Family Relationships Toolkit: Research and Background

Positive family relationships are central to children’s health, development and long-term outcomes. When relationships within families are stable, supportive and emotionally responsive, children are more likely to feel safe, develop resilience and achieve positive social and educational outcomes. Where relationships are strained, particularly in the context of ongoing conflict, children face increased risks to their mental health, behaviour and school readiness.

Family Hubs provide a key opportunity to strengthen relationships through early intervention, integrated support and whole-family approaches. This toolkit brings together evidence and national policy to support local authorities and partners in developing effective, relationship-focused practice.

The quality of relationships within families is one of the most important influences on child outcomes. Strong parent-child relationships and positive interactions between caregivers are closely linked to children’s emotional wellbeing, communication skills and educational attainment.

Evidence from the Early Intervention Foundation’s report
Foundations for Life: What works to support parent-child interaction in the early years
demonstrates that high-quality parent–child interaction is fundamental to children’s development, including emotional regulation, communication and problem-solving skills. [eif.org.uk]

Further evidence underpinning the national Reducing Parental Conflict programme shows that when parental conflict is frequent, intense and poorly resolved, children are more likely to experience anxiety, behavioural difficulties and poorer long-term outcomes. [gov.uk]

Taken together, this evidence highlights the importance of strengthening relationships early, preventing escalation and reducing the need for more intensive intervention.

A UK study using cohort data found that: 

• Closeness to parents (especially at age 14) is linked to better GCSE outcomes
• For some groups, outcomes were influenced by whether parents remained together

In addition, the major UK EPPSE study found that family characteristics and the home learning environment strongly predict GCSE attainment.

The first 1,001 days—from conception to age two—are a critical period for development. During this time, brain development is rapid and highly influenced by early experiences.

Research consistently shows that secure attachment and responsive caregiving provide the foundation for children’s emotional, social and cognitive development. The evidence base for early intervention, including that set out in Foundations for Life, highlights the long-term benefits of supporting early relationships.

Supporting families during this period is therefore both preventative and developmental, ensuring that parents feel confident and children experience nurturing, stable care.

Family Hubs are designed to provide accessible, joined-up support for families through a whole-family approach. The national Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies guidance aims to integrate services so that families can access the support they need more easily. [gov.uk]

Relational practice is central to this model. Building trust between practitioners and families supports earlier identification of need and enables more effective support. Integration across services—health, education, social care and the voluntary sector—reduces fragmentation and improves outcomes.

Effective Family Hub delivery is characterised by strong partnerships, accessible pathways and co-production with families, supported by evidence-informed approaches.

Current Challenges for Families

Families are facing increasing pressures, including financial stress, housing insecurity, mental health challenges and social isolation. These pressures can place strain on relationships and increase the likelihood of conflict.

Barriers such as stigma, lack of awareness and fragmented systems can make it harder for families to access support. Family Hubs play an important role in addressing these challenges by providing accessible, visible and community-based support.

Policy Context

Family relationship support sits within a broader national focus on prevention, early help and integrated services.

Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies (April 2026 – March 2029)

The Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies guidance sets out a refreshed vision for family services across England.

The guidance emphasises accessible, connected systems and identifies relationships as central to improving outcomes. It highlights the importance of parenting support, parent-infant relationships, emotional wellbeing and integrated service delivery. 

It also sets expectations for coordinated support for families experiencing relationship difficulties, including parental conflict and separation.

Reducing Parental Conflict Programme

The Reducing Parental Conflict programme supports local systems to identify and respond to relationship difficulties early. It provides tools, training and evidence to help practitioners address conflict before it escalates. 

An evaluation of the programme Reducing Parental Conflict Programme Evaluationdemonstrates the importance of integrated local delivery and workforce development in improving outcomes for families. 

Supporting Families Programme

The Supporting Families programme focuses on improving outcomes for families experiencing multiple and complex needs through a whole-family approach. 

National guidance and evaluation highlight the importance of coordinated, multi-agency working, early help systems and strong relationships between practitioners and families.

Family separation is a significant life transition that can affect both children and adults. While many families adapt well, some experience challenges that impact children’s emotional wellbeing.

Evidence from the Reducing Parental Conflict programme shows that it is not separation itself that is most harmful, but exposure to ongoing and unresolved conflict. 

Family Hubs can support families through separation by providing early, accessible support that promotes positive co-parenting, helps maintain a focus on children’s needs and supports effective communication.

