You may be feeling:

😟 Anxiety
😢 Grief or loss
😠 Anger or frustration
😕 Uncertainty about the future

Support available for parents:

• Talking Therapies :: Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

• We're Mind, the mental health charity | Mind
  Staffordshire Connects | Adult Mental Health Services - South Staffordshire

• Staffordshire Connects | Adult Community Mental Health Teams - North Staffordshire

• Online parenting courses - Coram Family Lives

Support available for children and young people:

• Activities - SCVYS Staffordshire Council of Voluntary Youth Services

• Staffordshire Connects | Chat Health - health and wellbeing advice text service

• Family Relationships - Combined Wellbeing

• Home - Kooth

• Book Your Direction - Rise above Parental Separation

You may need to consider:

• Housing

• Finances

• Benefits

• Employment

• Child maintenance

• Legal information

Support Available

• Housing | Staffordshire County Council

• Debt and money - Citizens Advice

• Universal Credit explained - Move to Universal Credit

• Contact Jobcentre Plus: How to contact Jobcentre Plus - GOV.UK

• Child Maintenance Service: What child maintenance is - GOV.UK

• Family hubs | Staffordshire County Council

Creating a plan together can provide consistency and stability.

Think About:

🏠 Where your child will live

📅 Time with each parent

🎂 Birthdays and holidays

🏫 School arrangements

🏥 Health needs

📱 Communication

Ask Yourself:

• What does my child need most right now?

• How can we reduce conflict?

• How can we provide stability?

Links:

• Find ways to make your child arrangements - GOV.UK

• Family Mediation Voucher Scheme - GOV.UK

• Child arrangements | Advicenow

Consider support before court where appropriate:

1️⃣ Direct discussions

2️⃣ Family support services

3️⃣ Mediation

4️⃣ Legal advice

5️⃣ Court as a last resort

Court

The court's primary concern is the welfare and best interests of the child.

Helpful Resources

• The short videos entitled ‘Before you apply to court’ and ‘Alternatives ways of resolving family disputes’ are available on the Midlands Family Justice YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtk_X8Uli4krJVGlhpvqZ4tEBBPWDqXyHHow Cafcass can help you | Cafcass

• Making an application: children and the family courts - GOV.UK

• Going to the family court | Advicenow

• Local support through Community Legal Companion Service CLOCK - Home Page

Separation is not a single event but a process.

By accessing support, focusing on your child's needs, and seeking help when needed, you can create a positive future for your family.

Children thrive when they feel loved, secure and free from parental conflict.

Building a Positive Co-Parenting Relationship

Focus on:

❤️ Supporting children's relationships with important people 🤝 Respectful communication

📈 Reviewing arrangements as children grow

🏆 Celebrating progress

These resources can help you develop new skills and strategies for managing the challenges of family life, including effective communication, emotional wellbeing, problem-solving, and supporting their children's development. Hearing from professionals and other parents can provide reassurance, encouragement, and practical ideas that can be applied in everyday situations.

Whether you are newly separated or have been co-parenting for some time, this resource can provide useful guidance, reassurance, and support to help create better outcomes for both parents and children.

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mpft

The research-backed relationship tools every couple needs to hear.

In this episode, Mel sits down with Drs. John and Julie Gottman, the world’s leading relationship researchers, to reveal what really makes love last. 

You’ll learn why the first 3 minutes of conflict matter, the 4 behaviours that quietly drive couples apart, and the small moments that make your partner feel loved — or alone. 

Whether you’re married, dating, single, divorced, or feeling like roommates, this conversation gives you the tools to reconnect.

The Relationship Advice That Everyone Needs - Mel Robbins

Here's a short video to show the impact of harmful parental conflict on children and young people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJaVKTIjtOU&list=PLNJzVOiM7F-I_RZH8TFOj_xqnGjgrlC1n&index=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC8SGofBTf0

For most families:

• Low conflict: Google Calendar or Cozi Family Organizer | Shared Calendar, Lists & More

• Moderate conflict: AppClose: Court-Ordered Co-Parenting App | Custody & Calls

• High conflict or court involvement: OurFamilyWizard | The Best Coparenting

Between Us is an app designed to help you have a better relationship with your partner now or in the future.

Healthy Parental Relationships

You can access our free recorded 1-hour webinar exploring Parental Conflict. This overview of Parental Conflict, it’s impact on children and young people, how it differs from Domestic Abuse and how relational curiosity will enable you to support families in their communication and relationships. This webinar can be viewed independently or in a group setting E.G. team meeting, training session.

eLearning : FREE-Reducing-Parental-Conflict---Stage-1

eLearning : FREE-Reducing-Parental-Conflict---Stage-2

Parental conflict sits below the threshold of domestic abuse and does not involve any control, coercion, emotional, psychological, physical, economic or sexual violence and abuse or threatening behaviour in order to control another person.

Domestic abuse is not a one-off incident, but an ongoing pattern of behaviour in their relationship. Offering help to all those affected by domestic abuse in Staffordshire or Stoke-on-Trent, New Era provides free and confidential support for victims, perpetrators and their families.

New Era - support for children - Staffordshire Connects

New Era - services for perpetrators - Staffordshire Connects

New Era - support for victims - Staffordshire Connects

Call 999 if you or someone you know is in immediate danger

Living with Mum and Living with Dad: My Two Homes

Mum and Dad Glue

The Kids Book of Family Changes

Two Homes filled with Love: A Story about Divorce and Separation

Stuck in the Middle: A Story about Separation (Difficult Conversations)

Two Homes