Developing a National Model of Parenting Support Services

Better Outcomes Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young people, 2014-2020 recognises the importance of supporting parents as one of its six transformational goals that are central to delivering the best future for children and their families. A key aim is that “parents will experience improved support in the important task of parenting and feel more confident, informed and able”.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth’s High-Level Policy Statement on Supporting parents and Families (2015) highlights the critical importance of parenting on children’s lives in influencing social, emotional, and physical outcomes. It noted that greater integration in the planning and delivery is critical to ensure consistency and standardisation of service availability and delivery across the country.

First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028 commits to a number of goals and strategic actions to ensure that parents are supported to parent positively and have positive relationships with their children.

We know that parents play a critical role in influencing their children’s lives, parenting has been shown to influence children’s social and emotional development, as well as their behaviour, education and physical health. The development of a national model of parenting support services is an important step in realising the State’s commitment to support parents.

Parenting support is the provision of information and services aimed at strengthening parents’ knowledge, confidence and skills to help achieve the best outcomes for children and their families.

Examples of parenting support services include parenting programmes, home visiting programmes, one-to-one advice and support, parent support groups and support helplines for parents.

Parenting support is one part of a wider systems of parent and child focused policies and supports. Other important forms of support for parents and children, outside of the scope of a national model of parenting support services, include: financial supports, family-friendly work practices, educational supports, leave entitlements, respite care, healthcare and mental health services, Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare, housing and child-friendly cities and place.

The aim of the model is to develop a more coherent and strategic approach to the development and delivery of parenting support services so that all parents can access the support they need when they need it.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) lead the way on the development of a national model of parenting support services, working in partnership with the Centre for Effective Services (CES).

The development of the model is a key action under the First 5 strategy which sets out a commitment to “develop a national model of parenting services, from universal to targeted provision, covering key stages of child development, taking account of parents and children in a range of contexts and parenting relationships.”

A collaborative working group was established to assist in developing a draft model with recommendations for implementation.

The collaborative working group was made up of representatives from a range of organisations involved in developing, funding and delivering parenting support services. Membership included representatives from the DCEDIY, Tusla, the HSE, the Prevention and Early Intervention Network (PEIN) and the Parenting Network.

The collaborative working group met regularly throughout the course of this project, with the first meeting being held in October 2020. An initial draft of the national model of parenting support services was produced in August 2021 for further consultation with key stakeholders.

As part of the development of the model, the DCEDIY has produced a number of research and consultation papers. These include:

• A consultation with young people (aged 14-18 years) and children (aged 8-12) gathering their thoughts and views on family, relationships and parent support needs.
• A consultation with parents which explored their experiences, needs and preferences in relation to sources of parenting support.
• A survey of households with children under 18 years of age on parents’ awareness, usage and experience of parenting support services.
• A literature review of parenting supports in Ireland
• A rapid review of the literature on international parenting support policy and practice
• Report on the findings of the public consultation on the development of a national model of parenting support services

These key pieces of research and consultation informed the development of the model. The collaborative working group have also conducted interviews and focus groups with a wide range of stakeholders who have a role in supporting parents. A public consultation on the development of the model closed April 16, 2021.