Universal parenting programme provision in England : barriers to parent engagement in the CANparent trial, 2012-2014

The CANparent trial, 2012-2014, was a government initiative in 4 English areas designed to develop a market in universal parenting support. 14 parenting class providers offered classes to all parents of children aged 0-5 in the areas. In 3 areas, all eligible parents received £100 vouchers exchangeable for a parenting class. Pre-trial planning was that take-up would amount to 20,000 parents. However only 14% of these parents took advantage of the offer. This article utilises 42 interviews with providers, and 2 parent surveys over 2 time periods (n=1510 and n=1603) to review barriers to engagement with universal parenting support programmes