Strengthening Family Relationships (SFR)

There is strong evidence that frequent, intense and poorly resolved parental conflict can have a negative impact on children’s mental health and long-term life-chances.

Strengthening Family Relationships practitioner training – upskills practitioners with the knowledge and tools to support parents experiencing conflict.

The SFR parents workshop covers:

• how to identify types of parental conflict
• impact on of parental conflict on the wellbeing of children and parents
• guidance to help parents manage conflict and improve communication.

Watch the voice of the child video

Being exposed to conflict can have a negative impact on children’s long-term outcomes.

Children exposed to frequent conflict are more likely to:

• Experience depression or anxiety
• Have physical health problems
• Develop behaviour problems
• Do worse at school
• Struggle with peer relationships
• Be prone to substance misuse, criminality, homelessness, self-harm and suicidality
• County Lines
• Being at risk of radicalisation
• A survey of over 42,000 children being seen in Children and Young People’s IAPT services has shown that ‘family relationship problems’ are the biggest single presenting factor, being implicated in over 50% of referrals. *

*Wolpert, M (2017) Outcomes for children and young people seen in specialist mental health services.

Conflict is a choice. How you handle it shapes your child’s sense of security and emotional well-being.

Next steps:

• Attend the SFR professional training – we can bring the training to your team at no cost
• Refer parents to the SFR parents' workshop through any of the following:
  • Direct them to the KCC Strengthening Family Relationships website to register for a workshop of their choice
  • Share the SFR workshop flyer (PDF, 436.2 KB)
  • Share the QR code below.

For questions email sfr@kent.gov.uk.