Some families may also require support linked to housing, finances or mental health. Integrated Family Hub systems help coordinate this support and reduce barriers.

Where there are safeguarding concerns or domestic abuse, appropriate specialist responses must take priority.

Family Conflict and Children’s Outcomes

Conflict is a normal part of family life. However, where it is frequent, intense or unresolved, it can undermine children’s emotional security and wellbeing. Research associated with the Reducing Parental Conflict programme highlights that persistent conflict is linked to poorer mental health, behavioural difficulties and long-term outcomes for children. Evidence submitted to Parliament highlights that parental conflict affects parenting quality and children’s development, with extended impacts on educational attainment and future employment.

Early identification is therefore critical. Practitioners can support families by promoting positive communication, supporting emotional regulation and providing access to targeted support where needed.

Embedding these approaches across services helps normalise conversations about relationships and encourages earlier help-seeking.

Effective family relationship support is underpinned by early intervention, whole-family approaches and strong practitioner relationships. Integrated working across services helps ensure coordinated support, while co-production strengthens service design and delivery.

Evidence-informed practice remains essential, ensuring that interventions are grounded in what works and adapted to local need.

The Role of the Workforce

A confident, skilled and supported workforce is central to strengthening family relationships. Practitioners across Family Hubs and partner services—including health, early years, education, social care and the voluntary sector—are often the first to recognise emerging relationship difficulties. Their ability to engage families in open, strengths-based conversations can support earlier identification of need and prevent issues from escalating.

Relationship support is not limited to specialist roles. Frontline practitioners such as health visitors, family support workers, early years practitioners and school staff all play a key role in promoting positive relationships, identifying parental conflict and supporting families to access appropriate help. Embedding a shared understanding of relational practice across the workforce helps ensure that support is consistent, coordinated and accessible.

To deliver this effectively, practitioners need both the confidence and the capability to talk about relationships, including sensitive issues such as conflict, separation and emotional wellbeing. Workforce development is therefore critical.

Upskilling the workforce involves a combination of knowledge, skills and system support. This includes building understanding of how family relationships impact child outcomes, developing practical communication skills, and increasing confidence in identifying and responding to parental conflict. The national Reducing Parental Conflict programme
provides training, tools and resources to support practitioners in embedding this work into everyday practice. 

Alongside this, a range of recognised training offers can support workforce development:

• Solihull Approach – training on attachment, emotional wellbeing and relational practice
  Solihull Approach training for practitioners [solihullap...enting.com]
• Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) – developing practitioners’ ability to support attuned parent–child interactions
  Video Interaction Guidance (AVIG UK) [videointer...idance.net]
• Triple P practitioner training – equipping staff to deliver evidence-based parenting programmes within a multi-level system
  Triple P training for practitioners [triplep.net]
• Incredible Years training – structured training to deliver group-based parenting interventions
  Incredible Years training workshops [incredibleyears.com]
• OnePlusOne practitioner training – building skills in supporting parents to strengthen relationships and manage conflict
  OnePlusOne training and resources [oneplusone.org.uk]

Ongoing support is equally important. Reflective supervision, peer learning and opportunities to share practice help practitioners build confidence over time. Clear referral pathways and access to evidence-based interventions ensure that practitioners are supported to connect families to the right level of help.

A whole-system approach to workforce development is particularly important. When all partners share a common language and approach to relationships—across universal, targeted and specialist services—families experience more consistent support, and conversations about relationships become more normalised.

What Good Looks Like in Practice

In effective Family Hub systems, the workforce:

• Feels confident initiating conversations about family relationships, including parental conflict and separation
• Uses a shared, strengths-based approach when discussing relationships
• Understands the difference between parental conflict and domestic abuse
• Has access to relevant training, tools and ongoing development
• Knows how to refer families into appropriate support pathways
• Works within joined-up systems where services coordinate effectively
• Receives reflective supervision and support
• Engages fathers, non-birthing partners, co-parents and wider family members as part of a whole-family approach

Talking about family relationships can feel sensitive—for both practitioners and families. However, early, open conversations can help identify emerging difficulties, reduce stigma and support families to access help sooner.

Using open-ended, strengths-based questions helps create a safe space for families to reflect on their relationships and experiences.

Open-Ended Questions for Practitioners

These questions are designed to encourage reflection rather than judgement. They can be used flexibly depending on the context and family situation.

