Suchergebnisse

Small groups of parents experiencing problems in managing the behaviour of young children took part in parenting programmes in a Midlands city in 2001–2002 based on the Webster Stratton Parent‐Child Videotape Series. Programmes were evaluated using standardised measures and qualitative data. Most participants who completed the programme (N = 29) in this small scale study had improved scores on all measures. The largest (positive) effects were in reductions in mean total parenting stress levels. Qualitative data confirmed high participant ratings for the facilitators and appreciation for group support; and indicated that partners' views were an important variable. Further research is needed about programme impact on non‐completers (including fathers and minority ethnic participants) and about the influence of non‐participating partners.

ABSTRACTThe Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is an important part of the procedures envisaged in the government's Every Child Matters: Change for Children (ECM: CFC) programme. Implementation of CAF, in particular, raises many important questions, not least those arising from the inconsistencies apparent between government rhetoric around the development of multi‐agency services provided to all children with 'additional' needs and the actual experiences of children, young people, parents/carers and practitioners in 'real world' situations. This paper explores the extent to which the actions of practitioners and the experiences of service users with regard to CAF mirror or differ from those which would be expected in view of the content of government guidance and policy documents. The data used is taken from an evaluation of CAF processes in two locations in northern England over a period of 6 months. It concludes that very small numbers of children and young people actually received the service; that, despite genuine enthusiasm from practitioners for them to be so, the processes observed could not yet be described as fully 'child centred'; that fathers were insufficiently involved; and that CAF was, in reality, another service 'rationed' according to resources available and according to agencies' priorities.

In 2002 the authors evaluated a family support project known as Working with Families managed by the Children's Society and located in a primary school on a large, mainly white council estate in Rochdale. Our reflections on some of the issues which emerged in relation to basing family support services in a school setting seem timely in the light of the apparent growth in such services as a result of investment by the Children's Fund, and the proposals in the Green Paper, Every Child Matters, (Department for Education and Skills, 2003a) that schools should play a key role in the delivery of support services. Our experience of one such project is offered as a contribution to ongoing policy and practice developments. We highlight the strengths and difficulties of delivering support services from school settings and we offer some thoughts on whether integrated services which tackle children's needs can be delivered from schools.

In this article Ruth Gardner and Martin Manby examine a few of the knottier issues, both operational and strategic, which have arisen over the past eighteen months during implementation of Part III of The Children Act 1989.

The study describes an evaluation of a 48‐week physical activity and nutritional education programme for overweight/obese school‐age children using quantitative and qualitative methods. The majority of participants were obese or severely obese when enrolled, and while some improvements in body mass index, self‐esteem and engagement in a range of physical activities were noted, difficulties in evaluating a complex community‐based intervention were highlighted. Children, parents and health professionals described a range of benefits from attending the programme but more intensive services are likely to be needed for the most seriously obese children and for those families resisting intervention.

Worldwide, unprecedented numbers of people are being imprisoned and in many countries incarceration is on the increase (Walmsley, 2009); indeed 'more parents than ever are behind bars' (Murray et al., 2012) and each year, an estimated 800,000 children within the newly-expanded European Union are separated from an incarcerated parent. Despite this, the psychosocial impact on children is little known and rarely considered in sentencing even though the evidence to date suggests that children whose parents are imprisoned are exposed to triple jeopardy through break-up of the family, financial hardship, stigma and secrecy, leading to adverse social and educational repercussions. The rationale for the study of the impact of parental imprisonment is underscored by the findings of a recent meta-analysis of studies of children of prisoners (Murray et al. 2012). This systematic review synthesized empirical evidence on the associations between parental incarceration and children's later behavioural, educational and health outcomes from 40 studies involving a total of over 7,000 children of prisoners.