For immediate release
The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) has awarded the Race Equality Foundation £152,126 in funding for an initial feasibility study of the Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities (SFSC) parenting programme. The study aims to determine if a large-scale impact evaluation of SFSC can be conducted to build evidence on effective approaches to prevent children from becoming involved in violence.
The SFSC programme will provide group parenting support over 13 weeks to parents of children aged 10-18 who are at risk of becoming involved in violence and crime. Delivered by trained practitioners, SFSC aims to improve family relationships, boost parenting skills and competence, and support children to avoid risky behaviours.
The feasibility study will be conducted by the Race Equality Foundation in partnership with University College London and City, University of London. It will assess the potential for undertaking a rigorous evaluation of the impact of SFSC on reducing youth offending, and will run until the middle of 2024. The learnings will inform the YEF’s decision on funding a future large-scale randomised control trial of the programme.
Leandra Box, SFSC Programme Manager said: “We believe that supporting families is critical in helping to keep children safe from violence. This feasibility study is an important step in building robust UK evidence on how parenting programmes like SFSC can strengthen families and reduce risks for children. We’re pleased to have been awarded this funding and look forward to working closely with our partners on this study.”
The YEF was launched in 2019 with a £200 million endowment from the Home Office to build evidence on effective approaches to youth violence prevention. The SFSC feasibility study is part of a £10 million YEF grant round delivered in partnership with Comic Relief focused on creating supportive home environments for children at risk.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
About the Youth Endowment Fund
The Youth Endowment Fund exists to prevent children and young people becoming
involved in violence. Their mission is to find out what works and build a movement to put this knowledge into practice. The fund was established in March 2019 by children’s charity Impetus, with a £200m endowment and ten-year mandate from the Home Office. For more information, please visit www.youthendowmentfund.org.uk.
About Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities
Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities is an inclusive evidence-based suite of parent programmes, designed to promote protective factors which are associated with good parenting, better outcomes for children and stronger co-parent relationships. The Youth Endowment Fund study will focus on a parenting programme for children aged 10-18 who are at risk of becoming involved in violence and crime
About the Feasibility Study
The £152,126 feasibility study aims to determine if a large-scale randomised control trial evaluating the impact of SFSC on youth offending outcomes can be undertaken. It is being conducted by Race Equality Foundation, University College London, and City, University of London.
Other YEF Funded Projects
The SFSC feasibility study is part of a £10 million YEF grant round focused on creating supportive home environments for at-risk children aged 6-14. Additional projects funded so far include:
- Tavistock Relationships for the Mentalization-Based Therapy: Parents Under Pressure programme
- Triple P for the Standard Teen Triple P parenting programme
- NSPCC for a feasibility study of the Domestic Abuse Recovering Together programme
- MST-UK & Ireland for feasibility studies of the Multisystemic Therapy – Child Abuse and Neglect programme
- Solace Women’s Aid for a feasibility study of the Emotion Coaching programme
