A review of parenting support

This short literature review, undertaken over five days at the end of June 2017, examines the concept of the provision of support for parents 2, with the aim of ensuring the best possible start in life for all children. The report will, for reasons to be explained below, concentrate on support for parents in their children’s early years, and on mechanisms for universal support (e.g. not programmes meant to support families deemed to be vulnerable3). The report takes for granted the gap in achievement between children from different backgrounds, fully explored in other literature, and the fact that one of the best solutions for narrowing the gap is to support the home learning
environment (Desforges and Abouchaar 2003, Sylva, Melhuish et al. 2004, Save the Children 2013, Goodall 2017).