PACT welcomes new research from Foundations – the What Works Centre for Children and Families – that signals a major breakthrough in understanding how best to support children who have experienced domestic abuse.

The research, published today, marks the first phase of Foundations’ ambitious five-year REACH plan to close the evidence gap on what works for child victims of domestic abuse.

Among the pioneering programmes evaluated was Bounce Back 4 Kids (BB4K), PACT’s trauma-informed recovery service for children and their victim-survivor parent.

Domestic abuse affects around one in five children in the UK and can have devastating, long-term impacts on mental health, physical wellbeing, and family relationships. Yet access to specialist support remains inconsistent, with fewer than a third of victim-survivors reporting that their children received help.

The pilot evaluation of BB4K found promising early evidence of positive outcomes for families, including:

• Improved family relationships – parents and children reported stronger bonds and better communication.
• Enhanced parental confidence – families showed improvements in parental self-efficacy, helping parents feel more equipped to support their children.
• Better behaviour at home – children demonstrated positive changes in behaviour and emotional regulation.

These findings reflect what families have told PACT for years: that BB4K provides a safe, supportive space for children and parents to begin healing together.

Natausha van Vliet, Chief Executive of PACT, said: “All of us at PACT are thrilled to see this groundbreaking research begin to close the evidence gap in supporting children who have experienced domestic abuse. Bounce Back 4 Kids was created because we recognised the lack of provision for children to recover from the trauma of domestic abuse.

By providing a safe, trauma-informed environment, we enable children and their victim-survivor parent to rebuild and strengthen relationships while equipping families with tools to move forward and thrive. Feedback from families has always been positive, but it is incredibly encouraging to see more robust early evidence of its impact through this pilot.

We look forward to continuing to work with Foundations and others to build the evidence base and give children and parents healing from domestic abuse the best possible chance to heal and thrive.”

The next phase of the REACH plan will see BB4K move to a full-scale evaluation – the first of its kind in the UK – alongside one other recovery programme – We Matter,  programme run by Victim Support.

The Government’s Children and Families Minister Josh MacAlister said: “Today marks a turning point for children affected by domestic abuse. For too long, we haven’t had the evidence we need about what actually works to help these children recover and thrive.”

Read the summary report into the research.