The Solihull Approach (Understanding Your Child's Behaviour)
Note on provider involvement: This provider has agreed to EIF’s terms of reference, and the assessment has been conducted and published with the full cooperation of the programme provider.
The Solihull Approach Parenting Group (also known as Understanding Your Child’s Behaviour) is a universal parenting intervention for any parent with a child between the ages of 0 and 18.
Parents attend 10 weekly two-hour sessions for groups of 12 parents. Parents identify personal goals and the strategies that will help meet them, and reflect on their child’s behaviour and their relationship with their child.
The Solihull Approach emphasises containment, reciprocity and behaviour management. The programme begins with a home visit, where parents are expected to identify personal goals. Parents then monitor their progress in relation to the goals originally identified at the first home visit. Parents can be signposted into more intensive programmes if it is felt that their needs are not being met.
EIF Programme Assessment
The Solihull Approach (Understanding Your Child's Behaviour) has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome, but we cannot be confident that the programme caused the improvement.
What does the evidence rating mean?
Level 2 indicates that the programme has evidence of improving a child outcome from a study involving at least 20 participants, representing 60% of the sample, using validated instruments.
This programme does not receive a rating of 3 as its best evidence is not from a rigorously conducted RCT or QED evaluation.
A rating of 1 indicates that a programme has a low cost to set up and deliver, compared with other interventions reviewed by EIF. This is equivalent to an estimated unit cost of less than £100.
Child outcomes
According to the best available evidence for this programme's impact, it can achieve the following positive outcomes for children:
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour
This programme also has evidence of supporting positive outcomes for couples, parents or families that may be relevant to a commissioning decision. Please see About the evidence for more detail.
The Solihull Approach (Understanding Your Child's Behaviour)
Key programme characteristics
Who is it for?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to the following age-groups:
- Infants
- Toddlers
- Preschool
How is it delivered?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to implementation through these delivery models:
- Group
Where is it delivered?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to its implementation in these settings:
- Children's centre or early-years setting
- Primary school
- Out-patient health setting
The programme may also be delivered in these settings:
- Home
- Secondary school
- Sixth-form or FE college
- Community centre
- In-patient health setting
How is it targeted?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to its implementation as:
- Universal
Where has it been implemented?
Barbados, England, Ghana, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Portugal, Scotland, United Kingdom, United States, Wales, Ireland
UK provision
This programme has been implemented in the UK.
UK evaluation
This programme’s best evidence includes evaluation conducted in the UK.
Spotlight sets
EIF includes this programme in the following Spotlight sets:
- Parenting programmes with violence reduction outcomes
The Solihull Approach (Understanding Your Child's Behaviour)
About the programme
What happens during delivery?
How is it delivered?
- The Solihull Approach is delivered by two practitioners, one with QCF-6 level qualifications, and the other with QCF-3 qualifications.
- The intervention is delivered to groups of up to 12 families (though other delivery formats are available).
- The Solihull Approach is delivered over 10 sessions, of two hours’ duration each.
What happens during the intervention?
- The Solihull Approach emphasises containment, reciprocity and behaviour management.
- The programme begins with a home visit, where parents are expected to identify personal goals.
- Once parents identify personal goals and the strategies that will help meet them, they reflect on their child’s behaviour and their relationship with their child.
- Parents then monitor their progress in relation to the goals originally identified at the first home visit.
- Parents can be signposted into more intensive programmes if it is felt that their needs are not being met.
What are the implementation requirements?
Who can deliver it?
- The first practitioner who delivers this programme is a Child and family practitioner (from health visitor to Children's Centre family worker) with a Recommended QCF 6 level qualification.
- The second practitioner who delivers this programme is a Child and family practitioner (from health visitor to Children's Centre family worker) with a Recommended QCF 3 level qualification.
What are the training requirements?
- The practitioners have 21 hours of programme training. Booster training of practitioners.
How are the practitioners supervised?
- It is recommended that practitioners are supervised by one host agency supervisor (qualified to QCF 6) with 21 hours of programme training.
What are the systems for maintaining fidelity?
- Training manual
- Other printed material
- Other online material
- Face-to-face training
- Supervision
- Accreditation or certification process
- Booster training
- Fidelity training
Is there a licensing requirement?
There is no licence required to run this programme.
How does it work? (Theory of Change)
How does it work?
- The Solihull Approach is based on the assumption that emotional containment is necessary for parents to understand their own behaviour and the behaviour of their child.
- Parents learn strategies for containing their emotions and the emotions of their child. Parents also learn to respond reciprocally to their child’s needs.
- In the short term, parents choose more effective parenting strategies and engage more positively with their child; children’s behaviour improves.
- In the long term, parents are less anxious, children are at reduced risk of behavioural problems, do better at school and have a better relationship with their parents.
