Evaluating a virtual community of practice for recurrent care practitioners

The Supporting Parents Community of Practice supports practitioners and service leads working with birth mothers who have had children removed from their care, with a particular focus on supporting their positive sexual and reproductive health. Its evaluation comprised a mixed methods approach via a baseline survey, follow-up survey and interviews with practitioners. Overall, the CoP was valued by members, their levels of knowledge/skills and confidence in a range of areas and working practices increased, and the CoP supported members' professional development and service development. The evaluation also identified challenges experienced in establishing and sustaining this innovative CoP and made recommendations to address these.