The Regional Secretariat for Social Solidarity, through the Azores Social Security Institute, promotes in January and July a new training cycle on Parental Education, which includes sessions about the international parental education programme designated as "Incredible Years."
 
This programme has shown evidence in term of efficacy regarding intervention actions with the parents of children aged between 3 and 8. The sessions will be guided by Filomena Gaspar, professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra. The event is directed to professionals from different areas, such as social workers, social educators, kindergarten teachers, teachers and psychologists, among others.
 
The sessions began today on São Miguel Island and will run until Friday, while on Terceira Island there are scheduled on January 23, 24 and 25.
 
Overall, the initiative covers 42 technicians working on the islands of São Miguel, Terceira, Faial and Pico.
 
The second edition of the "More Family, More Youth" programme will be held in July. It is aimed at parents and other parental figures with children and young people from 9 to 18 years of age, involving nearly forty technicians. There will be scheduled sessions on July 12, 13 and 14 on the island of São Miguel and on July 17, 18 and 19 on the island of Terceira.
 
Regarding the various measures taken by the Government of the Azores to support children and families, through the promotion of positive parenting, the Parental Education programmes have been reinforced since their implementation in 2011, covering caregivers and parental figures from São Miguel, Terceira, Faial and Pico.
 
The first edition of "More Family, More Youth" took place in July 2016, with the participation of 63 professionals. It was organised in partnership with the Nossa Senhora de Oliveira Social and Parish Centre, through a protocol with NORMA-Açores and a Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra.
 
The programmes implemented in the Region have proven to be effective as there have been an increase in positive parenting practices and reduction in the number of behavioural problems in home and school context.