Blog
EALC supports the DfE's new publication: Parenting Through Adversity Practice Guide
Parenting Through Adversity Practice Guide is the second publication in a series of evidence-based guidance for the sector
This publication is commissioned by the Department for Education, supporting Foundations What Works Centre for Families and Children in their goal to achieve outcomes for young people under the Children's Social Care National Framework.
The Guide is a vital tool for social workers, family support practitioners, and local leaders, drawing on rigorous evidence from two comprehensive reviews.
Parenting is one of the most important influences on a child’s development and life chances, however families are not always able to access the most effective, evidence-based parenting support. The Parenting Through Adversity Practice Guide (0-10) marks a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the effectiveness of parenting support for families facing adversity. For the first time, we have robust evidence that parenting support can help to reduce serious harm to vulnerable children, improve children’s behaviour, and reduce parental stress.
The Practice Guide provides practitioners and local leaders with practical advice and actionable recommendations, sharing evidence-based insights on how to effectively support children and families. The Guide focuses on support to parents where their circumstances include adversities in the family and wider environment which undermine parents’ skills, abilities and resources. These adversities can include poverty, substance misuse, intimate partner violence, conflict in the couple’s relationship, and parent mental health challenges. Adversity can create challenges for effective parenting, therefore increasing the risk of child abuse and neglect. Effective parenting support recommended in the Guide can help to improve parenting skills, parent-child relationships, and child behaviour, and support parenting stress and parent mental health.
The purpose of the Practice Guide truly aligns with the vision of Education Alliance for Life Chances, for every child (in Bradford and beyond) to be supported to secure good life chances. Our localised, place-based approach "Act Locally provides targeted support for families growing up in adversity to improve the life chances of their children. We are looking forward to utilising our convening partnership groups to share the learning from this guide, and ensure that public services and families have the best possible tools at their disposal. EALC continues to tackle childhood inequalities by connecting key organisations in Bradford’s public and voluntary sectors with schools. This Practice Guide provides evidence-based recommendations for professionals working to support families in difficult situations.
Our Director of EALC, Education Alliance for Life Chances, Kathryn Loftus, says:
"The Parenting Through Adversity Practice Guide is a game-changer for social workers, family support practitioners, and local leaders. Backed by rigorous evidence, this vital resource provides actionable guidance on supporting families facing adversity—helping to reduce harm to vulnerable children, improve behaviour, and ease parental stress. A must-read for anyone committed to better outcomes for children."
To read the full Practice Guide, click here.