Exploring family relationships

• “How are things at home for you at the moment?”
• “How would you describe things between you and your partner/co-parent recently?”
• “What’s going well in your family right now?”
• “Are there any areas that feel more challenging at the moment?”

Exploring communication and conflict

• “When things are stressful, how do you usually communicate with each other?”
• “What happens when you don’t agree about something?”
• “What helps things go well between you?”
• “What tends to make things more difficult?”

Exploring impact on children

• “How do you think things at home are feeling for your child at the moment?”
• “What have you noticed about your child when things feel tense or stressful?”
• “What helps your child feel safe and settled?”

Exploring separation or co-parenting

• “How are things working between you as co-parents at the moment?”
• “What’s been most challenging about managing things separately?”
• “What’s helping things go well for your child?”

Strengths-based follow-up questions

• “What’s worked well before when things have been difficult?”
• “What would you like things to be like moving forward?”
• “What support do you feel would be helpful right now?”

Conversation Starters (Low-Threshold Approaches)

For many practitioners, the biggest barrier is how to start the conversation. These prompts help introduce the topic in a natural and non-threatening way:

• “We often talk to families about how things are going at home, because we know relationships can have a big impact on children—would it be OK if we explored that a bit?”
• “Lots of families say things can feel more stressful at times—how has it been for you recently?”
• “As part of the support we offer, we look at how relationships in the family are going. Would you like to talk about that today?”
• “Sometimes when there are lots of pressures, relationships can feel strained—does that resonate at all for you?”

Tips for Effective Conversations

• Start with curiosity, not assumptions
• Use normalising language (“many families experience…”)
• Focus on strengths as well as challenges
• Avoid blame or taking sides
• Keep the child’s experience central
• Be clear about confidentiality and safeguarding boundaries
• Know your local pathways and support offers

Role Play Scenarios for Training

These scenarios can be used in team training, supervision or workshops to build confidence and practice skills.

Scenario 1: Early Signs of Conflict

Context:
A parent attends a Family Hub session and mentions feeling “stressed” and “snappy” at home.

Practitioner task:

• Start a conversation about relationships
• Use open-ended questions
• Explore communication and conflict

Focus for reflection:

• How did the practitioner open the conversation?
• Did they use strengths-based language?
• How confident did they feel exploring the topic?

Scenario 2: Reluctance to Engage

Context:
A parent responds with: “Everything’s fine—we argue like everyone else.”

Practitioner task:

• Use normalising language
• Gently explore further without being intrusive
• Build trust

Focus for reflection:

• How did the practitioner respond to resistance?
• Did they avoid escalating defensiveness?
• How did they keep the conversation open?

Scenario 3: Separation and Co-Parenting

Context:
A parent shares that they have recently separated and are struggling with communication with the other parent.

Practitioner task:

• Explore co-parenting dynamics
• Keep the focus on the child’s needs
• Identify support options

Focus for reflection:

• How did the practitioner maintain neutrality?
• Were they able to link to support (e.g. co-parenting resources)?

Scenario 4: Impact on Child

Context:
A practitioner notices a child becoming withdrawn during sessions. The parent mentions “tension” at home.

Practitioner task:

• Explore the impact of relationships on the child
• Use reflective questions
• Support the parent to consider the child’s experience

Focus for reflection:

• How well was the child’s voice brought into the conversation?
• Did the practitioner avoid blame?
• Were disclosure policies adhered to?

Scenario 5: Identifying Need for Further Support

Context:
A parent describes frequent arguments and feeling overwhelmed.

Practitioner task:

• Recognise when additional support is needed
• Introduce available programmes (e.g. OnePlusOne, parenting support)
• Explain next steps clearly

Focus for reflection:

• Was the practitioner confident discussing support options?
• Did they maintain a non-judgemental approach?

Optional Training Exercise

Ask practitioners to:

• Role play both practitioner and parent roles
• Practice different openings for the same scenario
• Reflect on: 
  • What felt natural?
  • What felt challenging?
  • What language worked well?

Family relationships are a key protective factor for children and families. Strong evidence demonstrates that positive relationships underpin improved outcomes across health, education and wellbeing.

Family Hubs provide a significant opportunity to embed relational practice across local systems. By prioritising early intervention, integrated support and whole-family approaches, local areas can strengthen relationships and improve outcomes for children and communities.