Northumberland Case Study: Working with Separated Parents
Background
Family hubs offer universal and targeted support for all children and families, including those where parents have separated or are separating.
Family Solutions Group highlighted that in 2021 there were 2.3 million separated families in the UK, affecting 3.6 million children. The report What about me? A child’s right to matter recommends that family hubs “recognise children whose parents separate as a discrete target group in need of support and direct services through the national family hub programmes.”
In 2023 we worked closely with Hertfordshire Council in their rollout of the Parents Plus Parenting When Separated (PWS) Programme, through funding from the Dept of Work and Pensions Reducing Parental Conflict programmes.
They delivered the PWS online and in person and are currently designing and implementing an evaluation of the impact and outcomes for the families involved. Parents Plus has supported the Hertfordshire implementation, providing supervision to the practitioners and consultation to their Development & Commissioning Officer.
It has been a very successful collaboration thus far and we look forward to continuing to work with the council in 2024.
The below summary covers the period 1st April to 31st December 2023
123 referrals of which 79 were female and 44 were male
36 parents and carers have completed the course
85% of parents and carers are requesting online delivery
72% of parents and carers referring are resident parents and carers
35 families referred were parents or carers to children with special educational needs and disabilities
100% Of parents and carers agree or strongly agree that the course was well organised.
100% Of parents and carers agree or strongly agree that the course was well led.
100% Of parents and carers agree or strongly agree that the facilitators included everyone.
80% Of parents and carers reported progress made towards their goals.
What parents felt was the most helpful part of the course.
“Ideas & understanding of other parents (non-resident) viewpoints plus little tips and tricks to ease communication.”
“All of the course was helpful but perhaps advice on keeping things businesslike, handling challenging situations and scenarios regarding your (or one’s ex-partner) was very useful and also remaining calm and compassionate with the children and putting them at the heart of everything is important alongside taking care of yourself.”
“Connecting with other parents and sharing experiences”
“Reminder of the importance of self-care”
“The group discussions were always good as they touched on subjects, we could all relate to in our own situations and the chance to talk was always good. The modules all had an element of parent and child perspective which was good to consider both and reflect from both sides.”
“Interacting with other parents in similar situations and hearing their view and understanding that certain universal themes across everyone’s situation.”
“Talking and listening to others’ experiences, realising that other people are going through the same thing.”
The Parents Plus – Parenting When Separated programme is run by an increasing number of Local Authorities throughout the UK under the Reducing Parental Conflict programmes. It runs in some Family Hubs and in other services offering family support in the community.
Read another case study below from Jackie Liddell who is a Family Support Practitioner in Northumberland County Council area.
As professionals dedicated to supporting families, you understand the complex challenges faced during separation and divorce. Recognising this, Parents Plus has developed the ‘Parenting When Separated Programme’, a comprehensive training designed to equip you with essential skills and knowledge for assisting families through these trying times.
Programme Overview: The Parenting When Separated Programme is a 6-week, group-based parent training module. It integrates evidence-based principles to offer practical, accessible, and empathetic guidance. This programme is specifically crafted to aid parents in navigating the intricacies of separation and divorce, ensuring they have the tools they need for a positive transition.
Training Details: The training spans three modules, each 4.5 hours long, and is tailored for professionals who support parents.
Through this training, you will:
Become proficient in the delivery of the programme content.
Enhance your practice skills in implementing the Strengths-Based approach and the Solution Focused Group facilitation model.
Gain comprehensive knowledge of the evidence base and learn to gather practice-based evidence using the Parents Plus Quality Protocol. This includes goal setting with parents, obtaining session feedback, session planning and review, and monitoring overall programme impact.
Participants will also receive two post-training Supervision/Coaching sessions from a Parents Plus Supervisor. These sessions are designed to reinforce group facilitation skills and programme delivery techniques, ensuring a smooth transition into utilizing the programme in your professional practice.
The next Parents Plus Parenting When Separated Programme training is on the 18th, 25th and 26th April 2024 (9.15am-1.30pm)
By training as a facilitator of this programme, you will learn how to support parents to:
Solve co-parenting problems in a positive way which focuses on the needs of their children
Create practical arrangements for children that minimise stress and conflict
Improve communication with their children and with their children’s other parent
Cope with the emotional impact of separation and learn stress management techniques
Help their children cope emotionally with the separation
Deal with the challenges of lone parenting or being a ‘live away’
Who is the Programme For? The Parenting When Separated training is ideal for a wide range of professionals working with families. This includes:
Social workers.
Psychologists.
Family support workers.
Counsellors.
Therapists.
Legal professionals involved in family separation cases.
The programme’s versatile nature makes it a valuable tool for anyone committed to supporting families in transition.
Read Our Case Study from Northumberland County Council
In the North-East of England four Local Authority and County Council areas, including Northumberland, South Tyneside, Newcastle, and Gateshead, have come together as a region to avail of training in and rolling out the Parenting When Separated programme under the RPC, through Early Help and Family Hubs.
The Parenting When Separated Programme is a practical and positive evidence-based programme for parents who are preparing for, going through, or have gone through a separation or divorce. It helps parents to develop co-parenting skills, listen to and focus on the needs of their children, help their children cope and thrive, as well as cope themselves.
Where is this programme running?
