Family Nurse Partnership programme

About the Family Nurse Partnership programme

The Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) is an intensive, targetedtargeted, home-visiting programme for first-time young mothersparents. andIt families. The programme aims to improve children’s life chances.chances by supporting families during pregnancy and early childhood.

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FamilyBy nursesbuilding supporta mothersconsistent, enrolledtrusting inrelationship between the family nurse and parent, FNP to: 

• haveenables aparents healthyto pregnancy
• improveprovide theirsensitive child’sand health,responsive developmentcare andfor schooltheir readiness
• reachchildren. theirIn owndoing goalsso, andFNP aspirations

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How the

FNP’s programmealignment works

Familywith Nurseinitiatives Partnershipsuch teams recruitas first-timeBest mothersStart agedfor upLife toFamily 24Hubs inand linethe withdevelopment localof areaneighbourhood eligibilityhealth criteria. Theteams programmereinforces isits structuredrole andin personalisedintegrated, tofuture-facing reflectmodels theof strengthscare andthrough needsregular ofhome each individual.visits.

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How mother is partnered with a specially trained family nurse. The family nurse visits the motherprogramme regularlyworks

FNP fromteams earlyrecruit pregnancyfirst-time untilmothers their child is aged betweenup oneto and24 2.based Familyon nurseslocal provideeligibility acriteria. safe,The reflectiveprogramme spaceis fortailored mothers to processeach informationparent’s needs and guidancecircumstances building on keywhat areasthey relatingare toalready theirdoing pregnancy and parenthood.well.

FamilyBy nursesfocusing workon relationally,what supporting the young parent incan making positivedo changeswell, for themselves and their baby. By focusing on their strengths, FNP enables young parents to learn how to:

• developbuild astrong, goodresponsive relationshiprelationships with their child
• make and understandinformed choices to support their child’s needs
• make choicesdevelopment and that will give their child the best possible start in life
• believedevelop self-confidence and a belief in themselvestheir own ability to succeed
• mirrorapply the positive relationship they have with their family nurse withto othersother areas of life

WiderEach determinantsfamily ofis healthsupported playby a complexdedicated rolefamily innurse influencingwho futureprovides healthregular home visits from early pregnancy until the child is aged between 1 and wellbeing2. outcomes.These FNPvisits hascreate beena shownsupportive space to improvefocus vulnerableon children’spregnancy, development,parenting schooland readinesswider andpersonal earlydevelopment.

How educationalfamily attainment.nurses Thesework

Family improvementsnurses canbuild intrusted turnrelationships helpwith influenceyoung betterparents, long-termsupporting health,them wellbeingto make and economicsustain outcomes.positive    changes for themselves and their baby.

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• have evidencea behindhealthy thepregnancy
• improve programmetheir inchild’s thehealth, ‘Impactdevelopment ofand theschool FNPreadiness
• reach programme’their sectionown below.

  Innovationgoals and developmentaspirations

In oftheir thework programmewith young parents, family nurses:

The

• help FNPidentify programmeemerging needs, promote healthy behaviours and strengthen family resilience
• provide care in Englandhomes hasand seencommunities, continuedhelping innovation,reduce withreliance adaptationson testedacute services and incorporatedputting intoin theplace programmepreventative assupport improvementsclose to thewhere servicefamilies deliverylive
• support model.
  families to access trusted digital resources, enhancing engagement and empowering parents to make informed decisions

TheFamily ADAPTnurses (Acceleratedwork Designat andlocal Programmelevel Testing)alongside projectmulti-agency usedprofessionals rapid- cyclingincluding testingmidwives, tohealth adapt,visitors, testsocial workers and learnearly aboutyears thepractitioners FNP- programmeto inensure England.seamless, co-ordinated support for young families.

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Family teamsnurses haveare alsowell developedplaced youngto father-specificrecognise services,when withadditional onesupport schemeis inrequired Swindonand beingwork commendedclosely atwith thechildren’s Localsocial Governmentcare Chronicleto Awardsensure 2024.children Inare bothkept cases,safe, thewhile FNPcontinuing modelto supportsprovide goodthe governanceprogramme andthrough enhancedhome clinical quality.     visits.

