Introducing HENRY in Northern Ireland

Throughout 2020, despite the challenges of the pandemic, we have been working with the Health & Social Care Agency in Northern Ireland, as well as all 5 Health & Social Care Trusts, to train local practitioners to deliver HENRY’s 8-week Healthy Families: Right from the Start programme. Practitioners will support parents 1-to-1 or in groups at home, in Sure Start Centres, or online. This initiative is confirmed for the next 3 years and, we hope, will be extended to 7 years.

In spring 2021 delivery of programmes will begin in earnest, with local Child Health Assistants and Sure Start Centre staff delivering programmes online, initially. As the year progresses, the number of programmes offered will be scaled up, including in-person group session as restrictions hopefully ease.

Excitingly, we will also be working to upskill practitioners from the Clinical Education Centre to deliver HENRY practitioner training courses locally over the coming years. This will help embed HENRY family support for the long-term, as well as the evidence-based HENRY approach within professional practice.

HENRY’s Chief Executive Kim Roberts said ‘We are delighted to be working with parents, carers, and practitioners across Northern Ireland to help parents give their children a great start in life. What happens in the early years shapes our whole life, and we know that HENRY support transforms children’s futures.’

Find out how to access programmes at www.henry.org.uk/whatson

Read more about our impact on children and families