Project Team Present at Inaugural International Child and Family Conference 

Project team members join the discussion and debate at an important new conference, concerned with children, childhoods and family life.

The inaugural International Child and Family Conference, organised by the Children and Families Research Centre, took place at the University of Bristol between 17-19 June 2025. Over three lively full days, packed with panels, workshops and keynote addresses, the conference engaged with a diverse range of topics and themes. Conference delegates represented an array of disciplines, all concerned with research, practice and policy making related to children rights, childhood, family welfare and family life. 

Keynote speeches were delivered by prominent scholars in the area, including Professor Esther Dermott, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy & Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Bristol, Professor Tatek Abebe, Professor of Childhood Studies at the Norwegian University of Sciences and Technology, and Mr James Bury, Interim Managing Director of CoramBAAF and Coram Family & Childcare, UK. Amongst the key themes and priorities that were highlighted in the keynote addresses, and that came through the debates and discussions across the three days, were a focus on pervasive structural inequalities shaping childhood, parenthood, family life and citizen-state relations; the place and significance of technology in the lives of children and families; the importance of cohesive support structures and holistic considerations of support contexts to enhance and improve experiences and outcomes for children and families; critical perspectives about socio-digital policies, practices, trends and futures; the fundamental importance of engaging with, and listening and responding to, the voices and lived experiences of children, young people and families across the globe; and greater consideration of lived experiences and perspectives in research and discourse concerned with children’s and families' lives, and child and family policy and policy decision-making. 

Project team members Harriet Churchill and Jonathan Herbert presented on the UK policy context related to digital parenting and family support, alongside some preliminary findings from the project’s systematic research review, focussing on literature concerned with parenting and family support apps. Our presentation outlined key policy and provision drivers, and the methodological approach to the project’s systematic research review, followed by discussion on the types, orientations and emerging evidence concerning ‘benefits, limitations and risks’ related to parenting and family support apps as modes of early help and family support derived from our systematic literature review. 

After returning from a thought provoking and inspiring three days, the project team will be reflecting on the key themes discussed at the conference as the project progresses through its next crucial stages of developing analysis and findings.