The provision of parenting support is a key feature of wealthier nations' health and social care services. However, attendance and engagement by the neediest parents remains poor. Barriers experienced by parents include personal life factors (beliefs, lifestyles and limited resources) and programme-specific factors (delivery, content and support…

While recent years have seen a rapid growth of research exploring the usefulness of parenting support programmes, no empirical research to date has specifically explored experiences of compulsory parenting support. The present study examines the narrative accounts of 17 parents who, through a Parenting Order, were made to participate in such…

Children who accompany their parents or guardians during a period of homelessness make up 37% (more than one in three) of all people accessing the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) services. This paper describes an Australian qualitative study that explored the experiences of children who accompanied their families during periods…

At the beginning of 2008, a number of the world's major economies began to experience the effects of the biggest economic financial crisis in history. By the end of that year, the financial crisis was a global recession, and governments responded with changes to a suite of social and economic policies. Two broad stages of government response are…

The role of social support in child welfare policy and practice continues to engender widespread debate. Yet the moral and philosophical underpinnings of this topical area have received less attention in the literature. This is of concern, not least because academic debates on the "politics of identity" have a significant contribution to make to…

The importance of early school experiences in the personal and social development of young refugees and asylum-seekers has been documented by researchers and enshrined in practice guidelines. The capacity of schools to implement these guidelines is, however, limited, in terms of the availability of appropriate knowledge and skills, financial…

In 2002 the authors evaluated a family support project known as Working with Families managed by the Children's Society and located in a primary school on a large, mainly white council estate in Rochdale. Our reflections on some of the issues which emerged in relation to basing family support services in a school setting seem timely in the light…

This paper presents findings of an evaluation of a one-off, small scale, pilot project. Picking up where Sure Start, the government programme for families of newborns to threes, leaves off, "Families in Focus" works with children aged four to 16 on a disadvantaged council estate in London. Through this route, the programme also reaches…