News Release issued by
the COI News Distribution Service on 23 September 2009
Young first time
mothers are being helped to improve the life chances of their
babies and fathers are more involved in the early years of their
children’s lives thanks to the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP)
programme, independent research published today has found
The second year evaluation report of the FNP programme by
University of London, Birbeck, which is joint between the
Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department
of Health, found that:
· Effective delivery is having a positive impact on some of the
most vulnerable young families in society;
· There are early signs that the programme is having a positive
effect on reducing smoking during pregnancy and increasing rates
of breastfeeding;
· Mothers value the programme and believe it has made a positive
difference to how they care for their baby and their own
aspirations for the future;
· Fathers involvement is especially high with more than half of
Fathers present for at least one pregnancy visit;
· A strong nurse-client relationship is key to its success – and
clients are overwhelmingly positive about their family nurses,
rating them on average 9 out of 10; and
· Nurses have reported that their clients are more confident as
parents, were playing with their children more, wanted to learn
and had aspirations for the future.
Family Nurse Partnership is a £36 million programme providing
intensive support for vulnerable first time young mothers and
their families. Specially trained nurses work with them from early
pregnancy until the child is two years old, building close
relationships and guiding them towards adopting healthy lifestyles
for themselves and their babies.
Schools Minister Vernon Coaker said:
“Today’s report offers us an invaluable insight into this
programme as we look to expand it across England. The report
builds on earlier findings that the Family Nurse Partnership
programme can have a positive impact on some of our most
vulnerable families.
“Becoming a parent is a life changing event and caring for a
child can sometimes be challenging. The Family Nurse Partnership
programme provides a new way of working with young parents who
need our help the most and I am pleased to see that it is
successfully offering young mothers and fathers access to the best
advice for making positive decisions for themselves and their families.”
Health Minister Ann Keen said:
“As a nurse myself, I know how this programme is at the heart of
our policy for improving the life chances of the most vulnerable
children and their families. There are now 40 test sites up and
running and we will have 50 by next January. Early signs show that
it is having a real impact on reducing smoking and improving
breast feeding rates for young mothers.
“I welcome this report, which shows that the Family Nurse
Partnership programme is continuing to be delivered well and is
having a real impact on some of the most vulnerable babies and
families in our society It gives us a real opportunity to prevent
some of our most vulnerable children facing a lifetime of
exclusion and failure.”
Notes to Editors
The Nurse-Family Partnership Programme: Implementation in
England Second year in 10 pilot sites: the infancy period by the
University of London, Berbeck can be found at
www.dcsf.gov.uk/publicationsThe 40 sites where the FNP programme
is currently running are:
o April 2007
§ Barnsley, County Durham and Darlington, Derby, Manchester,
Slough, Somerset, South East Essex, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and
Walsall.
o 2008
§ Birmingham South, Blackpool, Calderdale, Cornwall and the Isles
of Scilly, Coventry, Cumbria, Hastings and Rother, Hull,
Islington, Lambeth, Leeds, Liverpool, Milton Keynes,
Northamptonshire, Nottingham City, Plymouth, Southampton,
Stockport, Stoke on Trent and Sunderland;
o 2009
§ Birmingham (East and North), Bradford and Airedale,
Cambridgeshire, Doncaster, Ealing, Gateshead Tyne and Wear,
Hammersmith and Fulham ,Kirklees, Knowsley, Lewisham, Medway,
Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Sandwell, Sheffield, Swindon, Telford and
Wrekin , Waltham Forest and Wirral.
The Family Nurse Partnership is a joint Department of Health and
Department for Children, Schools and Families project, originally
announced as part of the Cabinet Office’s publication, ‘Reaching
Out: An Action Plan on Social Exclusion’.It is a licensed
programme with an extensive evidence base, and has been developed
over 30 years in the USA by Professor David Olds at the University
of Colorado. The Family Nurse Partnership programme was first
developed in the USA where the programme was proven to have
lasting health and wider impacts, such as reduction in children’s
injuries, improved school readiness, reductions in arrest and
criminal behaviour in both mothers and children 15 years on, as
well as economic benefits. It is currently being piloted in 40
sites across England, increasing to 50 by January 2010. The
Government’s aim is for this to increase to 70 by April 2011, with
a view to rolling it out across England over the next decade.
Early findings suggest the programme has delivered a 20 per cent
relative reduction in smoking during pregnancy and a breastfeeding
initiation rate of 63 per cent compared to a national rate of 53
per cent for this group. Today’s evaluation report only covers the
initial 10 pilot areas.
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk