Support available for families experiencing parental conflict

15 Sep 2021 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news

Support is available for Northumberland families experiencing conflict thanks to the Government’s Reducing Parental Conflict programme.  

Relationship problems between parents or carers are common and for that reason Northumberland County Council is part of a national programme to help reduce parental conflict and support those experiencing it at this time.  

In the North East, this programme is called Relationships Matter. This provides support for parents, and those already working with families, to help create healthier parental relationships. 

Councillor Guy Renner-Thompson, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Children’s Services, said: “Children deserve the best start in life, and by us committing to a programme such as this we are able to help families overcome conflict and in turn protect children’s mental wellbeing by giving them and their family the support they need for a happy, healthier home life. 

“We know how difficult the last 18 months have been on everyone, but please do reach out and get the support you need. It is there to help you and your family.”

Parental conflict, including parents who are together or separated, which is frequent, intense and poorly resolved, puts children's mental health and long-term life chances at risk. 

Through four funded pathways of intervention the 'Relationships Matter' Programme aims to help improve family stability and outcomes for children. 

The programme aims to help parents take responsibility for their actions and understand the impact on their families and improve communication within families. 

Parents can access information at nland.uk/HealthyRelationships for self-directed help and support or for parents who need some additional intervention and feel they are able to engage with this, there are the specialist relationship support programmes, run by Relate and Action for Children.   

Parental conflict is not the same as domestic abuse. Parental conflict is when parents are entrenched in frequent, intense and poorly resolved conflict.  Where there is domestic abuse there will be an imbalance of power and one parent may feel fearful of the other. 

For anyone needing support or information on how to help someone experiencing domestic abuse visit www.nland.uk/DomesticAbuse