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A research programme of randomised controlled trials undertaken at the University of Southampton demonstrating the efficacy of the New Forest Parenting Programme (NFPP) played a crucial role in: (i) influencing the developers of clinical guidelines to recommend parent training in general as a core part of the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and (ii) establishing the NFPP, in particular, as a widely employed evidence-based treatment for ADHD, a condition estimated to affect up to 400,000 children in the UK alone. As a direct result of the trials, the programme, a novel therapeutic intervention that teaches parents of preschool children with ADHD how to modify their children's behaviour and improve their self-regulation, has been included in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and other clinical guidelines and recommended internationally as an effective alternative to medication, which often brings only short-term benefits and is associated with a range of potentially debilitating side-effects.
Three studies by Trinder have helped shape national policy and informed practice on three related issues regarding arrangements for children after parental separation. The three issues are whether or not there should be a statutory presumption of shared time, the scope and shape of education programmes for separated parents and whether additional punitive sanctions would assist with the enforcement of court orders for contact. Trinder's three studies have built a strong evidence base and have had an impact by:
1) helping to shape national policy on shared care, parent education and enforcement;
2) informing professional decision-making on shared care, parent education and enforcement;
3) stimulating public debate about shared care.
Professor Dieter Wolke has led several research programmes that delineate the long-term health effects of prenatal exposure to stress and moderate/late preterm, very preterm, and extremely preterm birth. His research has had a direct impact on international medical guidelines and educational recommendations for babies born preterm. The research has also informed European political debate (via a White Paper for the European parliament) on healthcare policy related to after care for preterm or sick children; has influenced UK policy regarding the education of children born preterm; and has contributed to public and practitioner understanding through media items issued, for example, by the NHS and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Sure Start, the flagship New Labour anti-poverty initiative launched in 1999, was an area-based early intervention targeting pockets of social and economic deprivation in England. The multi- disciplinary National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS), to which Professor Angela Anning was the central educational contributor, was the largest social science evaluation contract ever awarded in the UK. Findings were continually fed back to ministers and civil servants to inform policy and practice. Impacts (discussed below, section 4) include:
(1) systemic changes in integrated services for vulnerable families;
(2) rethinking the resourcing and funding of Children's Centres;
(3) revision of training and qualifications of early childhood staff;
(4) enhancing the role of family support and parenting projects.
Childhood obesity is an increasing problem in the UK with roughly one in seven school aged children in Scotland and England being classified as obese. The picture is similar in Wales where the prevalence is one in eight. The direct cost of obesity to the NHS is estimated to be £4.2bn a year, with this set to rise if the causes of childhood obesity are not addressed. The contribution of the research described below to tackling this issue is manifold: it has enabled the development and improvement of child health interventions/programmes; it has allowed commissioners and programme leads to make more informed decisions about investment in these interventions/programmes; and it has contributed to the development of regional healthy weight strategies and national guidelines on weight management.
This case study represents the work of the Pyramid research team within the INSTIL Education Research Group (INSTIL ERG). Research at the University of West London is characterised by an ambition to promote `useful knowledge' and this case study, with its focus on providing evidence to inform and direct practice, fits within this approach. The case study describes the first rigorous evaluation of the impact of Pyramid after-school clubs that aim to improve the socio-emotional wellbeing of vulnerable children. The work of the Pyramid research team provides an empirical evidence base to support the work of a range of stakeholders including: practitioners; policy makers and researchers in the field of children's socio-emotional well-being, and the children and their families. Drawing on the evidence base, these impacts include the securing of funding for the continuation of Pyramid clubs in schools and informing future development and extension of the Pyramid club intervention for delivery to other age groups.
Frances Gardner and her team in Oxford have been studying antisocial behaviour in children for two decades. This programme of research has been instrumental in demonstrating that parenting programmes are effective in significantly reducing antisocial behaviour, thus encouraging uptake of these programmes by bodies that play a major role in forming UK central government policy relating to parenting and child behaviour, such as NICE and the (then) Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Given that lifetime costs of antisocial behaviour are so high, these interventions are likely to produce high return on investment, with cost-benefit analyses (e.g. NICE; DCSF) suggesting that over £200,000 per child could be saved. The impact of Gardner's studies has subsequently expanded beyond the UK, contributing to family intervention development in US trials, and to policy change by organisations such as WHO and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and by policymakers in New Zealand, Malta, Slovenia, Estonia and South Africa.
The education gap between children from poor homes and their peers is established before they start primary school. These early inequalities heavily influence children's later outcomes. FAST (Families And Schools Together), is a parenting programme that aims to reduce the educational effects of deprivation and promote family cohesion. We have carried out evaluations of the programme. As a result, the UK government and international agencies have endorsed FAST. Specifically, we carried out research that has identified strategies for effective replication of the programme across a range of disadvantaged communities in different contexts. The research underpinned Save the Children UK's decision to support the roll out of this intervention, with £7M funding from Lloyds Bank and Morrison's grocery chain. Our evaluations of the roll out demonstrate a range of impacts on beneficiaries, namely children and families: increased parental involvement in schools and increased social capital; improved parent to parent support networks, increased parent community leadership, positive child mental health outcomes and increased social skills; improved academic and school behaviour; reduced aggression and anxiety as well as reduced aggressive and delinquent behaviours after eight weeks. The beneficiaries are children, their families and schools, and society at large.
Improving outcomes for children, young people and families focuses on supporting the development of health and social care initiatives to promote social inclusion and improve quality of life, family cohesion, and health outcomes for `troubled', at risk, and disadvantaged families, demonstrating the following impact:
There is strong evidence that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) plays a major role not only in preventing the recurrence of depression, but also in enhancing well-being more broadly. Much of this research was carried out at Bangor University's Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice, with a focus on non-academic impact from the outset. Between 2008-2013, the Centre has delivered MBCT courses to over 1500 members of the public. We have also trained over 1300 professionals to deliver MBCT within the NHS and other contexts, leading to several successful spin-off businesses. Finally, Centre researchers lead in the creation of UK good practice standards.