Key Principles: Meeting families’ needs
Key principles help to ensure that accessible, acceptable interventions for parents facing adversities can be effectively designed and implemented. They are drawn from quantitative and qualitative research, evaluations of implementation, and from common features of effective parenting interventions.
What?
- Families value flexibility in how parenting support is delivered – both in format and intensity
- Being able to choose when, where, and how support is provided (for example, session times, in-home visits, or more intensive options when needed) helps families feel more in control and increases engagement
- Research shows that the effectiveness of group-based and one-to-one support is broadly similar, meaning that the best approach is one that matches families’ circumstances and preferences
- A flexible, mixed local offer – developed in collaboration with families – ensures support is accessible, relevant, and responsive to local needs.
Why?
- Flexibility helps families engage more meaningfully with parenting support, as it reduces practical and emotional barriers to participation
- When support options are adapted to family preferences and life circumstances, parents are more likely to sustain engagement and apply learning
- A mixed local offer – combining individual, group, community, and intensive options – ensures equitable access across different populations and enables practitioners to tailor support as a family’s needs change over time.
To translate this into practice:
Designing and delivering a flexible, inclusive, and responsive local parenting offer.
- Leaders should ensure a mixed local offer which reflects population needs, provide clear referral pathways, and build partnerships with community organisations to improve accessibility
- Practice supervisors should enable practitioners to use the local offer flexibly, review feedback and data to adapt delivery, and align services across agencies to avoid duplication
- Practitioners should help families choose support that fits their needs and circumstances, adapt delivery as needs change, and maintain engagement through consistent communication and trust.
What?
- Group-based parenting support can create a relaxed and supportive environment where parents connect, share experiences, and learn from one another
- Parents often describe group settings as helping to reduce isolation, stigma, and self-blame while promoting emotional expression and confidence
- Peer interactions can be just as influential as professional input, offering empathy, understanding, and practical advice that resonates with lived experience
- However, group-based support is not suitable for everyone – some parents may find it difficult due to self-doubt, emotional challenges, or unique family circumstances. Skilled facilitation is therefore essential to ensure groups remain inclusive, safe, and supportive for all.
Why?
- Peer relationships foster resilience, reduce loneliness, and empower parents to see themselves as both learners and contributors
- When practitioners poorly manage group dynamics, parents may feel judged or excluded and less confident which could limit the impact of support
- Flexible, sensitive facilitation ensures all participants can engage meaningfully, regardless of their background or circumstances.
To translate this into practice:
Creating inclusive, well-facilitated group environments that promote peer learning and connection.
- Leaders should co-develop the local parenting offer with parents, ensuring it includes both group and individual options, and invest in workforce training for skilled, culturally responsive group facilitation
- Practice supervisors and practitioners should manage group dynamics sensitively, establish clear group agreements on respect and confidentiality, and use supervision to reflect on challenges and successes
- Practitioners should support relationship-building, celebrate individual progress, and recognise when parents may benefit from alternative forms of support (such as individual support).
What?
- Parents report that when parenting support does not reflect their cultural experiences, values, or beliefs, it can create barriers to engagement
- Cultural responsiveness requires authentic partnership with communities, an understanding of how cultural contexts shape parenting, and recognition of the impact of structural inequalities
- Parent engagement is influenced not only by practitioner qualities but also by how services are perceived within different communities and the extent to which families feel respected, understood, and represented by services
- Culturally responsive delivery includes using relatable examples, recruiting bilingual or bicultural practitioners, adapting programme content to reflect local experiences, and collaborating with trusted community organisations during delivery.
Why?
- When families feel their cultural identities and values are recognised and respected, they are more likely to engage meaningfully with parenting support
- Cultural responsiveness builds trust, reduces stigma, and helps overcome barriers between communities and services
- Adapted and inclusive programmes improve accessibility and representation, leading to better outcomes for families and stronger community relationships
- Conversely, culturally mismatched or inflexible interventions risk exclusion, disengagement, and reduced impact.
To translate this into practice:
Embedding cultural responsiveness across leadership, supervision, and direct practice.
- Leaders should work in authentic partnership with community and by-and-for organisations, invest in bilingual and bicultural workforce capacity, and ensure materials and delivery methods are culturally adapted and co-designed with local families
- Practitioners and practice supervisors should reflect on their own cultural assumptions, adapt support to family preferences, and use supervision to develop and improve confidence in working across a range of cultures
- Practitioners should engage with curiosity, use culturally relevant examples, and collaborate with families to ensure interventions reflect their lived experiences and values.