parents and children – Lancashire & South Cumbria Library Blog

Attachment and caregiving in families with parental learning disabilities

Parents with learning difficulties often face significant challenges that contribute to their overall disadvantage. Research shows these parents are over-represented in child welfare systems, with international estimates suggesting that 40-60% of their children are removed from their care at some point.

While safeguarding concerns remain central, these figures raise important questions about how parenting capacity is assessed and how parents are supported. We explore this further in our latest blog from the Working Together with Parents Network.

Link: Attachment and caregiving in families with parental learning disabilities | Research in Practice

from Research in Practice

Norfolk’s Family Help model:

Championing Families First Partnerships

The Families First Partnership programme aims to transform how support for families is delivered across England. This includes implementing Family Help and multi-agency child protection reforms and increasing support for family networks.

In a new blog, Jen Dewar, Assistant Director for Family Help, Care and Protection within Norfolk Children’s Services, shares Norfolk’s Family Help model, an approach that aims to provide more responsive, inclusive family support. She outlines key elements of Norfolk’s model and the impact this has had on practice.

Following an Ofsted inspection in February 2026, Norfolk Children’s Services was graded as outstanding across all five categories. The report, published in May, highlights the successful implementation of the Family Help model.

from Research in Practice

Public Health

Current awareness updates

A Women’s Health Agenda: Redressing the Balance.
Public Policy Projects; 2022.
[This report highlights the importance of embracing a culture of change in the design and delivery of women’s health to achieve national systems and local services fit to meet the expectations and needs of the 21st century woman. It sets out recommendations, founded on common sense and rooted in the belief that women should be in control of their own bodies.]

Making self-harm everyone’s business: a consideration of the new national guideline.
Clough I. British Journal of Healthcare Management 2022;28(3):58-60.
[This article discusses the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s consultation and draft guideline on self-harm management, placing the recommendations in the context of ongoing pressures on NHS services and the UK’s growing mental health crisis.]

Guidelines for using online therapeutic interventions.
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR); 2022.
[A team of researchers at the University of Sussex have launched a set of guidelines to help practitioners provide better support to parents and children accessing mental health services online. The guidelines include: Advice on planning, ground rules and strategies for practitioners; Points on support, information governance & policy guidance; What clients need to consider when accessing online services; Guidance on working online with groups of people.]