The FAST program is an evidence-based, 8-week parenting program created in 1988 in the UK. It aims to help children succeed in school and strengthen family bonds through a family group approach and cross-agency collaboration. Key aspects include a 2-day training for professionals and parents, weekly 2.5 hour meetings that include activities to build family relationships and parental involvement, and ongoing monthly follow-up meetings for 2 years after. Evaluations show high retention rates of families in the program and improvements in family relationships, child behavior, school performance, social support networks, and parental involvement in school.

1. Evidence-based Parenting
Programmes and Social Inclusion
20th September Middlesex University
FAST Overview
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2. What is FAST?

3. History of FAST
• Created by Prof. Lynn McDonald in 1988
• Universal programme
• Early intervention/prevention strategies
• Family group approach
• Cross agency collaboration
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4. School
Parents
Community-
based
agencies
FAST
Team
Mental 40 families
health
per site
cycle
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5. Amongst other things -
What makes FAST special?
An evidence-based parenting
programme
• 2 day training for ‘professionals’ and parent
partners
• Trainer works closely with teams and comes
3 times over the 8 weekly group meetings,
giving on-site supervision at the school and
feedback about programme integrity
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6. • Experiential
• Builds child-parent, parent-school and family-community
bonds
• Multi-agency working/fostering trust amongst professionals
• Sustainable – Training of Trainer/development of local
trainers and parent led FASTWORKS
• High retention rates
• Middlesex University accreditation
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7. FAST Programme Goals
• Helping children to succeed in school and
in the community
• Increasing parental involvement in school
• Stress reduction on daily routines for
children and families
• Strengthening family cohesion and
reducing chronic family conflict
• Substance abuse intervention/prevention
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8. FAST – Underpinning Values
• Empowerment
• Table-based coaching
• Shared responsibility (governance)
• Cultural representation
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9. FAST underpinning theories
• Social Ecological Theory
• Social Capital
• Family Stress
• Family Systems
• Brain Development
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10. Recruitment of Families
• FAST recruitment must involve face to face
contact with parents.
• Parent partners must be involved and parents
told about all the components of the
programme.
• FAST is presented as a fun, free activity for
ALL the family that helps children at school
and helps parents get to know other parents.
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11. FAST First Session (2.5 Hours)
• Family Flags ~ 15 minutes
• Welcome ~ 5 minutes
• FAST Hello ~ 5 minutes
• FAST song ~ 5 minutes
• Family Meal: Children serve the parents ~ 30 minutes
• Scribbles ~ 15 minutes
• Feeling Charades ~ 15 minutes
• Parents’ Buddy Time/ Parent’s Time/ Children’s Time ~ 30
minutes (Peer group time)
• Special Play: one-to-one ~ 15 minutes
• Lottery ~ 10 minutes
• Closing circle and RAIN ~ 5 minutes

12. Family Flags

13. Scribbles
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14. Scribbles
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15. Special
Activity lay
P The parent spends 15 minutes with their child
playing together. The child leads the play, not the
parent.
Outcome Improves the parent-child bond.
Research Sylvia Hewlett, Kate Kogan, Salvador Minuchin, Russell
Berkeley, Shedler and Block, Alice Miller

16. Special Session (Week 5)
• Each parents group chooses a topic to
explore with their families on Week 5
• The team facilitates this by liaising with
community based agencies
• Topics have included: housing, dealing
with debt, substance misuse, massage,
zumba

17. What do evaluations show?
94% Retention Rate for families in the UK
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18. Graduating as a family
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19. FASTWORKS
FASTWORKS is a monthly (some groups
opt for weekly or bi-monthly) follow up series
of meetings held for 2 years after the FAST
course ends
– Parent led with FAST Team support
– Continues to build bonds and support
networks
– Community based projects and activities
undertaken

20. Evaluation Process
Parents and teachers complete questionnaires before and after
the eight week FAST programme
Evaluation of these questionnaires involves various measures to
investigate changes in:
1. Improvement in family and parent child relationships
2. Improvement in behaviour of child at home
3. Improvement in behaviour & academic performance in school
4. Improvement in social community relationships
5. Improvement in social support and reciprocal exchanges
6. Improvement in parent school relationship
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