On a Friday evening in March, a group of men and women from around the Diocese gathered in Tamworth for a weekend of training as facilitators of PEP, Parenting Education Program.

The weekend, sponsored by MU Australia, provided an opportunity for the participants to be equipped to facilitate the 5 session PEP course amongst parents in their own parishes and communities. The group members, very ably led by Kaye and Rob Healy from Perth, were able to preview the PEP course as well as look at different learning styles, how groups operate, how to encourage discussion etc, and came away from the weekend well equipped to facilitate the course themselves.

The PEP course encourages parents to examine various aspects of parenting, including parenting styles, child development, and discipline strategies and is designed to encourage and support parents in their important role. The weekly program consists of discussion, small group work, multi media presentation, personal reflection time and various other activities. It is hoped that as people from our local parishes and wider communities involve themselves in this course, they will indeed feel supported, encouraged and more confident in their parenting.