Parents 1st UK has developed a brand-new qualification specifically to reflect the skills and experience of volunteers and peer supporters delivering quality peer support during pregnancy, birth and beyond.
This is a CACHE accredited, customised qualification specifically designed for perinatal peer supporters.
CACHE sits under the umbrella of NCFE. NCFE is an educational charity and leader in vocational and technical learning, demonstrating the quality and rigor of our new qualification.
NCFE works for a fairer education system for all learners to power inclusivity and choice and is an awarding organisation recognised by the qualification regulators for England (Ofqual), Wales (Qualifications Wales) and Northern Ireland (CCEA Regulation). This is an unregulated qualification and is not a nationally recognised qualification.
If you would be interested in gaining the qualification yourself or offering it to the volunteers or perinatal peer support workers in your organisation, please complete the expression of interest form.
Why is this qualification needed?
For the first time, this qualification reflects the unique and informal nature of parent peer support i.e., how valuable, and often life-changing it can be, and how it differs to, but complements other support available to parents. It reflects what lies at the heart of quality peer support – building trusting peer relationships and the journey of enabling parents to find their own way forward.
It is also about delivering peer support safely to protect both parents supported and peer supporters. It is an opportunity for parent peer supporters to showcase what they have learnt during their training and supervision, and how they use their unique personal skills, qualities and life experience for the benefit of other parents.
What is the level of this new qualification?
This qualification has been accredited as a Customised Qualification and we have benchmarked the qualification’s learning outcomes and assessment criteria at Level 3 to allow volunteers and peer support workers to demonstrate the difficulty, depth of study, and level of skills they have gained from supporting parents in the natural volunteer setting.
Who is the qualification for?
The qualification is for volunteers or paid peer support workers who have successfully completed quality training from their organisation that equips them to carry out their specific peer support role competently and safely. Some additional self-directed learning may be required.
It is important to note that this Customised Qualification is specifically designed for volunteers or peer support workers with sound, real-life experience of carrying out a role giving peer support to parents during pregnancy and/or the first year after birth. Ideally, learners will be actively giving peer support to parents whilst working towards achieving the qualification.
What units need to be completed to achieve the qualification?
There are 8 units in total. Learners can choose to complete either 4 or 8 of the units to gain a qualification.
All learners must complete the first three core units:
- Understanding effective parent peer support
- Building and maintaining a trusting parent peer support relationship
- Being a parent peer supporter
The other five units are optional:
- Supporting expectant parents to prepare for changes ahead
- Promoting physical wellbeing
- Strengthening emotional wellbeing and recognising mental illness
- Understanding the role of a birth partner
- Nurturing early parenting skills and infant development
To achieve the Level 3 Perinatal Peer Support Award: the learner needs to achieve the 3 core units plus one of the optional units
To achieve the Level 3 Perinatal Peer Support Certificate: the Learner needs to achieve all 8 units
What do learners need to do to complete the units?
There are no exams! Each learner works at their own pace.
Each Learner will be given their own private space on the Parents 1st UK website. Here they will create their own learning portfolio of evidence to show how they have completed the units.
Much of this evidence will be about giving peer support to parents in the natural volunteer setting. Each learner will be assigned a friendly and supportive assessor who will guide them throughout their journey.
Learners can provide evidence in lots of different ways: written assignments, discussing things with their assessor, providing witness statements (from parents supported, other peer supporters, or supervisors), reflecting on peer support activities, providing case studies about supporting parents etc.
Certification from NCFE
On completion of the Customised Qualification, learners will receive a certificate of achievement. The certificate is evidence of the knowledge and skills gained by completing the qualification.
This CACHE qualification has been accredited by NCFE under the Customised Qualification and the certificate of achievement will be issued directly by NCFE.
Benefits to volunteers and the parents they support
This bespoke and unique qualification recognises volunteers’ commitment, knowledge, and the skills they’ve learnt whilst giving peer support to parents during pregnancy, birth and beyond.
It reflects their understanding of the standards, competency and safety requirements needed to provide quality peer support during such a critical stage in every parent’s and baby’s life – the transition to parenthood.
Alongside this, it can also:
- Develop skills of reflection, providing deeper understanding and insights that benefit parents being supported
- Enable pathways into employment (by demonstrating the level of knowledge and skills acquired that are transferrable to other contexts)
- Increase confidence, self-esteem and a sense of pride in the peer support role
Being offered the opportunity to gain a qualification as a volunteer was amazing. I left school with very poor exam results and was quite worried about taking it up, but I found it so easy and enjoyable to complete and I was really supported by my assessor along the way. She supported me in my learning style and helped me when I needed support.
I was so proud when I completed it; it was such an achievement for me.
Lisa Feeney
Benefits to organisations delivering perinatal peer support
This Customised Qualification is based on Parents 1st’s 30 years’ experience of delivering and developing quality perinatal volunteer peer support initiatives in disadvantaged communities.
The units have been specifically created to reflect the day-to-day realities, qualities, skills and standards required to deliver quality, perinatal, peer support.
As an assessor I think being able to offer this qualification is the cherry on the cake. The qualification validates the training, new knowledge, and skills that volunteers develop as they give their time to support parents. It is so rewarding for an assessor to see the sense of achievement on a learner’s face when they have passed.
We support each volunteer through their training so that they can start supporting parents. Similar to supporting a parent, we watch volunteers grow and develop. Offering the opportunity to gain the qualification means we can give something back to the volunteer.
Zoe Jarvis, Volunteer trainer and Assessor
Guidance and resources for peer supporters, trainers and coordinators will be provided with suggestions for self-directed learning to complement any gaps in local training.
Expression of interest
If you would be interested in gaining the qualification yourself or offering it to the volunteers or perinatal peer support workers in your organisation, please complete the form below and we will send you through further information when the qualification becomes available later in the year.
There is no commitment to enroll by completing the form below.
We intend to apply for funding to be able to offer this qualification at a discounted rate, so your expression of interest will also help us to strengthen funding bids.
We will be testing out the qualification over the next few months and plan to make it available to others as soon as possible.