Family Works services

Parenting through Separation is a free information programme that helps you work out what’s best for your children when you’re separating. The earlier in your separation you can get to a programme the better for you and your children. You can attend Parenting through Separation even if you are just thinking of separating, or if you have been separated for some time – it’s all about making things better for the children.

Parenting Through Separation is focused on providing practical advice and information to keep things as stress-free as possible for your children and to help you work out what parenting arrangements will work if or when you separate.

We cover topics such as:

• how separation affects children
• what children need during separation
• keeping children away from conflict
• talking with children about separation
• talking with ex-partners about arrangements for the children
• how to make a parenting plan
• how the Family Court works.

Each programme is made up of two sessions lasting approximately two hours and is run in a small group setting. We have programmes running at a range of times and locations to suit you.

During the sessions you can choose to say as much or as little as you like about your individual situation. However, you can rest assured our experienced programme facilitators make sure each session is welcoming, relaxed, supportive and informative.

While it’s good if both parents/carers attend Parenting through Separation, we strongly recommend you attend separate sessions. Let us know when you register if you have a different family name from your ex-partner, so we can make sure you are not both at the same session.

Parenting Through Separation is funded by the Ministry of Justice. It has been developed by professionals who specialise in helping families through separation, and is delivered by experienced facilitators from Family Works and the Community Law Centre.

Dates of our March – June 2024 courses are:

Tuesday Mar 5 9.30am – 2pm MASTERTON –  Family Works, 105 Chapel Street, Masterton

Thursday Mar 7  9.30am – 2pm PARAPARAUMU – Kapiti Impact Hub, 6 Tongariro Street, Paraparaumu

Saturday Mar 16 9.30am – 2pm WELLINGTON – Community Law, Level 2, 15 Dixon Street, Te Aro

Saturday Mar 23 9.30am – 2pm UPPER HUTT – Family Works, 4 Exchange Street, Upper Hutt

Thursday April 4 9.30am – 2pm PARAPARAUMU – Kapiti Impact Hub, 6 Tongariro Street, Paraparaumu

Tuesday April 9 9.30am – 2pm MASTERTON –  Family Works, 105 Chapel Street, Masterton

Saturday April 13 9.30am – 2pm UPPER HUTT – Family Works, 4 Exchange Street, Upper Hutt

Saturday April 27 9.30 am – 2pm WELLINGTON – Community Law, Level 2, 15 Dixon Street, Te Aro

Saturday May 4 9.30am – 2pm LOWER HUTT – Community Law, Level 2, 59 Queens Drive, Lower Hutt

Saturday May 11 9.30 am – 2pm WELLINGTON – Community Law, Level 2, 15 Dixon Street, Te Aro

Tuesday May 14 9.30am – 2pm MASTERTON –  Family Works, 105 Chapel Street, Masterton

Thursday May 16 6pm – 8pm UPPER HUTT – Family Works, 4 Exchange Street, Upper Hutt

Thursday May 23 6pm – 8pm UPPER HUTT – Family Works, 4 Exchange Street, Upper Hutt

Thursday 6 June 9.30am – 2pm PARAPARAUMU – Kapiti Impact Hub, 6 Tongariro Street, Paraparaumu

Tuesday 11 June 9.30am – 2pm MASTERTON –  Family Works, 105 Chapel Street, Masterton

Saturday 15 June 9.30 am – 2pm WELLINGTON – Community Law, Level 2, 15 Dixon Street, Te Aro

Saturday 22 June 9.30am – 2pm UPPER HUTT – Family Works, 4 Exchange Street, Upper Hu

To register or find out more, please click the ‘Enquire Now’ button at the bottom of this page.

Incredible Years provides practical and positive ways of managing your child’s challenging behaviours such as aggressiveness, answering back and refusing to follow rules. It’s designed to help you build strong relationships with your children and promote positive behaviour.

The group programme also gives you the opportunity to gain valuable insights from other parents – you’ll quickly realise you’re not alone!

We cover topics such as:

• helping your child learn through play
• encouraging good behaviour
• setting limits and following through
• teaching children to problem solve.

The Incredible Years programme is available thanks to funding from the Ministry of Education.

Negotiating the Minefield will help you understand the development of young adults but most importantly it will give you useful tools and advice for keeping your sanity while raising your teenager. Each programme runs for six sessions.

We cover topics such as:

• understanding the adolescent brain (and your teen)
• staying in control
• strategies to help your sanity
• communication and how to reprogramme automatic responses
• problem solving techniques and developing win/win situations
• supporting your teen to make healthy choices and develop appropriate responses to life.

