 people. Molden added that anyone considered for a role in the CWDC set-up might have a difficult decision to make as CWDC is based in Leeds while Napp is situated in London.

The academy was set up in November 2007 to support training for services working with parents, and to identify the best methods for engaging with parents and children through evidence-based practice.

In its three years, the academy claims to have achieved its aims in creating an identifiable group of people who call themselves parenting practitioners. It has trained 4,000 practitioners since 2007, reaching 30,000 parents each year.

Children’s minister Dawn Primarolo said: "The transfer of part of the work programme to CWDC marks the mainstreaming of this approach into the development of the workforce, and we look forward to a continuing emphasis on improving outcomes for children and parents through evidence-based practice."