Intended outcomes
Enhancing school achievement & employment
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour
Contact details
The Solihull Approach (Understanding Your Child's Behaviour)
About the evidence
The Solihull Approach’s most robust evidence comes from one pre-post study and one comparison group study conducted in the UK.
These studies identified statistically significant positive impact on a number of child and parent outcomes.
This programme is underpinned by two studies with a Level 2 rating, hence the programme receives a Level 2 rating overall.
Study 1
| Citation: | Bateson et al (2008) |
|---|---|
| Design: | Pre/post |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Sample: | 39 parents with a child aged four or younger |
| Timing: | Post-test |
| Child outcomes: | Improved child behaviour |
| Other outcomes: | Reduced anxiety |
| Study rating: | 2 |
Bateson, K., Delaney, J., & Pybus, R. (2008). Meeting Expectations: the pilot evaluation of the Solihull Approach Parenting Group. Community Practitioner, 81 (5), 28-31.
Available at
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18549120
Study design and sample
The first study is a pre-post study.
Outcomes were assessed before the intervention was delivered and immediately after the intervention was delivered.
This study was conducted in the UK, with a sample of 39 parents with a child aged four or younger.
Measures
Child behaviours (internalising/externalising problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, peer relationship difficulties) were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (parent report) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (parent report).
Parental anxiety was measured using Becks Anxiety Inventory for Adults (parent report).
Findings
This study identified statistically significant positive impact on one child outcome, specifically: improved behaviour.
The conclusions that can be drawn from this study are limited by methodological issues pertaining to a lack of a comparison group, hence why a higher rating is not achieved.
Study 2
| Citation: | Douglas, H., & Johnson, R.A. 2019 |
|---|---|
| Design: | Comparison group study |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Sample: | Families recruited from Wrexham, Wales and Solihull, where majority of children were under 11 years old, and the vast majority were female. |
| Timing: | Post-test |
| Child outcomes: |
Improved prosocial behaviour
Reduced conduct problems |
| Other outcomes: | Reduced parental anxiety Reduced parental stress Improved closeness in the parent-child relationship Reduced conflict in the parent-child relationship |
| Study rating: | 2 |
Douglas, H., & Johnson, R. A randomised controlled trial of the Solihull Approach ten-week group for parents: ‘Understanding your child’s behaviour’(UYCB). Children, 5, 19-2.
Study design and sample
This study is a comparison group study.
This study involved assigning participants to the intervention (223 children), or to a wait-list control (26 children). Families were assigned to groups on the basis of the time at which they expressed interest in joining a Solihull Approach group throughout the year. If contact was made before week 2 of a group starting at the venue of their choice, parents were assigned to the experimental group and undertook the intervention. If contact was made after week 2 but more than 10 weeks before the next group was due to start, parents were assigned to the control group, with a view to attending an intervention group at the beginning of the following term.
The study was conducted in the UK, with a sample of families recruited from Wrexham, Wales and Solihull, where majority of children were under 11 years old (79%), and the vast majority were female (92.4%)
Measures
Child behaviour was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (parent report).
Parental emotional health was measured using the Depression Anxiety Stress scale (parent self-report).
The parent-child relationship was measured using the Child Parent Relationship Scale (parent report).
Findings
This study identified statistically significant positive impact on a number of parent and child outcomes.
This includes improved prosocial behaviour and reduced conduct problems.
The conclusions that can be drawn from this study are limited by methodological issues pertaining to unequivalent groups, attrition, and a lack of ITT design, hence why a higher rating is not achieved.
Other studies
The following studies were identified for this programme but did not count towards the programme's overall evidence rating. A programme receives the same rating as its most robust study or studies.
Baladi, R., Johnson, R., & Law, G. A pre, post and follow-up evaluation of the Understanding Your Child’s Behaviour (UYCB) group: A parenting group intervention based on the Solihull Approach.
Bateson, K., Delaney, J., & Pybus, R. (2008). Meeting Expectations: the pilot evaluation of the Solihull Approach Parenting Group. Community Practitioner, 81, 28- 31 - This reference refers to a pre-post study, conducted in the UK.
Cabral, J. (2013). The value of evaluating parenting groups: a new researcher’s perspective on methods and results. Community Practitioner, 86, 30-33 - This reference refers to a pre-post study, conducted in the UK.
Smith, R. (2013). An uncontrolled, pre, post and follow-up evaluation of the Understanding Your Child’s Behaviour (UYCB) group: A parenting group intervention based on the Solihull Approach. Unpublished doctoral dissertation - This reference refers to a pre-post study, conducted in the UK.
Wilson, H., & Johnson, R. (2012). Parents’ evaluation of ‘Understanding your Child’s Behaviour’, A parenting group based in the Solihull Approach, Community Practitioner, 85, 29-33.
Published April 2024