Incredible Years School Age Basic is a parenting intervention for families with concerns about the behaviour of a child between 6 and 12 years old. It is delivered by two Incredible Years certified facilitators to groups of up to 12 families for 16 weeks. During these sessions, parents learn strategies for interacting positively with their child and discouraging challenging child behaviour.
The information above is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
4 to 8 years old
Group
Incredible Years School Age Basic is part of the Incredible Years series of interventions for children, parents, and teachers. IY School Age Basic is specifically for parents with concerns about the behaviour of a child aged between 6 and 12 years.
IY School Age Basic is suitable for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), or difficulties with peer relationships. It aims to increase the use of effective parenting strategies and ultimately reduce antisocial or criminal behaviour in children who may be at risk.
The intervention is delivered in 12 to 16 two-hour sessions by a lead and co-practitioner to groups of 8 to 12 parents. When combined with the Advanced Programme, parents attend an additional 10 to 12 sessions depending on the needs of the target group. It can also be delivered individually to families in 12 to 16 sessions lasting 1.5 to 2 hours each.
During the sessions, parents engage in group discussions guided by facilitators, sharing experiences and understanding the rationale behind the strategies. Role-plays allow parents to practice new strategies, tailoring them to specific issues faced at home. Homework encourages parents to implement these strategies with their children, and they return to the group to refine their approach with feedback. Weekly reading assignments offer theoretical and practical guidance, while video vignettes showcase diverse parenting scenarios, helping parents develop effective strategies tailored to their unique family situations.
6 to 12 years old
Parents of children aged 6 to 12 years diagnosed with oppositional-defiant or conduct disorder.
Disclaimer: The information in this section is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
Science-based assumption
Challenging child behaviours during primary school increase the risk of more serious behavioural problems occurring in adolescence.
Science-based assumption
Effective parenting behaviours help the child to regulate their own behaviour and reduce the risk of child behavioural problems persisting
Ineffective parenting strategies can increase the risk of child behavioural problems persisting.
Science-based assumption
Parents experiencing difficulties with the behaviour of a child, including a child diagnosed with ADHD, frequently benefit from further support.
Intervention
Parents learn how to:
Promote positive parent–child interaction
Reinforce positive child behaviour
Discourage challenging child behaviour through age-appropriate discipline.
Short-term
Parents implement effective parenting strategies in the home
Parents’ confidence increases
Parental stress reduces
Parent–child interaction improves.
Medium-term
Children’s self-regulatory capabilities and behaviour improves.
Long-term
Children are at less risk of antisocial behaviour in adolescence
Children are more cooperative and better able to engage positively with others.
Parents of children aged 6 to 12 years old diagnosed with oppositional-defiant or conduct disorder.
Incredible Years School Age Basic is delivered in 12 to 16 sessions of two hours’ duration each by two practitioners, to groups of 8 to 12 parents.
Group discussion and brainstorm: guided by facilitators, parents discuss new content, share their own experiences, and come to an understanding of the rationale behind the parenting strategies that are presented to them during the intervention.
Role-plays: parents practice strategies in the parent role, and experience the new strategies from the child’s point of view. Role-play is tailored to represent specific issues that families in the group are experiencing at home.
Homework: parents take what they have discussed and practised in the group and try the new strategies at home with their own children. They come back to the group to report on what worked and what did not work, so that they can receive ideas and feedback to refine their practice.
Parent book: parents have a reading assignment each week that provides some theory behind the strategies that they are learning, as well as practical examples of how to implement the new strategies.
Video vignettes: parents watch vignettes of other parents who represent a diverse range of cultures, family circumstances, and child developmental level. From these vignettes, the parents develop principles of effective parenting and think about how they wish to apply these with their own children.
Practitioners with experience in a helping profession, including psychologists, nurses, teachers, or social workers.
The practitioners have 21 hours of intervention training. Booster training of practitioners is recommended.
It is recommended that practitioners are supervised by one IY School Age supervisor.
