Introduction
Welcome to the Coventry Parenting Strategy (2024 to 2027). This strategy gives a broad overview of what we aim to achieve in the next three years based on the national context, local data, consultations, and policies to strengthen parenting support offered by partners in Coventry.
Coventry Parenting Strategy 2018-2023
The launch of the Coventry Parenting Strategy in 2018 recognised the importance of good parenting support and how this is linked to improving children's outcomes. In refreshing our Coventry Parenting Strategy and supporting a One Coventry approach to improve outcomes and tackle health inequalities, our aim is to continue to strengthen the availability and accessibility of information and advice for parents. We want to ensure there is a clear focus on early help and prevention.
The previous Coventry Parenting Strategy (2018-23) progress and implementation has been overseen by the multiagency Coventry Parenting Steering Group. Progress has included further investment into parenting programmes for teenagers, increased online parenting provision, resources being created to coordinate antenatal parent education across the city and resources developed for parents around the transition to secondary school. Parenting provision specifically for dads and partners has been increased through the use of apps such as DadPad. Parenting webinars have been delivered to upskill staff and inform them of the latest parenting support offer for the city. This strategy builds on the previous Coventry Parenting Strategy 2018-2023.
Links to other work happening in Coventry
Coventry opened eight Family Hubs in 2018, and since that time the Family Hubs have been supporting children, young people and families. The space and buildings remain at the heart of the Coventry Early Help offer with further aspirations and opportunities to enhance and expand the Family Hub offer.
This is an exciting time for families and professionals in Coventry, as we have been awarded further investment through the Family Hubs and Start for Life national programme which includes strengthening our parenting offer for families in the city. The Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme1 sets out the vision for providing families with the integrated support they may need to care for their children from conception, throughout the early years and into the start of adulthood. The vision is to enable parents to establish a firm foundation for their children, from which to meet their full potential in life. Coventry received funding through this programme to transform, align and invest in the growth of the support to families with a renewed focus on the best start for life for children from conception to 2 years. Funding has been provided to expand and mature Coventry’s Family Hub model, improve the universal Start for Life offer and transform family support. The programme will provide a comprehensive offer for all families with children aged 0 – 19 years and up to 25 years for those with special education needs.
Through the programme, parents and carers should feel supported and empowered in caring for and nurturing their children, ensuring they receive the best start in life. This in turn will improve health and education outcomes for children and support them to thrive in later life.
In addition, the new Supporting Families Programme was launched in March 2021 and builds on the previous Troubled Families programme2. As set out in ‘Supporting Families 2021 to 2022 and beyond’, it is a nationally funded government programme which requires Coventry to co-ordinate early help support and track the impact with families with multiple identified needs. The programme recognises that early help should be delivered through a ‘whole family approach’ with a range of partners working together with the family to prevent needs from escalating, helping to bring about sustainable changes and reduce the demand on services.
As a Marmot City, Coventry is working to address the causes of inequalities by resourcing and delivering universal services at a scale and intensity proportionate to the degrees of need. The Marmot principles, from the Marmot Review, Fair Society, Healthy Lives which aim to reduce inequality and improve health outcomes for all, have been embedded into the core functions of the council and its partners 3. Improving health and reducing inequalities in Coventry is not only a priority for the NHS and Public Health - it is a priority for everyone who is working to improve the lives of people in the city.
This strategy supports and will work in conjunction with other key local policies in Coventry which impact families. The development of effective systems of support for parents and carers directly links to several key strategic drivers at a local level such as:
- The One Coventry Plan (2022-30)
- Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.
- The Supporting Families Programme
- The Coventry Early Help Strategy (2023-2025)
- The Marmot Monitoring tool
- Coventry Domestic Abuse Strategy (2018-2025)
- Coventry Drugs and Alcohol Strategy (2023-2033)
- The Children and Young People Plan (2021)
- The Local Maternity Neonatal Systems Plan
- Coventry Equity and Equality - Local Maternity Neonatal Systems Action Plan
- The Coventry Health and Wellbeing Strategy (2023-2026)
- The NHS Inequalities Strategy Core 20 plus 5
- Child Friendly Cov
- #Covconnects
- Coventry Youth Violence Operational Plan
- Coventry City Council’s Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2023
- Housing and Homelessness Strategy 2019-2024
- Economic Development Strategy 2022-2027
- Coventry and Warwickshire Joint Strategy for Autistic People (2021-2026)
Why is parenting support important?
