Research and analysis

Reducing Parental Conflict Programme Evaluation: Third report on implementation

This report summarises evaluation findings from the Reducing Parental Conflict Programme (RPC) for the period from January 2021 to December 2021.

Applies to England

Documents

Reducing Parental Conflict programme evaluation: Summary

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Reducing Parental Conflict Programme Evaluation: Third report on implementation

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If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email accessible.formats@dwp.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

Research background

The programme was introduced in 2017 and this is the third report from the evaluation. This report, commissioned from IFF research provides insight into parent’s experiences of the RPC interventions, as well as further evidence about programme implementation. It draws on quantitative and qualitative strands of the evaluation to report on parents’ perceptions on the impact of the programme and describe local practices to support families experiencing conflict and improve children’s outcomes.

Contribution to the evidence base

The evidence base of existing publications linked to RPC include:

“Reducing Parental Conflict programme: Challenge Fund Phase 2” learning report. This report discussed how the Challenge Fund was designed to grant fund 10 innovative projects to further build the evidence base on what works to reduce parental conflict within disadvantaged families in 2 streams of work:

a. Digital support

b. Support for particular cohorts of disadvantaged families

“Reducing Parental Conflict: a digital discovery” discussed how parents in low-income households that experience parental conflict search for help online and the digital support they need.

A recent literature review on the relationship between substance abuse and parental conflict documented the complexity of issues contributing to family stress.

The DWP paper Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families published in 2018, highlights how parental conflict can affect children’s outcomes. This is why DWP introduced the Reducing Parental Conflict programme.

Research value

The report provides initial evidence on parents perceived impact of the programme and further evidence on implementation.

Findings will be of particular interest to Local Authorities when planning their bids for the Local Grant, as well as for central government so learning can shape future policy in this space. It will also be valuable to organisations working with, or on behalf of, families.

Reducing Parental Conflict programme evaluation: report on early implementation

Read about findings from the first 9 months of the evaluation of the Reducing Parental Conflict Programme.

Also, the second report on implementation summarises evaluation findings from the RPC programme for the period from December 2019 to January 2021.

Updates to this page

Published 12 April 2022
Last updated 17 April 2023 + show all updates
  1. Updated the Reducing Parental Conflict Programme Evaluation: Third report on implementation. In Table 2.1 (Interventions being delivered), the Intervention Name 'Mentalisation Based Therapy – Parenting Together' has been changed to 'Mentalisation Based Therapy – Parenting under pressure', and the Length of delivery changed from 6-12 sessions to 10 sessions of therapeutic work.

  2. First published.

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