Intervention fidelity is maintained through the following processes:
Contact person: Carolyn Webster-Stratton
Organisation: Incredible Years
Email address: cwebsterstratton1@icloud.com
incredibleyears@incredibleyears.com
Websites: http://www.incredibleyears.com
http://www.incredibleyears.com/early-intervention-programs/child
*Please note that this information may not be up to date. In this case, please visit the listed intervention website for up to date contact details.
Incredible Years School Age Basic’s most rigorous evidence comes from two RCTs consistent with Foundations’ L3 evidence strength criteria. Evidence from at least one level 3 study, along with evidence from other studies rated 2 or better qualifies Incredible Years School Age Basic for a 3+ rating.
The first of these was conducted in the UK, observing statistically significant improvements in Incredible Years School Age Basic parents’ reports of child conduct problems, oppositional behavioural and behaviour associated with ADHD in comparison to families not receiving the intervention.
The second study was conducted in the US, observing statistically significant improvements in Incredible Years School Age Basic parents’ reports of their child’s behaviour at home and teacher reports of IY children’s behaviour at school in comparison to parents not receiving the intervention.
Incredible Years School Age Basic can be described as evidence-based: it has evidence from at least one rigorously conducted RCT or QED demonstrating a statistically significant positive impact on at least one child outcome.
Reduced oppositional behaviour
4 months later
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
Reduced antisocial behaviour
4 months later
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
Reduced ADHD symptoms
4 months later
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
Reduced oppositional defiant disorder diagnosis
4 months later
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
Improved behaviour at home
Immediately after the intervention
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
Improved behaviour at school
Immediately after the intervention
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
| Identified in search | 19 |
| Studies reviewed | 3 |
| Meeting the L2 threshold | 1 |
| Meeting the L3 threshold | 2 |
| Contributing to the L4 threshold | 0 |
| Ineligible | 16 |
| Study design | RCT |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sample characteristics | 112 parents of children aged 5 to 6 years old living in London who scored highly on a measure of antisocial behaviour. |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities | 33% minority ethnic |
| Population risk factors |
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| Timing |
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| Child outcomes |
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| Other outcomes |
|
| Study rating | 3 |
| Citations | Scott, S., Sylva, K., Doolan, M., Price, J., Jacobs, B., Crook, C. & Landau, S. (2010) Randomised controlled trial of parent groups for child antisocial behaviour targeting multiple risk factors: The SPOKES project. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 51 (1), 48–57. |
| Study design | RCT |
| Country | United States |
| Sample characteristics | 159 families with children in preschool or elementary aged 4 to 8 years old |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities | 79% White European |
| Population risk factors | 25.8% of participants were single mothers |
| Timing |
|
| Child outcomes |
|
| Other outcomes |
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| Study rating | 3 |
| Citations | Webster-Stratton, C., Reid, M. J. & Hammond, M. (2004) Treating children |
The following studies were identified for this intervention but did not count towards the intervention’s overall evidence rating. An intervention receives the same rating as its most robust study or studies.
Beckett, C., Beecham, J., Doolan, M., Ford, T., Kallitsoglou, A., Scott, S. & Sylva, K. (2012) Which type of parenting programme best improves child behaviour and reading? The Helping Children Achieve trial. Unpublished report.
Cullen, S. M. (2010) The Parenting Early Intervention Programme, 2006-2010: Parents’ perceptions of parenting courses as an educative process leading to changes in family life. Unpublished report.
Hutchings, J., Bywater, T., Williams, M. E., Shakespeare, M. K. & Whitaker, C. (2009) Evidence for the extended school aged Incredible Years parent programme with parents of high-risk eight to 16 year olds. Unpublished manuscript.
Hutchings, J., Bywater, T., Williams, M. E., Whitaker, C., Lane, E. & Shakespeare, K. (2011) The extended school aged Incredible Years parent programme. Child Adolescent Mental Health. 16 (3), 136–143.
Javier, J. R., Coffey, D. M., Schrager, S. M., Palinkas, L. A. & Miranda, J. (2016) Parenting intervention for prevention of behavioral problems in elementary school-age Filipino-American children: A pilot study in churches. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. 37 (9), 737–745.