As well as being practical and informative, the sessions are fun, relaxed and supportive. If you or someone you know might benefit from this programme, please fill out an enquiry form and one of our friendly team will be in touch.

Being a good dad is probably the most important thing you’ll do in your entire life. Thankfully, you have a choice about the kind of dad you want to be.

Many men find it tough to talk about parenting, so Family Works Central designed the Good Fathers programme as a relaxed, yet informative way to find out how to build stronger bonds with your kids and to manage the challenges that come with being a dad.

Each programme runs for between eight and eleven weeks.

We cover topics such as:

• reducing conflict and stress
• being actively involved in your kids’ lives
• setting boundaries and improving your children’s behaviour without anger
• communicating with your children, their mum, family and whānau
• attitudes to parenting and being a dad
• encouraging your kids and bonding with them
• gaining the skills and confidence to raise your children well
• recognising and acknowledging power and control issues.

Our Good Fathers programme is available in the Hutt Valley. If you are looking for a similar service in another region please contact us to discuss your needs.

Boundaries with Kids parenting programme will help you gain useful knowledge about the stages of your children’s development. You’ll learn practical, positive parenting skills that will help you build strong bonds with your children and promote good behaviour.

Each programme is run over eight weeks.

We cover topics such as:

• understanding the stages of your children’s development and being prepared before they happen
• personality types and love languages
• parenting styles and the differences each makes for your child
• listening to and communicating with your children
• understanding your boundaries and developing boundaries in your children
• behaviour management strategies, including practical strategies for different situations
• looking after yourself.

The group setting provides a supportive space for parents and/or caregivers to share their parenting experiences. You’ll gain valuable insights from other parents, identify your own parenting strengths and, importantly, realise you’re not alone!

Boundaries for Women is a group programme catering for 8 to 12 women. It involves weekly two hour sessions over 6 weeks, with one-to-one follow up sessions available if requested.

We cover topics such as:

• what a boundary is and what it looks like in practice
• how unhealthy boundaries can develop and how to change behaviours
• how to communicate your needs clearly
• characteristics and indicators of healthy boundaries and limits.

You’ll be supported to develop a healthy self-esteem and gain confidence as you put your learning into practice.

Family Works Central has been contracted by the Department of Corrections to deliver parenting programmes across the greater Wellington and Whanganui regions. Our team liaise with Corrections programmes and interventions coordinators, who provide possible programme participants.

There are three stages in our programme:

• Initial assessment
• Group programme delivery
• Final assessment and evaluation

The programme consists of five, two-hour sessions, with no more than nine participants.

As well as a learning environment, the group setting is also a sharing and supportive environment. Talking about one’s past can be hard for parents, especially if they did not thrive as children – as many prisoners did not. Facilitators ensure that the group is in a safe environment to share their thoughts, feelings and personal stories within the group context.

We cover things such as:

• Communication and attentive listening skills
• Parenting styles
• Emotional needs of children: feelings and self esteem
• Ages and development Stages
• Discipline vs punishment
• Boundaries, rules and behaviour management
• The importance of play

After the final group session, our facilitators meet individually with each participant to ‘sign-off’ on individual goals, then an individual report is sent to Corrections’ programmes and interventions coordinator. This report and set of goals form part of the prisoner’s reintegration plan.

Having kids doesn’t come with a manual. But if you’re interested in building stronger relationships with your kids, if you want to add more practical skills to your parenting tool kit, and if you want to put some fun back into being a mum, dad or carer, then Growing Together could be for you!

Each programme is usually made up of six two-hour sessions, over six weeks.

We cover topics such as:

• your kids’ developmental ages and stages
• the importance of child-led play
• parenting styles
• the temperaments of your kids
• modelling behaviour and managing challenging behaviour
• setting boundaries, routines and structure
• listening skills
• building self esteem.

Supervised contact (supervised visits) aims to support children to develop safe and positive relationships with a parent or carer who does not have day-to-day care of them and where it’s been difficult to establish a good relationship.  

The visits allow the child and parent to spend time together in a safe, warm, and controlled environment with a Family Works staff member present to support.  

Often supervised contact comes about following an order by the Family Court when there has been violence in the family or to reintroduce a parent to a child after a period of no contact. In many cases, the relationship between the adult and the child improves quickly over a series of supervised visits. The supervised contact continues until the court is satisfied that the child will be safe with unsupervised contact. 

At Family Works Taranaki, we have a team of whanau kamahi (supervised contact) workers who deliver the service from our New Plymouth office. Parents and the other adults involved are helped and encouraged to understand the child’s needs and to support the reintroduction of contact. 

The whanau kamahi worker attends each visit and has the responsibility to ensure the safety, welfare, and wellbeing of the children they are supervising.