Research in Practice, part of the NCB family, is proud to announce that we are the new home of the Working Together with Parents Network. The free-to-join UK-wide membership network offers support for professionals working with parents with learning disabilities and learning difficulties, and their children.
The Working Together with Parents Network has more than 1,000 members and engages with key professional stakeholders from adult and children’s social care, education, health, legal and independent advocacy sectors to work towards a common vision and effective ways of joint working.
Following 18 years at the School for Policy Studies at Bristol University, Research in Practice will now lead the network. We aim to raise awareness of the issues that parents face and improve ways that parents with learning disabilities and learning difficulties are supported.
We are proud to introduce a new website, hosting resources such as:
- Good Practice Guidance on Working with Parents with a Learning Disability;
- Research outputs designed to support work with parents;
- Dedicated films exploring the key issues in family court proceedings.
News and updates will be featured on the website and members will also be able to share resources.
It's free to become a member!
Welcome to the Working Together with Parents Network
Network members are welcome to join a free webinar on 10 April 2025 at 14:00 –16:00. We will showcase the new website and provide an opportunity to meet the Working Together with Parents Network policy officer Melika Malone-Lee, researcher Beth Tarleton and fellow network members.
Our expertise
NCB has supported networks, programmes and specialist interest groups for over 60 years to drive change to improve the systems that support children, young people and their support networks. With expertise in building connections between policy, research and practice, NCB brings together lived and learned experience and convenes alliances across sectors.
Research in Practice has almost 30 years’ experience working with and for professionals in the social care, health, criminal justice and higher education sectors offering evidence informed resources, learning opportunities, programmes, and specialist expertise.
Together, NCB and Research in Practice look forward to using our combined expertise to elevate the network’s national visibility and ability to influence government, push for systems change and support practice improvement with parents.
Research in Practice, part of the National Children’s Bureau, is a national leader in evidence-informed practice and we are pleased to become the new home of the Working Together with Parents Network. Research in Practice has been working to support the use of evidence in social care for over 20 years. We have an existing network of Research in Practice partners, and we are bringing learning from this network into supporting Working Together with Parents Network.
For 18 years, researchers at Bristol University, including Beth Tarleton, have been trailblazers in researching the issues facing parents with learning disabilities and learning difficulties, campaigning for national policy development, and supporting professionals working with these parents. Research by Tarleton and colleagues (2018) shows that supporting these parents with their parenting role facilitates them parent their children confidently and successfully. Subsequent research by Tarleton and Tilbury (2023) also highlights that these parents need scaffolding in order to learn and develop the skills they need to successfully parent. Research in Practice has been working with Beth Tarleton to support two projects exploring the experiences of parents who have a learning disability.
With our existing links with researchers, national policy makers, local leaders and practitioners, Research in Practice is uniquely placed to support network members and national policy makers to develop national policy and support practice development to ensure the rights of parents with learning disabilities and learning difficulties are upheld.
Lisa Smith
Deputy Director at Research in Practice
The Working Together with Parents Network was hosted by the University of Bristol for 18 years. Research undertaken at the university has directly supported the network’s aims, which are: campaigning to make sure these parents have the support they need and updating good practice guidelines and sharing good practice with and between professionals working with this group of parents.
The network is now moving to Research in Practice at the National Children’s Bureau. They are perfectly placed to take the network forward as they are national leaders in evidence-informed practice and can ensure that the social workers, local authorities and policy makers they work with are aware of parents with disabilities and learning difficulties right to support.
Beth Tarleton
Senior lecturer, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol
Beth Tarleton, Senior lecturer, School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol, on the transfer of the Working Together with Parents Network to Research in Practice, part of the NCB family.