Family support initiative improves children's behaviour, finds study

Research into the Improving Futures programme, launched by the Big Lottery Fund in March 2011, shows that the number of problems present in families engaging with one of the 26 pilot projects had fallen by around a quarter since involvement.

The average family involved in the programme saw the number of risk factors in their life fall from eight to six, with nearly two-thirds of the risk factors measured seeing a reduction in prevalence.

The analysis of the programme’s second year of delivery revealed that the biggest reduction in problems was a 49 per cent reduction in children with persistent, disruptive and violent behaviour; while there was a 35 per cent fall in the levels of parental anxiety and frustration.

Families in receipt of free school meals appeared to benefit most from involvement, with this group making the biggest strides in reducing worklessness, seeing children participate regularly in sport or leisure activities, and improving their daily routines (regular bedtimes, mealtimes and school routines).

However, the projects – which see voluntary organisations work alongside statutory providers – failed to show any evidence of reducing levels of adult smoking, mental health problems or those with no qualifications.

Projects worked with families for five and a half months delivering 34 hours of support on average, however some were helped for more than a year.

The analysis by Ecorys UK, Ipsos MORI, the University of Nottingham and Parenting UK concluded there was a close link between outcomes and the length of time a family engaged with projects.

The report states: “Overall, families made more progress against most strengths and risks if they had been involved in the programme for more than three months.