A PARENTING programme in Clacks is celebrating a milestone this month, with its first set of families completing the course.

An innovative and fun community programme, Parents on the Ball is based at Alloa Athletic's Indodrill Stadium and equips participants with new parenting skills and confidence.

The football club teamed up with Action for Children Scotland to deliver 12-week programme, which started in August 2016.

It comprises a series of weekly sessions which were specially designed to provide mums, dads and other carers in Clacks the opportunity to learn more about healthy family living.

Seven parents attended the course and completed the 12 workshops.

Morag Letson, team leader at Action for Children Scotland’s Clackmannanshire Family Support Service, said: “We believe that sports clubs are very much at the heart of the community, contributing to the well-being and self-esteem of millions of young people and parents across Scotland.

"We’re proud to complete this first milestone with Alloa Athletic to further our vision to improve the lives of young people and families in Alloa and surrounding area.

"We look forward to developing this innovative partnership in the forthcoming months.”

In the Wee County, a significant number of parents living in complex family situations are said to have found conventional parenting programmes difficult to access and, as a result, drop-out rates are high.

Parents on the Ball was introduced to address these concerns and equip parents with new skills.

Action for Children Scotland has a number of services in Clackmannanshire, including the Young Father’s Network and Clackmannanshire Family Support Service.