The Best Practice in specialist parenting assessments

ParentAssess is the most widely-recognised and accepted specialist parenting assessment framework in the country. It embeds the relevant case law and is included in the Good Practice Guidance on Working with Parents with a Learning Disability.

99% of social workers who attend ParentAssess training would recommend it to others, and the vast majority say it exceeded their expectations.

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Reduce cost and delays in the assessment process

ParentAssess training is superb value for money. The ParentAssess framework can be used at any stage incluing proceedings or pre-proceedings, and is designed so assessment and teaching happens in parallel, significantly reducing assessment timescales.

The framework includes an addendum format which is simple and concise. Train the Trainer and running courses in-house significantly reduces costs for Local Authorities.

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Better for parents, better for children

ParentAssess was developed as the previous framework became outdated and was hard for parents to understand.

ParentAssess is a flexible framework that can be adapted to each parent to give them the best possible chance of changing and produces a parent-friendly version of the final report. At the same time, it keeps the experience of children, and the impact of their situation on them, at the centre of analysis and decision making.

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ParentAssess for Independent Social Workers

As the most widely-recognised and accepted specialist parenting assessment framework in the country, ParentAssess assessments are in high demand by the courts, local authorities and residential parenting centres. Most Local Authorities are now asking for ParentAssess.

Many Independent Social Workers (ISWs) have chosen to complete their ParentAssess training so they can offer these assessments, but also so they can develop their skills and knowledge in a specialist area of practice.

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ParentAssess for Organisations

ParentAssess is the most established parenting assessment framework in the country, offering a comprehensive training solution for all staff involved in supporting and assessing parents.

The flexibility of ParentAssess means it can be used with ANY parent. Most Local Authorities and many parenting assessment centres in England and Wales have now chosen ParentAssess as their preferred framework.

99% of social workers who attend ParentAssess training say they would recommend it to others. They particularly value the toolkit and ongoing support provided. Many say it strengthens their assessments and they feel more confident in their practice.

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ParentAssess for Legal Professionals

ParentAssess is now the most widely-recognised and accepted specialist parenting assessment framework in the Family Courts.

This specialist assessment has been designed to be inclusive and easy to understand for parents and has received excellent parent feedback. It is a transparent parenting assessment framework that makes clear what is expected of the parent, how they are progressing and how recommendations have been reached.

The outcome is provided using straightforward language and the Short Parent Report has been praised for its simplicity. ParentAssess enables legal professionals and the Courts to test the evidence provided.

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NEW ParentAssess Podcast

Meet the team and find out more about now the ParentAssess vision came to life in our new podcast – now live!

The Gabbie Cox Memorial Bursary

The ParentAssess team has set up the Gabbie Cox Memorial Bursary in 2025 to honour Gabbie’s life and contribution to social work.

Assessing parents – pre and post birth

For the purposes of this article we will refer to the parent as the person who is pregnant and births the child. Like any family undergoing...

Is simple language in our reports ‘professional’?

I completed my training in ParentAssess in 2021 and I was struck by a story Sarah Lowe relayed about why she had created the framework. She had been...

How listening to parents helped shape ParentAssess

Being assessed to see if you can continue to care for your child can be a very stressful time for any parent. It's hard to be open with a social...

Assessment Timescales

By Sarah Lowe, creator of ParentAssess and awarded the Social Worker of the Year 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award One of the questions I get asked...

Over 3,000 trained Assessors - and counting!

With free post-course support, an online toolkit, a raft of tools and guides, and with 99% of attendees on our Assessor course saying they would recommend it to others, ParentAssess training is a great investment for your career or your organisation. What are you waiting for?

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“Trainers were very informative and knowledgeable about different aspects of social care including children’s and adults which was helpful. They were happy to answer any questions and offer advice and guidance as and when needed. The course went at a good pace and trainers ensured the students understood all sections before moving on. Would definitely recommend the course!”

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If you’ve got any questions about the ParentAssess framework, process or our training courses we’d love to hear from you. Just fill out our contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

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