Do Parents/Carers Feel Supported? Evaluating the Landscape of Parent/Carer Services in a City in North West England

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Parr, E orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-9794-503X, Holmes, S, Becerra Martel, D, Hakija, J, Wills, R, Fung, WK and Mackenzie, L (2025) Do Parents/Carers Feel Supported? Evaluating the Landscape of Parent/Carer Services in a City in North West England. Family Sciences, 1 (2). ISSN 3042-6693

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Open Access URL: https://www.mdpi.com/3042-6693/1/2/12 (Published Version)

Abstract

There have been many evaluations of specific parent programs, but there is minimal evidence of evaluation of the broader landscape of established advice or support services for parents of children under 18 years old. This paper investigates parent/carer perceptions of support services in their case study city. We explore and examine their perspectives on existing support services and how far they are meeting their needs. Through a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with parents and carers from across the city, a range of key themes emerged. These included the supportive environment and positive ethos of services accessed, lack of trust in some professionals, and perceived gaps in provision, highlighting the need for more activities, support, and accessible information, especially for families with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). These findings underscore the complexity of navigating the landscape of support services and advocate for more coordinated, accessible, and trustworthy support systems for parents and carers.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
L Education > L Education (General)
R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > RJ101 Child Health. Child health services
Divisions: Education
Publisher: MDPI
Date of acceptance: 23 November 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access: 1 December 2025
Date Deposited: 01 Dec 2025 11:11
Last Modified: 08 Jan 2026 12:03
URI: https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27651
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