Find out about changes to our services and Christmas opening times on our Festive information page. To find out when your bin will be collected over the festive period, visit Changes to County Durham bin collections at Christmas.

Due to maintenance, the following systems will be unavailable from 11.45am on Tuesday 24 December until 8.00am on Thursday 2 January: our online Council Tax, business rates and housing benefit services, and our welfare assistance form. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Being a parent (course)

Being a Parent is an eight week course for parents and carers of children between the ages of 2 and 11.

The course will help you to manage your feelings, and your child's feelings, communicate and interact positively with your child, use positive strategies to manage your child's behaviour, and understand how to manage parental stress.

The course is made up of eight 2-hour sessions, led by trained parents. The parent group leaders bring all of their knowledge, experience and skills with them, and are supported by a professional team, to help you get the most out of the course