Schoolchildren and their Families is a parenting intervention for families with a child entering primary school. Male and female co-facilitators deliver the intervention to groups of six couples through 16 two-hour sessions. During the sessions, the couple learns strategies for supporting their children and each other as co-parents.
The information above is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
4 to 5 years old
Group
Schoolchildren and their Families is a parenting intervention for all families with a child entering primary school. It is based on the as the Parents as Partners/Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) model, but delivered at an important transition in child development when family support is likely to be particularly needed.
Like Parents as Partners/Supporting Father Involvement, groups of couples attend 16 weekly two-hour sessions delivered by male and female co-practitioners. A primary aim of the intervention is to support the partnership between parents as they raise their children. Parents therefore do not need to be married or co-habitating to attend the sessions. A fathers only version of the intervention is available.
After the first introductory meeting with the parents, co-leaders begin each subsequent session with a half-hour check-in during which couples are invited to bring issues that arose during the week or through ‘homework’ that may have been assigned. The remaining time in each two-hour session focuses on a topic related to one of the five family domains:
Participants engage in discussions and activities that invite them to reflect on their current behaviours and practices, understand what is working or not working for them, and collaborate with their parenting partner to create the positive changes they are seeking.
Two of the 16-week sessions are delivered to fathers and mothers separately; fathers meet with the male co-leader and bring their youngest child for a play session, to highlight the men’s parenting without the women present. At the same time, mothers/parenting partners meet with the female co-leader to share their experience of encouraging fathers’ parenting while honoring their own parenting ideas.
Parent learning is supported through a mix of creative activities, video clips and discussions, input from the group leaders, and space to talk about the things that are most important for parents.
The curriculum moves between the domains: individual, couple/co-parenting, parenting, intergenerational, and recognising stress and building social supports, with each week building upon the previous ones. The groups are not prescriptive; parents are supported in applying the knowledge they gain and the social support they develop within the group to their own situation, deciding what they want to change and how they think it best to do so.
4 to 5 years old (Preschool)
Low risk, middle class, couple parents of a child transitioning to school (4 to 5 years old).
Disclaimer: The information in this section is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
Science-based assumption
The transition to primary school is an important milestone in child developoment
The ease with which children adapt to the school environment is predictive of their school engagement and future academic success.
Science-based assumption
Parental support during the transition to school (as well as in school more generally), increases the likelihood that children will have a successful transition into school.
Science-based assumption
Parents are better able to support their child’s transition into school when they work effectively together as co-parents.
Intervention
Parents engage in activities aimed at improving the quality of:
The co-parenting relationship
The relationship with their child/children
Their own wellbeing
Their relationship with their family of origin, their child’s school and the wider community
Family work/life balance.
Short-term
Parents are better able ot support each other as co-parents
Fathers are more involved in their child’s life
Increased satisifaction with parenting and the parent–child relationship.
Medium-term
Children are more emotoinally secure
Children are better able to regulate their own behaviour
Children make a positive transition into school.
Long-term
Children are more engaged at school
Children achieve greater academic success
Children are less likely to have behavioural or emotional problems as they develop.
It is an intervention for couples with a child who is transitioning to school, preschool age.
Schoolchildren and their Families is delivered in 16 sessions of two hours’ duration each by two clinically trained, male and female, practitioners, to groups of six families.
Parents learn strategies for managing their child’s behaviour and improving their co-parenting practices through joint activities and group discussions involving the couples.
Two sessions are dedicated to observing fathers interact with their child with the aim of increasing father involvement.
Two practitioners (male/female) deliver this intervention. Both are Schoolchildren and their Families’ Group Leaders who are usually licensed mental health professionals – psychologists, social workers, or marriage and family counsellors.
The practitioners have 24 hours of intervention training. Booster training of practitioners is recommended.
It is recommended that practitioners are supervised by one intervention developer supervisor with an advanced degree in psychology or social work.
Intervention fidelity is maintained through the following processes:
Contact person: Philip Cowan
Email address: pcowan@berkeley.edu
Websites: https://supportingfatherinvolvementsfi.com/
https://tavistockrelationships.org/counselling-psychotherapy/family-parenting?view=article&id=700:parents-as-partners&catid=29:special
*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.
Schoolchildren and their Families’ most rigorous evidence comes from a single RCT conducted in the United States consistent with Foundations’ Level 3 evidence strength criteria.
This study observed Schoolchildren and their Families children scoring significantly higher on a standardised academic achievement test immediately after study completion compared to children who did not receive the intervention. Additionally, Schoolchildren and their Families children were rated by their teachers as having significantly fewer behavioural and emotional problems compared to children who did not receive the intervention at a two-year follow-up assessment.
Schoolchildren and their Families parents were also significantly more likely to report reduced couple conflict after the intervention in comparison to parents who did not receive the intervention. Additionally, Schoolchildren and their Families parents expressed significantly less negative emotion, greater warmth (fathers only) and greater structure (mothers only) during a communication task, in comparison to parents not receiving the intervention.
At a 10-year follow-up assessment, Schoolchildren and their Families parents continued to engage more positively with each other and mothers reported increased marital adjustment and satisfaction in comparison to couples who did not receive the intervention.
Schoolchildren and their Families 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 internalising symptoms
two years after intervention.
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
Improved academic achievement
post- intervention.
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
Reduced externalising symptoms
two years after intervention.
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
| Identified in search | 1 |
| Studies reviewed | 1 |
| Meeting the L2 threshold | 0 |
| Meeting the L3 threshold | 1 |
| Contributing to the L4 threshold | 0 |
| Ineligible | 0 |
| Study design | RCT |
| Country | United States |
| Sample characteristics | 192 two-parent families whose first child was aged 4 to 5 years old and entering kindergarten |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities | 84% European American |
| Population risk factors | The sample was considered ‘low-risk’ and exclusively contained two-parent families, most with middle to upper incomes |
| Timing |
|
| Child outcomes | Post intervention (Study 1a)
Two-year follow-up (Study 1b)
|
| Other outcomes | Post intervention (Study 1a) Marital focused:
Parental focused:
10-year follow-up (Study 1b) Marital focused:
|
| Study rating | 3 |
| Citations | Study 1a: Cowan, C. P. et al. (2005). Two variations of a preventive intervention for couples: Effects on parents and children during the transition to elementary school. In Cowan, P. A. et al. (ed.) The family context of parenting in children’s adaptation to elementary school. Study 1b: Cowan, C. P., Cowan, P. A. & Barry, J. (2011) ‘Couples’ groups for parents of preschoolers: Ten-year outcomes of a randomized trial. Journal of Family Psychology. 25 (2), 240–250. |
No other studies were identified for this intervention.
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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