Family Foundations (FF) is a series of seven enjoyable ante- and post-natal participatory classes for expectant mothers and fathers, aimed at enhancing parent and child well‐being. FF helps to prepare couples for the transition to parenthood by fostering attitudes and skills related to positive family relationships.

The goal of FF is to promote positive co-parenting (the way that parents support each other). Recent research indicates that positive co-parenting has a strong influence on parenting and on child outcomes.

What are the impacts of FF?

In families who have taken part in FF in the US there have been significant impacts on:

• Postnatal depression
• Improving parenting sensitivity and warmth
• Decreasing harsh parenting
• Fostering positive couple relations
• Establishing positive child self‐regulation
• Reducing child behaviour problems.

FF has also had particularly positive impacts on fathers in low-income families.

The first phase of FF

Family Foundations is currently being trialled at 12 local authority sites in England where teams of health and early years practitioners are training to deliver the course to couples. The programme is being evaluated at our Reading, Barking and Dagenham and Birmingham sites.

FF phase 2: sign up now

The cost of an initial training programme and the first year’s licence and all materials for FF is £10,000. Learning to deliver the FF programme involves four days of face-to-face training for up to 10 early years and health professionals.

If your organisation would be interested in becoming part of the next cohort of sites to become licensed and trained to deliver FF, we will be offering a limited number of reduced cost packages from April 2012 for the first ten organisations to apply. These courses will be priced at £8000.

Find out more about the evidence base in this Family Foundations Overview.

To find out more contact Jeszemma Garratt at j.garratt@fatherhoodinstitute.org or tel 07917 864130.