Raising children is the most important job a parent will do, yet the sad reality is that 75% of us feel stigma about asking for help. One solution is freely-available access to support when and where it’s most convenient – and in recent days the government has taken significant steps to making that a reality.
For too long, struggling parents have been let down by a disjointed approach to family policy. In many productive meetings with civil servants, across multiple departments, it’s an issue which comes up with alarming regularity, highlighting the postcode lottery of provision, which is neither efficient nor effective, and worst of all, shortchanges children and parents.
But we are now seeing some welcome steps towards realising the promise of a genuinely joined-up approach which truly delivers for this country’s parents and children. The Spending Review announcement to invest in and expand Family Hubs, creating 1,000 new Best Start Family Hubs, plus the 10-Year Health Plan that switches from treatment to prevention, all bode well for an area which for too long has been marked by fragmented thinking and siloed operations.
The expansion of the Family Hubs initiative, as part of the Giving every child the best start in life strategy, offers an incredible opportunity to embed a new model of integrated, family-centred support – one that is cross-departmental, and rooted in evidence.
By building on the proven legacy of Sure Start, these Hubs have the potential to help parents feel more confident and equipped to give their children the very best start in life – something we all want to see.
To date, Family Hubs have sought to bring together a wide range of services under one roof – from perinatal support and breastfeeding advice, to evidence-based parenting programmes and more. With an expanded remit, these Hubs now have the potential to provide an even more comprehensive service and embed a more holistic, cross-departmental approach to family support, enabling families to seamlessly access support through one open door.
The Department for Work and Pensions’ Reducing Parental Conflict programme is a prime example. Local areas have previously been encouraged to include RPC in the offer of Family Hubs, and this is recommitted to in the Best Start Family Hubs – an important step to tackling siloed working.
The DWP’s existing work on the RPC programme is a natural fit with the ongoing work of the Ministry of Justice to reduce backlogs in family courts and improve support for separating families.
Every year thousands of children are caught in the middle of parental separation, directly impacting their mental health. Delays in the family justice system can do further damage, leaving a legacy of harm. By further integrating with the RPC we can provide better, earlier support for families, and help improve outcomes for children of all ages.
By April 2026 all local authorities will have Family Hubs. This is fantastic news. But the government can, and should, go further to end the postcode lottery of support – most obviously through a digital service of online, evidence-based parenting programmes available to all.
A comprehensive digital offer would address many barriers facing parents safely, securely and without stigma. It would provide parents with the proven strategies and confidence they need to navigate modern parenting challenges on their own terms.
This approach is completely in keeping with the rest of the government's Plan for Change commitments, including the 10-Year Health Plan, which stresses the shift from analogue to digital and the importance of prevention.
Parenting programmes are proven to deliver on this. A recent Nesta report, Parenting Support at Scale, highlights the significant positive impact these early interventions can have on both parents and children. However, the report argues these interventions are not implemented widely enough and stresses the need to invest in proven evidence-based models.
Currently, only an estimated 10,000 to 60,000 families in England receive parenting support annually, while at least 120,000 children in each age group could benefit from early intervention.
The Australian model offers an instructive comparator. In less than three years a national rollout of parent-self-directed online evidence-based parenting programmes has reached over 550,000 parents. This is the equivalent of more than a million families in the UK. With the right digital infrastructure and leadership we could achieve similar scale and impact.
Recent announcements have given me renewed hope, but we are not there yet. We must get this right, not just to improve outcomes for families today, but to lay the groundwork for a generation of healthier, happier and better-supported children.
Matt Buttery is chief executive of Triple P UK and honorary associate professor in family and parenting practice and policy at the University of Warwick