Parent Education Programme celebrates first cohort

Dozens of parents and caregivers, including representatives from the local autism association and various church groups, celebrated a significant milestone on Saturday as they completed the inaugural Parent Education Programme (PEP).

Hosted at the Queen’s Park Rotunda, the graduation ceremony highlighted the essential role of the home environment in national education and child development.

Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw commended the graduates on completing the intensive six-session curriculum.

She explained that the initiative, funded in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank, emerged from a vision by school attendance officers who recognised a critical gap in parental guidance across the island.

Dr Archer-Bradshaw encouraged the attendees to view their participation as a vital, ongoing investment in their families.

“Even before our children can read a book, they learn to read the faces of their parents and their guardians,” Dr Archer-Bradshaw stated. “You are your child’s most important teacher. Every hug matters, every kiss matters, every boundary matters, and every bedtime story matters.”

The curriculum was designed to address the modern, everyday challenges faced by local families.

PEP content specialist Fabian Sargeant commended the participants for their emotional vulnerability, noting that traditional Barbadian pride often prevents individuals from openly discussing their domestic and parenting struggles. He emphasised that the programme was meticulously researched and needs-based, built upon extensive consultations with teachers, students, and psychologists.

“Our young people struggle tremendously, and we parents, we are their anchors,” Sargeant noted during his address. “An anchor must be strong; it must be sturdy, and that is what PEP is about. It is about building that strength to help guide and navigate your children through their developmental stages in a rapidly changing world.”

Programme co-ordinator Dr Terrie Blackman echoed these sentiments, observing that while society heavily prepares individuals for school and careers, it offers surprisingly little formal preparation for raising children. She stated that the initiative successfully equips parents with evidence-informed knowledge and practical skills, empowering them to transition from simply reacting to misbehaviour to becoming highly intentional in their daily parenting strategies.

“Sometimes the most powerful learning does not come from a presentation or a workbook,” Dr Blackman remarked. “It comes from hearing another parent say, ‘I understand. I went through that too.'”