The National Academy for Parenting Practitioners will work to improve the skills of family workers who help parents develop their skills by carrying out research and providing training.

It will also help exchange knowledge between practitioners and develop policies on parenting work. In its first year the academy hopes to train 150 practitioners.

The National Academy for Parenting Practitioners is a £30m consortium comprised of King's College London, the Family and Parenting Institute and Parenting UK.

Mary MacLeod, chief executive of the Family and Parenting Institute, said: "We are delighted to be one of the partners that set up the academy and will now be helping to run it. We believe the academy will transform services for parents and children across the country."

- www.parentingacademy.org.