Family Vision

Man and child

Background

Children exposed to significant inter-parental conflict and domestic violence can be at risk of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, even after they have left the violent home environment. The Family Vision study is examining whether a parent leadership coaching programme is effective in supporting these children by empowering their main parent or carer.

The coaching intervention being used is the ‘Family Vision’ parent leadership programme, developed by project partner Nina Farr from Get Up and Grow Coaching Ltd. It is designed specifically for lone or parenting alone carers who are raising children following an experience of family breakdown and/or domestic abuse.

Parents who volunteer to take part will follow a 10-week strengths-based programme, which will focus on empowering them as the leader of their family and on the quality of their parent-child relationship.

The programme is being piloted in partnership with Exeter Community Initiatives (ECI) and Action for Children, both providers of Children’s Centres in Exeter, and St Martin’s Primary School in Cranbrook.

The project is funded by an Impact Acceleration Account grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and is being run in partnership with the Public Health Commissioning team at Devon County Council.

Project aims

The project aims to find out whether the Family Vision programme focused on parent empowerment and leadership is useful in supporting children exposed to domestic violence, and how it can be best delivered in local service settings.

Project activity

The project will culminate in a stakeholder roundtable with the following aims:

  • To share findings from the research with participant families
  • To discuss the landscape of services available in Devon for families who are raising children following domestic abuse
  • To discuss future plans for programme development and testing of Family Vision
  • To create networks and relationships for partnership and joint working.

    • Due to the success of the early feasibility work, a bid for a pilot trial in the South West of England is being developed. View the logic model here.

    Related projects

    The NIHR-funded project Evaluation of the Incredible Years Infant & Toddler Programme (E-SEE) is looking at two programmes that aim to improve the social and emotional wellbeing of children under two years and their parents.