Lau, A. S., Fung, J. J., Ho, L. Y., Liu, L. L. & Gudiño, O. G. (2011) Parent training with high-risk immigrant Chinese families: A pilot group randomized trial yielding practice-based evidence. Behavior Therapy. 42 (3), 413–426.
Lees, D. G. & Ronan, K. R. (2008) Engagement and effectiveness of parent management training (Incredible Years) for solo high-risk mothers: A multiple baseline evaluation. Behaviour Change. 25 (2), 109–128.
Letarte, M. J., Normandeau, S. & Allard, J. (2010) Effectiveness of a parent training program ‘Incredible Years’ in a child protection service. Child Abuse and Neglect. 34, 253–261.
Linares, L. O. et al. (2006) A promising parent intervention in foster care. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 74 (1), 32–41.
Lindsay, G. (2008) Parenting early intervention pathfinder evaluation: Final report. Unpublished report.
Lindsay, G., Totsika, V. & Law, J. (2011) Parenting Early Intervention Programme evaluation (Research Report DFE-RR121 (a)). Department for Education.
Lindsay, G. & Cullen, M. A. (2011) Evaluation of the Parenting Early Intervention Programme: A short report to inform local commissioning processes. (Research Report DFE-RR121 (b)). Department for Education.
Lindsay, G. & Strand, S. (2013) Evaluation of the national roll-out of parenting programmes across England: The Parenting Early Intervention Programme (PEIP). BMC Public Health. 13 (1), 972.
Nilsen, W. (2007) Fostering futures: A preventive intervention program for school-age children in foster care. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 12 (1), 45–63.
Reid, M. J., Webster-Stratton, C. H. & Hammond, M. (2007) Enhancing classroom social competence by offering parent training to families of moderate- to high-risk elementary school children. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. 36 (4), 605–620.
Scott, S., Sylva, K., Kallitsoglou, A. & Ford, T. (2014) Which type of parenting programme best improves child behaviour and reading? Follow up of The Helping Children Achieve trial. Final report to Nuffield Foundation. Unpublished report.
Trillingsgaard, T., Trillingsgaard, A. & Webster-Stratton, C. (2014) Assessing the effectiveness of the ‘Incredible Years® parent training’ to parents of young children with ADHD symptoms: A preliminary report. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 55 (6), 538–545.
Note on provider involvement: This provider has agreed to Foundations’ terms of reference (or the Early Intervention Foundation's terms of reference), and the assessment has been conducted and published with the full cooperation of the intervention provider.
Rated 1: Set up and delivery is low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of less than £100.
Rated 2: Set up and delivery is medium-low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £100–£499.
Rated 3: Set up and delivery is medium cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £500–£999.
Rated 4: Set up and delivery is medium-high cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £1,000–£2,000.
Rating 5: Set up and delivery is high cost. Equivalent to an estimated unit cost of more than £2,000.
Set up and delivery cost is not applicable, not available, or has not been calculated.
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Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing child maltreatment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Enhancing school achievement & employment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing substance abuse: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing risky sexual behaviour & teen pregnancy: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing obesity and promoting healthy physical development: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Rated 2: Has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome from a quantitative impact study, but there is not yet evidence of causal impact.
Rated 2+: Meets the level 2 rating and the best available evidence is based on a study which is more rigorous than a level 2 standard but does not meet the level 3 standard.
Rated 3: Has evidence of a short-term positive impact from at least one rigorous study.
Rated 3+: Meets the level 3 rating and has evidence from other studies with a comparison group at level 2 or higher.
Rated 4: Has evidence of a long-term positive impact through at least two rigorous studies.
Rated 4+: Meets the level 4 rating and has at least a third study contributing to the Level 4 rating, with at least one of the studies conducted independently of the intervention provider.
Rating has a *: The evidence base includes mixed findings i.e., studies suggesting positive impact alongside studies, which on balance, indicate no effect or negative impact.
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