A Guide to: SPIP

If you’re a parent who has separated from your significant other, the Separated Parents Information Programme (SPIP) may be of use to you. It is a course that is solely designed to help parents focus on their children and what they need most during a difficult time. This includes how to manage conflict and difficulties that may arise between yourself and your ex-partner, and how you can put this into practice.

The SPIP programme is ideal to help parents take steps for themselves. Parents need to learn how to develop agreements that do not need intervention from the court. SPIP also offers parents the chance to learn ideas and signpost ways in which you can get help outside of court. This can lead to agreed arrangements that are both safe and beneficial for children.

The course itself involves a number of important aspects that separated parents can learn from, with children’s best interests at the core of everything you are taught. Powerful videos are shown in order to reveal the impact communication has on the relationship between parents and their children. Parents are then asked to think about scenarios from other viewpoints to help them understand how each other are feeling. Emotions have a huge effect on both children and parents during separation, so parents are taught methods that can help both parties, decreasing stress in a practical and inviting way which helps each other to move forward.

The separated parents information programme is most often delivered to mixed groups of parents in a four hour session, though sometimes can be delivered via two, two hour sessions. In order to pass the programme, you will need to be present for the entirety, from start to finish. Separated parents are not needed to be present on the same course, though it is extremely important for both parents to take part in the programme.

SPIP is appropriate for most parents or other parties that are going through a separation and are finding it difficult to focus on a child’s needs due to ongoing conflict. Often relationships are difficult to uphold when going through a separation due to the emotions you may be feeling and how you are reacting to those, and therefore communication with children can be greatly affected. SPIP can help you to improve communication with both children and ex-partners, making the separation process a lot easier to handle for all involved.

If you have taken your separation to court, you may be requested by them to attend a SPIP programme or Mediation Information Meeting. This helps to promote safe contact with children, and can be attended at no charge.

Interested in attending a Separated Parents Information Programme? We can help. For more information, you can get in touch with a member of the Berkshire Family Mediation team by visiting our contact page, or by giving us a call on 0118 9571 159.