The Parents Plus – Parenting When Separated programme is run by an increasing number of Local Authorities throughout the UK under the Reducing Parental Conflict programmes. It runs in some Family Hubs and in other services offering family support in the community. See the Case Study below from Jackie Liddell who is a Family Support Practitioner in Northumberland County Council area.
A Case Study from Northumberland County Council
In the North-East of England four Local Authority and County Council areas, including Northumberland, South Tyneside, Newcastle, and Gateshead, have come together as a region to avail of training in and rolling out the Parenting When Separated programme under the RPC, through Early Help and Family Hubs.
Jackie Liddell, Practice and Project Development Worker, Northumberland Family Hubs, Northumberland County Council, has given their experience of the Parenting When separated programme including the impact for her as a practitioner and for the families attending:
“I have run Parents Plus, Parenting When Separated Programmes since 2019. The programme consists of one two-hour session each week for six weeks. The programmes I’ve run have been predominantly virtual, but we have also delivered it face-to-face.
Thanks to the programme, parents learn to separate personal thoughts and feelings in order to put the needs of the child first. They also feel less stressed about attending joint appointments and at handovers. Parents felt that their relationships with their children improved as a result of working more harmoniously with the other parent.
One Dad reported having difficulties with his ex-partner where he couldn’t bring himself to speak with her at handovers. After one particular session, he said it had “dawned” on him that he didn’t have to like or agree with his ex-partner, but by being polite and calm when speaking with her, the level of stress and anger at handovers was significantly reduced. He also explained that because he wasn’t “prepared for battle”, his child was less emotional and anxious when being picked up or dropped off. As a result, they were able to communicate about other things without arguing in front of the child.
For us in Northumberland County Council and our parents attending the programmes Parents Plus has impacted on several levels:
The therapeutic value of parents meeting together in a group is the golden thread throughout the sessions.
It is for universal and targeted families so this gives a nice mix of experiences within the group format.
You can adapt the sessions to fit the needs of the parents’ circumstances so that it is more bespoke to them and the situation – for example, involving family court or substance misuse.
The sessions support the parents and help them refocus on the experience and needs of the child.
The mid-term review of parent progress is great to keep parents focused.
It gives the parents a space to hear other parents’ experiences which can help them to put their own circumstances into perspective.
Great evaluation tools are provided.
There is high quality supervision for facilitators post training.
As with any intervention there are challenges to be overcome when implementing this medium intensity programme. Getting parents to sign up and commit to the six weeks can sometimes be difficult but meeting them individually in advance and helping them understand what the programme outcomes are and how attending can help them in their goals around managing conflict and preventing the potential negative impacts on their children.
Overall, for me as a practitioner, I value this programme as I have watched it give so many parents an opportunity to have a voice and be heard and their experiences acknowledged. Something so simple makes such a difference to the confidence of parents. The parent book is a great addition too – it’s something that belongs to the parent that they can write in and refer back to.The Parents Plus team has been great to work with – responsive, supportive, and knowledgeable.
Name
Jackie Liddell
Programme
Parents Plus – Parenting When Separated
Job title
Practice and Project Development Worker
Location
Northumberland Family Hubs
Area
Northumberland County Council
Training for Practitioners
Parents Plus www.parentsplus.ie offers training and programme materials for professionals looking to deliver this programme in their services supporting families navigating the often-difficult territory of separation and divorce.
In the training, practitioners will learn how to support parents to:
Solve co-parenting problems in a positive way that tunes into the needs of their children
Help their children cope, both emotionally and practically
Enhance communication with their children and with their children’s other parent
Improve and maintain the quality of their parenting
Manage the stresses and changes in their children’ s life, post separation
Cope with the emotional impact of separation and learn stress management for themselves
Deal with the challenges of lone parenting or being a ‘live away’ parent
Using a solution focused model, drawing on parent’s strengths, the programme can be delivered over 6 weeks in small groups (usually 12 parents attending) or with individuals.
Parents Plus – Evidence and Impact
In a large-scale study of primary care, mental health and community settings families who completed our Parenting When Separated Programme reported:
Reduction in inter-parental conflict
Decrease in child behaviour problems
Decrease in parental adjustment problems
Increase in parental satisfaction
Increase in goal attainment for parents and children
In 2016, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Alan Carr, University College Dublin, published a wider meta-analysis of the Parents Plus evidence base, which included over 1,000 families, concluding that the Parents Plus has a significant positive impact on family relationships, parent stress levels, satisfaction and child behaviour problems. https://www.parentsplus.ie/parentsplus-research/
You can learn more about the impact of the Parenting When Separated programme and all our other programmes here
The programmes follow international best-practice guidelines as described by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in the UK, and have been independently reviewed by the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF), NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and the National Parenting Academy (NPA).
To discuss how you can achieve the best outcomes in your agency and to discuss commissioning our training and make bookings please go to www.parentsplus.ie or contact +353 1 8545185 / or email vicki@parentsplus.ie for further info.
The Parents Plus – Parenting When Separated programme is run by an increasing number of Local Authorities throughout the UK under the Reducing Parental Conflict programmes. It runs in some Family Hubs and in other services offering family support in the community.
Read another case study below from Hertfordshire Council Development and Commissioning Officer, Nicola Wilder.
Read a Reflection from the Children’s Disability Network Team at the Wicklow Primary Healthcare Centre, who have been at the forefront of delivering the Parents Plus Special Needs Programme since it was launched in September 2020
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