DeliveryHow of the programme is provided

FNP is deliveredprovided under licence from the University of Colorado Denver.Denver, USA. The programme has been established in 8 countries.

FNP licencehas isbeen heldprovided in England since 2007. The licence is held by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

LicenceFNP licence requirements, including family nurse trainingtraining, quality assurance and programme data collectioncollection, andis analysis,overseen are delivered by the 0-190 to 19 Clinical Programmes Unit,Unit within the Department of Health of Social Care (DHSC). This means the programme is provided consistently, with local areas able to make changes to suit the needs of families in their area.

ImpactEvidence of thehow FNP programmebenefits parents and children

OverThe FNP is backed by over 40 years of international evidenceresearch showsand thatis recognised by the Early Intervention Foundation Guidebook for its strong evidence base.

The FNP programme can improvecontribute to improving children’s development and school readiness. Research has shown that the programme can have a positive impact on the development of some children’s cognitive skills (Kitman and others, 2019). This, in turn, can have a positive, life-long impact on health, socialwellbeing and educationaleconomic outcomesstability - an important factor in thetackling short,health mediumdisparities and longimproving term.life chances.

What FNP graduates and their family nurses think of the FNP programme

FNP graduates in Plymouth and their family nurses describe the benefits of the programme in this video:

InspiringVideo: inspiring stories from teenage mums helped by the FamilyFNP Nurse Partnership programme

Vicki, a graduate from Plymouth FNP, said:

I just don’t think I’d be here now if it wasn’t for the service. I come from quite a hard background - one of poverty. My family nurse got me out of being homeless and into a flat. She encouraged me to go back to college. Now I have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in literature and I’m currently doing a PhD.

Young parents and family nurses from Tameside also reflect on the FNP programme in this video:

FamilyVideo: Nurseyoung Partnership programme

The evidence base for FNP

The Early Intervention Foundation Guidebook summarises the evidence base for FNP.

The FNP programme can help young, vulnerable, first-time parents to provide sensitive and responsivefamily carenurses forfrom theirTameside children.reflect This in turn enhances the quality of their child’s daily life and contributes to improved child development and school readiness. Achievement in school can have a positive life-long impact on health and wellbeing, and economic stability. This is a key factor in tackling health disparities and improving life chances.

How the programme helps local systems

Commissioning the FNP programme supports local systems to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities by providing a personalised response for those children and families facing the highest levels of vulnerability.

Where the FNP programme is delivered in England

The Family Nurse Partnership programme is delivered locally by FNP teams across England. Each local team is made up of FNP supervisors, family nurses and quality support officers.

Find youra local FNP service

The FNP programme is delivered across England at the following locations:

• Barnsley
• Bath and North-East Somerset
• Bristol and South Gloucestershire
• Bromley
• Buckinghamshire
• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
• Cheshire East
• Cheshire West
• Coventry
• Dudley
• Ealing
• East Riding
• Gateshead
• Halton
• Hampshire
• Hounslow
• Lewisham
• Liverpool
• Norfolk
• Northamptonshire: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire
• Nottingham City
• Nottinghamshire
• Oxfordshire
• Plymouth
• Portsmouth
• Redbridge
• Shropshire
• Solihull
• Southampton
• Stockport
• Suffolk
• Sunderland
• Swindon
• Tameside and Glossop
• Telford and Wrekin
• Tower Hamlets
• Wakefield
• Waltham Forest
• Wandsworth
• Warrington
• Warwickshire North
• Warwickshire South and Rugby
• West Sussex
• Wiltshire
• Wirral

Benefits to local areas of commissioning FNP

Commissioning the FNP programme enables local systems to 19provide publictargeted, healthevidence-based offersupport to young families facing the highest levels of vulnerability.

Young parents - particularly those under 25 - remain one of the most disadvantaged groups in England, with poorer outcomes across health, education and economic stability.

The Centre for Young Lives 2025 report (State of the nation: identifying vulnerable children and young people asand partsupporting ofthem to thethrive) healthyshows childthat programme.over 920,000 young people aged 16 to 24 are not in education, employment or training (NEET), a group in which young parents are significantly overrepresented.

