Collection

Reducing Parental Conflict

Information and resources for leaders, managers and practitioners seeking to improve children’s outcomes by supporting the parental relationship.

Reducing Parental Conflict programme

Some level of arguing and conflict between parents or carers is often a normal part of everyday life. However, 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.

The parental conflict indicator shows 12% of children were living with at least one parent reporting relationship distress. Parental conflict is twice as likely in workless couple-parent families compared to where both parents are working.

In response to this, the government developed the Reducing Parental Conflict programme to reduce parental conflict and improve children’s outcomes. The funding is made available to Local Authorities in England, who work in partnership with a range of experts from relationship and family charities.

The importance of Reducing Parental Conflict

Find out what reducing parental conflict is and why it matters to children, families and services.

The Reducing Parental Conflict programme: context and activity

Read about how the Reducing Parental Conflict programme integrated and delivered support across local areas in England from 2018 to 2021.

Resources to support leaders, managers and practitioners reduce parental conflict

Resources to help leaders, managers and other professionals raise awareness of the impact of parental conflict, including training and tools to help practitioners talk to parents about the importance of healthy relationships.

Reducing Parental Conflict programme: published reports and information

Find published reports and information that inform Reducing Parental Conflict learning.

Updates to this page

Published 18 January 2021
Last updated 12 November 2021 + show all updates
  1. Added 'Reducing Parental Conflict Challenge Fund: learning from the second phase of delivery' to published reports and information.

  2. Added 'Reducing Parental Conflict Challenge Fund: learning from the first phase' to 'published reports and information'.

  3. First published.