Schools need to provide:

• Information sessions for fathers and mothers of pupils joining Reception and on transfer to secondary school;
• Information about nationally and locally available sources of information, advice and support;
• Access to parenting groups using structured evidence based parenting programmes, e.g. Pippin or Share programmes, as well as more informal opportunities for parents to engage with the school and each other, and
• Family learning sessions to allow children to learn with fathers and mothers where there is a demand shown through consultation.

• Access to parenting support can be offered directly by schools or by signposting to other schools or third-party providers (in the voluntary, community or private sectors or in the Local Authority) as long as provision is within the local area and is suitable for those fathers and mothers who would benefit from it, being tailored to their needs if possible.
• Demand for formal parenting programmes must be met through approved manual-based approaches to parenting support.
• Where there is demand for a more informal offer to fathers and mothers, which might include activities such as cookery or ICT, schools should be providing access to this, often in partnership with the private and voluntary sector.
• Even where demand is not initially evident, schools should be working to ensure that fathers and mothers are engaged and feel able to ask for support if they need it.  Schools should be taking active steps to reach out to the most excluded parents to encourage them to take up parenting support, such as engaging them in informal activities initially.