Defining the problem

• Conflict between parents can harm children’s outcomes.
• Some families are more vulnerable to parental conflict.
• Parental conflict reduces the effectiveness of family services.

Reducing parental conflict is everyone’s business

Any practitioner or volunteer working with children, young people and families can have an impact on reducing parental conflict.

The briefing provides specific guidance for anyone working in early help, Troubled Families, social care or commissioned family services.

Take action now

Local government leaders and commissioners have a key role in reducing the impact of parental conflict on children by integrating this within the wider system of family support for health and wellbeing, working with their partners in the NHS, schools, the police and the voluntary sector.

This should include recognising parental conflict within wider service review, aligning and pooling resources with their partners, investing in specialist interventions for reducing parental conflict, and building workforce confidence and capability to identify and act on conflict between parents.

Find out more about:

• the national Reducing Parental Conflict Programme
• the role of Regional Integration Leads and Ambassadors from pilot areas
• Strategic Leadership Support, and the new Planning Tool developed by EIF and DWP to support this.