The new National Academy for Parenting Practitioners was launched on 21 November 2007. It is provided by Parenting UK, the Family and Parenting Institute, and Kings College London. 

The Academy will be a centre of excellence, providing training for those who support parents in the community and research on what methods work to support parents.

It will train practitioners working with parents in schools, health services, children’s services and beyond and support innovation and knowledge sharing.

Minister for Children, Young People and Families, Beverley Hughes said: "Parents increasingly seek help with bringing up their children and we want to be as supportive as we possibly can. The role a parent plays is integral to a child’s development and their future life chances, which is why we want to help parents get it right.

"This academy will be an international and national hub for the exchange of ideas and learning, providing the very latest research and training in supporting parents. It will ensure that our parenting practitioners can access the best possible information and help parents do the best they possibly can for their children."

Mary Crowley MBE, Chief Executive, Parenting UK, said: "The Academy will take a major step forward in ensuring that those who work with parents are trained for that purpose and meet National Occupational Standards. The Academy will help them access appropriate training and advice. They will be able to provide the kind of sensitive responsive help parents need to support them in the rewarding but demanding job of bringing up children. England is leading the world in creating this exciting national centre".

Mary MacLeod, Chief Executive, Family and Parenting Institute, said: "This is the next step in offering parents the right help at the right time as they raise their children. Since FPI launched in 1999, parents have told us they want tailored advice based on evidence and research when they face challenges in raising their children. So we are delighted to be working with King’s and Parenting UK to make sure the Academy will do the best job possible to inform and train those who work with parents".

Dr Stephen Scott, Head of the King’s College London Parenting Unit, commented: "King's is delighted to be hosting the Academy. It will bring its expertise in training practitioners in approaches proven to work in helping all parents bring the best out of their children. It will also carry out an ambitious top quality research programme to find out the best ways to help children and young people achieve their potential. This should help to raise further the standard of parenting support".

The National Academy for Parenting Practitioners will improve the quality of services for parents by raising the standard and consistency of practice and disseminating the evidence from research.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families aims to improve support for parents and outcomes for children by ensuring that all parents are aware of and can access high quality, evidence based parenting support delivered by qualified practitioners, when and if they need it.

The Academy will immediately begin to work towards:

• training, developing and supporting the parenting workforce, especially – but not exclusively - the trainers of practitioners and those who train trainers.
• acting as a national centre and source of advice on high quality academic research evidence on parenting and parenting support, combined with practical knowledge of what works and has worked in different situations and with different groups of people.
• supporting the government's objective to improve support for parents across the board. 

For further developments, please visit the Academy website.