BackedThese byoverlapping 40vulnerabilities yearsplace young parents and their children at heightened risk of internationalpoor supportoutcomes. andFNP evidence,offers asa outlinedstructured, relational intervention that builds trust, strengthens parents’ confidence in ‘Impacttheir ofown theabilities and improves early childhood development - helping to reduce inequalities and support long-term resilience.

Commissioning FNP programme’also above,supports delivery of the 0 to 19 public health specialist offer as part of the healthy child programme. FNP teams canwork supportcollaboratively localwith systemshealth and care colleagues to improve outcomes and reduce inequalitiesdisparities, bycontributing workingto withintegrated youngcare, first-timesafeguarding parents and collaboratingthe withambition healthto andraise carethe colleagues.healthiest generation of children.

Statement from Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council said:Council:

One of the greatest pleasures of commissioning the Family Nurse Partnership programme is seeing all the young womenparents whograduate havewith graduatedconfidence and howindependence. they have developed into confident and independent parents.  

The learning from the programme has allowedhelped us tostrengthen further develop our universal services toand better support young parentsfamilies beyond graduation.

Monitoring and reporting

The FNP information information system collectscaptures real-time data on delivery,programme provision, client characteristics and programme outcomes. This enablessupports strategic decision-making about service-planningservice-planning, commissioning and commissioning.continuous improvement.

Building workforce capacity

FNP teams sharecontribute learningto and skills with the wider maternity and early years workforce.workforce Theyby contributesharing toexpertise, service development by enhancing existing pathways orand developingco-developing new onesapproaches for supporting vulnerable families. Their relationship-based approach and specialist training strengthen local service integration and quality.

National support and training

The FNP in England is nationally supported by the 0-190 to 19 Clinical Programmes Unit,Unit partwithin of DHSC. TheThis 0-19central Clinicalsupport Programmesis Unitprovided providesat no cost to local authoritiesauthorities.

The atunit noensures cost:consistent, high-quality provision of the programme by offering:

• FNPcomprehensive training for family nurses and supervisors,supervisors - this is consistently rated as transformative by practitioners and is recognised for improving clinical confidence, relationship-based practice and outcomes for young parents
• programme materials and ongoing clinical support, including access to national guidance documents and a dedicated learning platform to consolidate mandatory training and support continuous professional development
• a comprehensivenational clinical data and reporting systemsystem, enabling robust monitoring, evaluation and strategic planning
• quality assurance and improvement frameworks, supporting consistent provision of the programme model and enhancing local governance
• expert advice, implementation support and national leadership, ensuring FNP teams are equipped to provide the programme effectively and adaptively within local systems

Funding

TheFNP is provided through a co-funded model that supports both local authorityflexibility fundsand national consistency.

Local authorities fund the operational costs of an FNP teamteams to deliver the service through the public health grant. This includes staffing, supervision and local delivery infrastructure.

DHSC meetscentrally funds the programme licence costand inthe England0 to 19 Clinical Programmes Unit, which provides national training, guidance, quality assurance and fundsdata infrastructure at no cost to local areas.

This funding model ensures that local systems can access a high-quality, evidence-based programme without bearing the 0-19cost Clinicalof Programmesnational Unit.infrastructure.

Find

It outalso moreenables aboutconsistent commissioningprovision across England while allowing for local adaptation and innovation.

Innovation and development of the programme

FNP in England continues to evolve through innovation and service improvement. The Accelerated Design and Programme Testing (ADAPT) project used rapid testing cycles to refine and strengthen programme provision.

ToSome commissionFNP theteams have developed enhanced pathways for vulnerable parents not eligible for FNP, orensuring formore informationfamilies aboutreceive buildingtargeted workforcesupport. capacityOthers inhave yourcreated system,father-specific email:services. 0-19clinicalprogrammesunit@dhsc.gov.uk.These developments reflect FNP’s commitment to inclusive practice, clinical quality and responsive service design.

References

FullKitman guidanceand toothers, supportPrenatal theand commissioningInfancy ofNurse theHome FamilyVisiting Nurseand Partnership18-Year programmeOutcomes of a Randomized Trial , includingPediatrics theDecember model2019, specification,Volume is4, alsoIssue available.6: e20183876