Good parenting is crucial to a child’s development and to their future life chances. The relationships that mothers, fathers and carers have with their children are strongly linked to children’s outcomes. When children/young people are parented positively, they are likely to grow up feeling nurtured, safe and secure. Studies have shown that children who experience a secure and nurturing home environment are better able to withstand challenges later in life because consistent positive parenting helps build self-control and resilience4.
There is well-established and growing consensus on the importance of the first 1001 days of a child's life and how this sets the foundations for their brain and emotional and physical development1. Parental neglect, poor relationships with parents and inadequate parental supervision are associated with negative outcomes. There is evidence that suggests the potentially damaging effects of ‘adverse childhood experiences’ (ACEs). These are traumatic events which may result from exposure to poor parental mental health, abuse, neglect and parental drug misuse amongst other risk factors. Research suggests that adults with attachment issues and those exposed to ACEs are at a higher risk of entering into volatile relationships, and having poor parenting skills, behavioural difficulties, and mental health problems5. Evidence shows that parental conflict puts children’s mental health and long-term future life chances at risk. Some of the other key factors that influence children's outcomes include poverty, where they live, their housing, the local community and the resources available in the environment. Sir Michael Marmot states it is easier to parent more effectively when social and economic circumstances are favourable and when stress and anxiety are lower6.
There are many national policies which recognise the important role of early intervention and prevention and high quality, accessible parenting services to improve outcomes for children and families including the following:
- The Best Start for Life: A vision for the 1,001 critical days (2021)
- ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives’ (UCL Institute of Health Equity 2010)
- Health Equity in England: The Marmot Review 10 years on (2020)
- Early Intervention Foundation: What works to support parent child interaction in the early years (2016)
Evidence suggests a loving, secure and reliable relationship with parents or carers supports a child's emotional wellbeing, brain development, language development, and ability to learn and capacity to form and maintain positive relationships with others.
There is strong evidence that frequent, intense and poorly resolved parental conflict can have a negative impact on children’s mental health and long-term life-chances 9 ,10,11. In response to this, the government developed the Reducing Parental Conflict programme to reduce parental conflict and improve children’s outcomes. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC) programme has published new research showing its positive impacts on families participating in interventions - both for parents and children. The reports show around half of parents supported by RPC reported improved relationships, even up to a year later. These were parents experiencing regular and intense conflict, and with different relationship statuses – the sample included couples and those separating or separated8.
Most parents also found their children’s mental health improved after being helped by RPC, with almost three quarters (73%) receiving relationship support seeing it positively impact their children for the long run even a year later. The funding for the RPC programme was made available to Local Authorities in England, who work in partnership with a range of experts from relationship and family charities8.
Coventry Local Authority receives funding for the provision of a range of workforce development activities that support practitioners from across the children’s workforce who work with families to recognise the difference between Parental Conflict and Domestic Abuse, to provide training on the use of tools that support families to understand the importance of healthy relationships to enhance their children’s lived experiences and to recognise the impact that parental conflict can have on children’s emotional health and wellbeing. In addition, Reducing Parental Conflict has been included in the refreshed Coventry's Early Help Strategy (23-25)12. Further work has been undertaken to increase the focus on improved family relationships. In Coventry, a dedicated working group (Doing it Together - Improved Relationship outcome group) has been established with partners which focuses on embedding the principles of Reducing Parental Conflict Programme across the workforce.
Impact of COVID-19 on children and families
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it new challenges for families across the world and has had a profound impact on family dynamics, relationships, and routines. Nationally, this has meant several ‘lockdowns’, social distancing, periods of school closure, closures of local businesses and childcare and a significant shift in the way services can be delivered and how families have operated.
The Department for Education’s (DfE’s) State of the Nation, an annual report that draws upon a range of sources and reports on children and young people’s mental health, wellbeing, and experiences over the previous academic year – evidence indicated lower wellbeing in December 2020 and February 2021, when schools were closed to most pupils, compared to previous months in the academic year. Reductions in average levels of wellbeing occurred most clearly in February 2021, when schools were closed to the majority of children, before recovering towards the end of the academic year as restrictions were ease13.
When families reach crisis point, support is needed at a much more intensive level which costs more. By investing in early help to prevent difficulties from escalating, the need for these more costly services is reduced and outcomes can improve for families. It is important that in developing the Coventry Parenting Strategy (2024-27) it is acknowledged the significant impact of COVID-19 on children, young people and families and further consideration will be given to shape plans moving forward.