Frequently Asked Questions

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• What is the Incredible Years Programme?
• Does the Incredible Years Programme work?
• Do you advertise the Programme or take referrals?
• In a school setting how are parents screened for participation in the Programme?
• Is it possible to condense or shorten the Programme?
• How does an agency prepare to introduce the Programme?
• Where can the materials required to run the Programme be purchased?
• How many manuals are there in the three curricula?
• When and where will there be training and how much does it cost?
• What is involved in a Consultation day and how do I schedule one?
• Is it a requirement that all Facilitators receive training?

The Incredible Years programme intervention consists of three strands each proven to promote social competencies in children.  Strand one is a series of three parent programmes - the basic, advance and academic programmes.  The basic parent programme is a 12-week intervention designed to increase positive parenting styles, increase parental nurturing skills, improve problem solving skills and anger management skills in both parent and child and to improve school bonding.  The programme enhances positive relationships between parent and child through the utilization of child directed play techniques, praise and incentive programmes.  Non-violent, non-critical disciplinary approaches are emphasized. These include monitoring, ignoring, clear commands, natural and logical consequences and time out.  These skills are then used to improve both parent and child problem solving skills and responses.  Parents can take two other courses, the Advance and Academic Training Programmes.  The Advance Parent Training programme is especially aimed at parents with pre-school children.  It is designed to prepare children more effectively for the new challenges of school life.  The Academic Parent Training programme is especially developed to assist parents work with their children on homework.  It is particularly aimed at parents who find this work challenging.

The Dina Dinosaur Classroom Curriculum is the programme with the same title described above under the teacher strand.

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British Home Office

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When run as a preventative measure in a school setting, we recommend that a brochure or poster is developed that explains the objectives of the programme, the criteria for participation and the procedure for registering as a participant.  We recommend that referrals are taken from health boards and other agencies if the required numbers are not otherwise available within the school.  However, in these cases, it is important to meet with the families prior to the beginning of the programme to assess their eligibility and commitment.  Generally we recommend that between 4-6 weeks notice is given to families before the course begins to enable the necessary questionnaires to be completed and to establish a trusting relationship with the families concerned.  We have found that this process greatly assists participant retention.

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A specific set of criteria is set down for the selection of parents in a research context.  In a non-research context we advocate bringing together a diverse group of parents with varying needs and varying abilities to respond to parenting difficulties.  We recommend that the programme is offered to all parents in this way in order that the collaborative, solution focused approach, characteristic of the Incredible Years programme, can be successfully applied.  In the small group version of the Dina we recommend selecting children based on teacher assessments, psychological reports, on standardised measures such as the SDQ, and those who exhibit aggressive behaviour in the borderline and clinical ranges.  We also recommend that these groups include children with a diverse range of social, emotional or behavioural skills so that the withdrawn child, for example, can feel comfortable in the group.  We also advocate some gender balance in the group.

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Definitely not; the programmes are designed to be delivered in their entirety and with fidelity.  The programme sessions also need to be delivered in the suggested sequence and all of the content covered in the manner suggested in the manuals.  In this way we can ensure that the results which have been achieved internationally will be replicated here in Ireland.  However, some flexibility is allowed in programme delivery; culturally appropriate activities may be selected which reinforce the key concepts for each session.

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There are a number of steps that agencies must take if they are to successfully introduce the Incredible Years programme.  This is particularly the case for agencies who wish to become involved with research projects run by Archways. 
Agencies should note the following readiness check-list:

• Individuals in an organisation may see a need for an Incredible Years programme, however this is not sufficient on its own.  These individuals need admin support and a commitment from management to make the necessary resources available.  All parties must work together.  Staff morale & turnover are also factors to be borne in mind were a programme to be introduced.
• Programmes need to be offered in their entirety and not shortened.  Will your organisation be willing and/or able to do this?
• Additional time is needed to prepare lessons and to make telephone calls outside contact time.  Supervision and self-study time is also needed.  Typically 5 hours of facilitator time is needed for a 2 hour session.
• Group leaders need to be comfortable with a collaborative teaching style.  Knowledge of early child development and social learning theory is extremely helpful.
• 
  
  On-site training may be an option if a large number of trainees are available
  for a session.  If trainers are required from Seattle this needs to be planned 6-9 months in advance.
• Time for marketing and recruiting families needs to be allowed for.  Space, day-care, food and transportation - therefore outreach is necessary.  Support for parent groups is also needed.
• Once training is delivered what organisation capacity is there for building a supporting infrastructure, providing external support, ongoing monitoring and fidelity checks?
• The organisation needs to have plans for programme evaluation - weekly evaluation of the parent sessions and final programme evaluations.  Feedback from parents and teachers is an important part of the integrity issue, it needs to be sought and documented.
• Is your organisation willing to advocate for long term funding from statutory agencies?  It is important to involve key community stakeholders at the beginning.

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Materials can be purchased through Archways.  Please contact aclarke@archways.ie for more information.

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Each curriculum comes with a single manual, however additional manuals can be purchased as required.

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Training courses in the Parent and Child Training programmes are offered regularly in Clondalkin.http://www.archways.ie

The cost of training varies with the programme.  Training costs are provided on our website at www.archways.ie for each of the courses; the 3-day Basic Parent Leader Training, the 2-day Small Group Therapeutic Leader Training and the Teacher Classroom Management Training.

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The Consultation day is provided for those who have already attended the authorised training in the Parent or Child training programmes and has delivered to one or more groups.  During Consultation days group facilitators have an opportunity to get feedback or to seek supervision regarding group therapy issues, such as, particular family dynamics or they may wish to discuss particular aspects of child behaviour they have encountered.  Participants are required to bring a tape of one of their parent or child group sessions.  Participants share particularly useful role-plays or discussions, which they feel others would benefit from watching or a selection from their video where a problem or difficult issue arises.  These workshops provide on-going training for facilitators and enable them meet supervision requirements and are a mandatory requirement in the certification process.  Consultation days are organised regularly by Archways, their costs and details of upcoming days can be found on the Archways website.

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Yes, it is highly recommended in order to ensure the optimum outcomes are achieved for children.  If a Leader wishes to become certified or conduct research they must attend an authorised training workshop and the subsequent Consultation days.  However, for those seeking certification but for whom it is not yet complete, they can in certain circumstances undertake research projects using the programmes.By inviting others in an agency to co-lead with a trained Leader the Co-leader can be provided with a level of unofficial training.  However, programmes produce the best results when facilitated by two trained group leaders.Certified Group Leaders are eligible to be invited to receive additional training to become an Incredible Years Certified Mentor of group leaders.  Becoming a Certified Mentor permits the person to offer authorized training to other group leaders in their own agency and to provide mentoring and supervision of their groups and/or videotape of groups.  Mentors work closely with the Incredible Years Trainers, use the most current materials and training protocols, and complete workshop checklists and evaluations of the trainings they have led.  After each training the Group Leader conducts they will register the training participants names and provide Incredible Years with copies of participant evaluations.A detailed outline of the process involved in becoming an Incredible Years Mentor can be found on the Incredible Years Seattle website by following the link

http://www.incredibleyears.com/Certification/

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