Parenting Through Adversity: Supporting Families with Young Children

Raising children is one of the most fulfilling things in the world, yet it can also be challenging, especially for families already facing hardship. Proper support can immensely benefit a child’s development, reinforce emotional well-being, and ensure long-term success.

The Department for Education and Foundations guide Parenting Through Adversity - Parents of babies & children aged 0 to 10 is an evidence-based set of principles and recommendations to help senior leaders, practitioners, and local authorities design effective parenting support services.

Why Parenting Support Matters

Children thrive when they are safe, protected, and cared for. The first 1,001 days of life are essential for brain development and forming emotional attachments. Research shows that responsive parenting predicts better social, emotional, and cognitive outcomes for children. However, once parents face adversity, they may find it difficult to meet their child’s needs without guidance and structured interventions.

Effective parenting programmes can:

• Enrich parent-child relationships;
• Encourage improved child behaviour and emotional regulation;
• Decrease parenting stress and enhance parental mental health;
• Protect families in danger of being harmed or neglected;
• Have a long-term impact on children and young people’s lives, reducing the risk of criminal offending, substance misuse, and exclusion from school.

Core Guidelines for Family Support

1. Working with Families
   • Tailor support to a child’s age and development: Parents benefit most from interventions that match key stages of their child’s development, including infancy, preschool, and transitions to school.
   • Employ strengths-based approaches: Focusing on parents’ strengths instead of solely addressing challenges helps parents feel confident and engaged in the process.
   • Ensure equitable access for minoritised ethnic groups: Services should be culturally competent and inclusive, addressing barriers to participation.
   • Integrate mental health support into parenting interventions: Parenting programmes must cater to parents experiencing mental health problems.
2. Programme Design
   • Prioritise face-to-face delivery: In-person interventions are more effective for building trust and reinforcing parenting skills.
   • Provide structured and flexible interventions: Highly structured developmental programmes are ideal for high-risk families, while flexible approaches can cater to families with different backgrounds.
   • Offer a blend of group and one-to-one sessions: Group-based support promotes peer learning, while one-to-one support enables tailored intervention for specific challenges.
   • Ensure a high-quality implementation and continuous improvement: Ongoing training and supervision of practitioners lead to increased programme quality.
3. Local System Integration
   • Use a multi-agency approach: Effective parenting support involves collaboration between health, social care, education, and community organisations.
   • Develop clear referral pathways: Families should be able to access appropriate interventions, at the right time, through their healthcare provider, school, or local authority.
   • Invest in a skilled workforce: Practitioners need specialised training to deliver parenting programmes effectively.
   • Address wider family needs: Parenting support should be part of a holistic approach that includes housing, financial aid, and mental health services.
4. Recommendations for Effective Parenting Support
   • Integrate parenting interventions into wider family support strategies.
   • Parenting programmes should be available to families as part of multi-agency efforts to prevent serious harm to children.
   • Interventions should be particularly prioritised for families facing high levels of adversity.
   • Provide parenting support for families with children aged 0-3 to strengthen early relationships.

Real-World Examples

The full guide includes case studies showing how these principles and recommendations have been applied in practice. These examples demonstrate how interventions targeted to specific families in challenging life situations have had positive results through multi-agency working, creative service delivery, and the right intervention at the right time, reducing barriers to access.

When we invest in parenting support, we invest in future generations. However, beyond any one intervention, national coordination will be necessary to enable families to access high-quality, evidence-based interventions to meet their needs.

Sara Spinks

SSS Author & Former Headteacher

17 March 2025