Families
Barnardo's believes that every child needs to grow up in a family that can cope, in an environment where they are nurtured, valued and experience stability. Barnardo's practice in this area includes: family support services, fostering and adoption work, family centres, support for disabled children and short break care. Our publications about families are grouped under:
Parenting
Help at Hand
This evaluation report was commissioned by Children are Unbeatable Cymru. Through a community survey and qualitative research with 39 parents, a class of primary school children and a class of secondary school children. It examines attitudes towards smacking and outlines the most effective means of encouraging parents to adopt non violent methods of managing children's behaviour.
Download this report for FREE (English version) (PDF) Download this report for FREE (Welsh version) (PDF)
An evaluation of Neath Port Talbot Parenting Matters service
Evaluation of the impact of a Barnardo’s Cymru parenting course upon participants and their children.
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View the Parenting Matters micro-site to learn more
Bitter legacy: the emotional effect of domestic violence on children
Features case studies from Barnardo’s services and highlights the long term emotional impact of domestic abuse on children.
Parenting education: messages from research and practice
For parenting education to work it must reach those whose parenting skills most need to be developed to make real changes in how they understand and respond to their children. The purpose of this report is to support the practical implementation of these strategic principles. Commissioned by West Wiltshire Pathways.
What works in parenting education? Parenting matters
Increasingly, parenting programmes are being cited as a solution to difficulties within families. But do they really work? And what results can be expected? This report reviews and analyses research and assess the effectiveness of programmes. It also includes an evaluation of programmes by the University of Washington for parents, children and teachers.
Download the summary for FREE
Buy this publication online
Why speak out against smacking? Questions and answers from the physical punishment debate
This booklet clearly sets out the argument against physical punishment of children. It sets out a practical case, as well as presenting the legal and moral sides of the issue.
Bereavement
Helping children manage bereavement
This handbook is to help families through experiences of loss by explaining the different ways that children may communicate their feelings about it. It includes simple, clear guidelines on what can help and support a child to go through the mourning process, and should serve to reduce any anxieties or concerns carers may have for their children when a loved one has died.
Download the handbook for FREE (PDF- English Version)
Download the handbook for FREE (PDF- Welsh Version)
A review of sibling bereavement
The report explores the impact of sibling bereavement and what types of professional interventions, if any, are effective in lessening detrimental effects.
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Do community based support services benefit bereaved children?
This review of empirical evidence looks at interventions outside a clinical setting and their impact on children’s well being.
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Missing Mum – A series of four stories
This series of four picture story books help young children affected by parental illness talk through worrying issues with a trusted adult. Throughout the stories are pages where children can list or draw their feelings and experiences. The set comprises of "Missing mum", "Maybe another day", "Getting to know Sandra" and "Tell me again what happens"; available separately or as a set.
Young carers
Family Minded: Supporting children in families affected by mental illness - June 2008
What is it like to be a child with a parent who is mentally ill - and how does barnardo's make a difference? This report looks at the issues involved and recommends changes to the help families are given.
Download the full report for FREE (PDF)
Other
Barnardo's/ Safer Gloucester report: Substance misusing parents and their children
A review of the support structures in Gloucester for substance misusing parents and their children. It identifies how current networks in the region operate and makes recommendations for coherent service co-ordination.
Download the full report for FREE (PDF)
Bilingual children/monolingual parents
What do young people think about interpreting for non English speaking parents, and others? How do they feel about doing this work, particularly in health settings like visiting a doctor or dentist? This report looks at their experiences.
Download the summary for FREE (PDF) Download the full report for FREE (PDF)
Building a better future: Disabled parents and their children
Disabled parents’ restricted access to employment, housing, transport, health care and educations can result in the social exclusion of their children. This discussion document explores issues such as how we can support children without undermining parents and how we can reduce the need for children to care for disabled relatives.
Download summary for FREE (PDF) Buy this publication online
Domestic abuse in Northern Somerset: a scoping exercise
This research, carried out by Barnardo’s Southwest in 2006 on behalf of North Somerset Crime and Drugs Partnership, scopes services for families experiencing domestic violence.
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Evaluation of Wiltshire school start service – work in progress
An evaluation of the programme of work carried out at home, pre-school and in school settings with children and their families. Measures of emotional and behavioural changes in programme participants are used to analyse the service achievements.
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FAIM Funday consultation report: what young people want from a foster care service - Summary
Creative methods were used to consult 27 children and young people looked after in Merseyside. The aim of Funday was to gather information to develop service protocols and inform the job description and person specification for foster carers.
Download the summary for FREE (PDF) Visit the FAIM microsite
Invisible children: child and family poverty in Bristol, Bath, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire
In revealing the extent of child and family poverty in the South West, using regional figures, this report goes beyond statistics. Through use of case studies it shows the impact of poverty in terms of family stress and the restriction of opportunities for many children. It goes on to examine Barnardo's services in this region, supporting national efforts to ensure the inclusion of all children into our wealthy society.
Sure Start Hartcliffe, Highridge and Withywood: Evaluation of the family link worker service
The main aim of this service is for a Family Link Worker to work alongside parents, empowering them to make choices about accessing services and changes they wish to make for themselves and their family. Precedence was given to parents under 25, families having their first child and vulnerable families.
Download the full report for FREE (PDF)
Young people of Pakistani origins and their families: implications for providing support to young people and their families
Presenting findings and discussing the policy and practice relevance of a three year qualitative research project that looked at the family values and practices central to the life and identify of young people of Pakistani origin. A Community Fund supported collaboration between Barnardo’s and the university of Leeds.
Download summaries for FREE: Findings for the Community (summary) (PDF) Findings for Professionals (summary) (PDF)
Download the full report for FREE (PDF)
