A showcase of innovation

6 June 2025: The Only Mums & Dads Training event “Children Children Children” showcased several innovative UK projects. They answer the headline question: What are we doing to help children through parental separation?

Kate Daly, Angharad Rudkin and retired judge Stephen Wildblood set the scene, listing key things that help separating families and their children. Ellie Johnston described how Spurgeons helps families support children at risk – like “Billy” who would have harmed himself.

Dr Rudkin launched HATCAT, a How Are The Children? Assessment Tool. Based on what makes for happy (and unhappy) families and children, HATCAT helps everyone talk better. It could become a standard assessment for all to use in the field of family separation.

Soon to be launched, “Split Happens” is a free for all app that uses curated Artificial Intelligence for young people to “talk with” more easily about stress and family separation. Created in a growing collaboration, the app adds to the resources that amicable have already created..

Calling for revolution

Inspired by the Family Solutions Group, some of Plymouth’s young people came to life in the videos that Carli Norris MC’d. They got the audience working on their fictional separated family, then demanded answers to a list of tough general questions. Their presentation is ready-made for the world to share online.

The academic view underlined the conference theme. The UK fails to offer much child-inclusive family mediation. Adopting the UNCRC mandate into UK law would ensure that we focus more on how, not whether, we hear from young people in any decision-making when their parents separate.

The final panel discussion called for nothing less than a “revolution in the infrastructure” that supports separating families.