The National Academy for Parenting Practitioners is a centre of training, research and knowledge exchange, promoting best practice for parenting practitioners. We build on knowledge of what works, equip practitioners with skills and knowledge and inform parenting policy.
The Academy was set up in October 2007, a year after the Government announced its plan to establish a national academy for parenting. This was part of the Government's Respect agenda, which aims to improve outcomes for young people and to reduce anti-social behaviour.
Our founding organisations, the Family and Parenting Institute (FPI); Parenting UK; and King's College, London, formed a consortium to respond to the Government's invitation to tender and in March 2007, were awarded a grant to set up the Academy.
The Academy is now a separately constituted, charitable company limited by guarantee. We are governed by a board of trustees, chaired by Hilton Dawson.
Chair: Hilton Dawson
Hilton is Chair of the Academy and a development consultant for children's services. A former social worker, Hilton was also the Labour member of Parliament for the Lancashire constituency of Lancaster and Wyre from 1997 until 2005. He is a member of the Council of the Hansard Society, a professional advisor to A National Voice, the patron of AFRUCA (Africans Unite Against Child Abuse) and an honorary fellow of UNICEF. Hilton was a member of the Carlile Inquiry into the treatment of young people in custody.
The Academy's trustees are:
- Dame Jane Roberts DBE, Chair of Parenting UK and a former leader of Camden Council
- Professor Eric Taylor, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
- Professor Janet Walker, Emeritus Professor of Family Policy, Centre for Family Studies, Newcastle University
- Mark Molden, Director, Care for the Family
- Professor Phillip Whitfield, King's College London
- Doctor John Coleman OBE, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, Oxford University
- Salima Hafejee, Bradford Youth Development Partnership
- Hetty Einzig, lead trainer and senior consultant for Performance Consultants
- Simon Goodall CBE
- Laurence Benson, Institute Secretary, King’s College London
- Laurie Edmans, Non-executive Director of the Pensions Regulator
Our executive officers are:
Chief Executive Officer: Angela Sibson
Angela is committed to research, education and service and skills delivery. She previously led Relate, the UK's leading relationship support agency and the Mothers Union, the largest international women's development organisation which has over one million members.
Director of Research: Dr Stephen Scott
Stephen is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He trained as a paediatrician, working at Great Ormond Street Hospital, before moving to the Institute of Psychiatry in 1990. He helped set up, and edited, the Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health and co-authored the text book 'Child Psychiatry'.
Professor of Parenting: Mark Dadds
Mark is Professor of Psychology at the University of New South Wales and joined the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, as Foundation Chair of Parenting Sciences in 2008. His research involves developing and evaluating treatments for children and their families and he has directed several national family intervention programmes in Australia. A recipient of numerous awards, Mark also serves on the editorial boards of a number of international journals.