Reducing Parental Conflict Challenge Fund

Support for couples making the transition to parenthood through face-to-face and online relationship support.

The transition to parenthood can trigger a decline in relationship quality and increase relationship conflict.

OnePlusOne, a UK based charity who specialise in relationship support, aim to support parents making the transition to parenting by trialling and testing an adapted version of a parenting intervention new to the UK (Couple Care and Coping Programme (CCC-P)) online.

This intervention will be available on the Baby Buddy app and the Click Relationships and Institute of Health Visiting websites. OnePlusOne will also test a blend of online and face to face support by training health visitors to identify parents that would benefit from the intervention and support them to access it.

The initiative aims to find out if this combination of digital and practice intervention is effective in supporting new parents to cope and communicate better and whether delivering this intervention digitally improves outcomes for parents in the transition to parenthood.

OnePlusOne will deliver their project across locations in the Midlands, North and South East of England.

Peer-led parenting interventions for parents experiencing conflict in Nottingham, Sheffield, Southwark and Stockport.

Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities (EPEC) is a parenting programme combining peer-led parenting groups with training, organisational support and supervision provided by specialists in child mental health and parenting at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLAM).

Through this grant funding SLAM aims to develop a refined version of the EPEC programme 'Being a Parent Together' specifically focused on the needs of socially disadvantaged parents at risk of conflict with children aged 2-11. They will assess the feasibility, parent engagement and experience of the EPEC-C programme, as well as its impact on parent conflict, parenting and child outcomes.

Support for families in East Sussex experiencing drug and alcohol misuse issues, with a focus on engaging fathers.

Oasis Project will bring its unique expertise in working with disadvantaged families affected by substance misuse to develop an understanding of what works to reduce parental conflict and improve outcomes for families where there are drug and alcohol misuse issues.

This initiative will test the effectiveness of the ‘Parents as Partners’ intervention for parents who have experienced problems with drugs and/or alcohol (‘Parents as Partners’ is an evidence-based, specialist intervention for couples, which aims to strengthen their relationship).

Oasis will implement and test innovative ways to engage fathers in preparation for longer-term support, for example with sessions delivered outside working hours or within workplace settings.

Alongside this Oasis plan to improve community services for parents with substance misuse problems and improve the knowledge of front line professionals about the needs of this group.

Specialist therapy for parents in conflict with learning difficulties and mental health problems in Harrow

Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT) aims to improve a person’s capacity to mentalize – by helping them to focus on what is going on in their own mind and in the minds of other people, and linking this to understand and reduce problematic behaviours.

Their initiative will adapt, deliver and evaluate Family Ties, a ‘Multi Family Group’ intervention aimed at reducing the impact of conflict on children that has proved successful in Europe, to test its success for families living in the UK.

Through this initiative Tavistock will test MBT for parents experiencing conflict with learning difficulties and/or mental health problems in Harrow. The intervention aims to help parents reduce conflict by supporting them to focus on their own feelings and emotions and the feelings, emotions and needs of their partners and children.

Tavistock will also train frontline practitioners to recognise and safely work with parental conflict for parents with mild to moderate learning difficulties and those struggling with mental health concerns, such as depression and anxiety. Tavistock will also provide full MBT training for local practitioners.

‘Multi-family therapy’ for disadvantaged families in Hackney and Ealing

Anna Freud Centre is a children’s mental health charity based in London.

Their initiative will adapt, deliver and evaluate Family Ties, a ‘Multi Family Group’ intervention aimed at reducing the impact of conflict on children that has proved successful in Europe, to test its success for families living in the UK.

The initiative aims to improve parents’ understanding of the impact of conflict on their children and reduce exposure and involvement of children in parental conflict.

They will also work with other agencies to develop the skills of frontline practitioners in supporting disadvantaged families.

Support for ex-offenders integrating back into family life in East Sussex and Kent.

Relate, a charity providing relationship support throughout the UK, will support couples and ex-partners where one person has been released from prison within the past three months.

The initiative aims to reduce conflict between the parents and improve family relationships, including the child or children’s wellbeing and behaviour, while the ex-offender integrates back into the community and family life.

Support will be provided through face-to-face family assessments, co-parent counselling sessions and evaluation sessions.

Supporting disadvantaged families who are separating in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

Research suggests that mediation alone does not significantly improve the way separated parents work together.

Through this initiative, Mediation Now, a solicitor mediation firm who support couples who are separating, aims to evaluate the impact of additional ‘bite-sized’ family focused support compared to standard specific mediation, and whether this directly reduces the need for court proceedings. They also plan to include the voice of the child and ‘whole family’ to help families make decisions together.

Reducing the number of parents going to family courts by improving communication between parents and increasing engagement in mediation.

Hall Smith Whittingham, a law firm with a mediation service based in Crewe and Nantwich, aim to gather learning on whether counselling, communication sessions with a mediator and information on court processes, will support and encourage more parents to resolve issues through mediation rather than progressing issues to the family court.

They will also deliver training to local support services for disadvantaged families covering mediation, the impact of separating and the support available from a lawyer/mediator. They aim to measure how effective this is increasing understanding of mediation and referrals to mediation services.

The initiative will be targeted at disadvantaged or workless parents in the Crewe area.

Testing the effectiveness of ‘Behaviour Modelling Training’ through social media.

Good Things Foundation are bringing their digital expertise to work in partnership with relationship support experts OnePlusOne. They will gather evidence on how best to engage low-income/workless parents with limited digital use in accessing interactive digital support.

Their project will create story-based digital content using Behaviour Modelling Training design alongside community wraparound support to engage online, enabling them to identify and reduce conflict in their parental relationships.

Through their initiative they are working in partnership with OnePlusOne to gather evidence on how best to engage low-income/workless parents who are limited digital users in accessing interactive digital support.

Their project will create story-based digital content using Behaviour Modelling Training design alongside community wraparound support to engage low-skilled/workless parents and enabling them to identify and reduce parental conflict.

Engaging parents online to reduce parental conflict through tailored online support that addresses their needs.

Action for Children is a children’s charity committed to helping vulnerable children and young people, and their families, throughout the UK.

Through this initiative they aim to learn more about what parents’ needs are to be able to engage them in online support to help reduce parental conflict. Action for Children will target digital support at those parents with low digital skills and who live in low income and workless households.

Their project involves both a discovery and digital service delivery to find out exactly what engages parents online to reduce the impact of parental conflict on children.