Parenting programmes in England: policy development and implementation issues, 2005–2010

Evidence-based parenting programmes have been made increasingly available at the local level during the 2000s. This paper explores the development of policy, particularly in relation to the extension of the reach of parenting programmes, and examines their implementation. The most popular programmes were developed in the US and Australia, and are expensive for local authorities to offer. The last Labour government hoped that choice of evidence-based programmes would ensure value for money. However, this study of implementation in five local authorities raises questions regarding problems of implementation in a very different service context: of parent ‘selection’ in what has become a universal service, and of the selection, training, supervision and quality of staff.