Children, Fathers and Fatherhood
Milestones in the development of the project
Development milestones from the Children, fathers and fathering project outlining how the project has developed since its foundation.

FEBRUARY 2007 Friday 23rd February -Stephen Harvey,Development & Information Officer, Children, Fathers & Fatherhood Project, attended the Equal Opportunities Committee event at Holyrood Parliament.  His contributions can be accessed on the holyrood tv website in the Equalities of Scotland:A Review of Progress Section- part 2 section.  The contributions, in relation to children, fathers & fatherhood, were timed at 00.34.00 - 00.37.25, 02.12.00 - 02.12.25, & 02.28.00 - 02.28.25.

NOVEMBER 2006 Wednesday 8th - Evening launch by invitation at Scottish Parliament of Fathers’ Footsteps, a 2007 calendar featuring poems on fatherhood and illustrated by Scottish schoolchildren, the result of two weeks spent presenting individual poems at schools around Scotland.  Articles on the making of the calendar will appear in the October issues of Children in Scotland magazine and Fathers Work.

SEPTEMBER 2006 We are currently exploring ways of working with partners to address training issues realted to the forthcoming Gender Equality Duty, which is due to come into effect on 7th April 2007. This will require public authorities to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment and promote equality of opportunity between men and women. The duty applies to public authorities in respect of all of their functions – as service providers, policy makers and employers. The aim is to help the public sector identify and respond to different needs, resulting in improved services and conditions for all.

JUNE 2006 A conference, held in Glasgow, titled 'Class Dads; Involving Fathers in their Children’s Education.'  This was chaired by broadcaster and journalist, Ruth Wishart. The oconference was well-attended and received a lot of media coverage.

MARCH 2006 Conducted an evening presentation and discussion at the Scottish Parliament to raise the profile of fatherhood issues with policy makers.

DECEMBER 2005 Ran a seminar on ‘Developing Fatherhood Skills’ presenting a compendium of ways in which fathers could actively relate to their children and have fun together.  This was a sell-out event attended by over a hundred delegates and the following day Children in Scotland hosted the UK Fatherhood Forum, where representatives of the four UK nations meet regularly to share developments and discuss policy issues.

NOVEMBER 2005 Conclusion of work as a member of the steering group set up by the Scottish Executive to advise on the preparation of a parenting agreement to facilitate arrangements for children in post-separation relationships.

JUNE 2005 First Fathers’ Day conferencein Edinburgh with the theme ‘How Equal are Fathers? – the Challenge for Public Services.’  The conference was chaired by Cathy Peattie, MSP, and speakers included Jenny Watson of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Duncan Fisher of Fathers Direct, and Ewan Aitken of The City of Edinburgh Council & CoSLA.  There were workshop presenters from Norway, Wales, England and Scotland.

FEBRUARY 2005 The start of a project that would be child-focused, about their needs and rights, with particular reference to Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that

‘ a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except… that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child…’

Contact details
for this section:

Stephen Harvey

Telephone:
0131 222 2446

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