The iHV is delighted to share new Good Practice Points and an update to another GPP, providing up-to-date evidence and references for our Associate members:

NEW: GPP – When a parent dies

These Good Practice Points, authored by Suzannah Phillips, Clinical Services Development Lead, Winston’s Wish – The Charity for Bereaved Children, set out what health visitors need to know about when a parent dies.

UPDATED: GPP – Promoting Independent Sleep Associations

These updated Good Practice Points, authored by Maggie Fisher, RGN, NDN, RHV, Cert Ed, BA (Hons) Ed., PG Diploma Infant and Child Mental Health, PG Diploma in Leadership in Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship in Practice, set out what health visitors need to know on playing the key role in preventing sleep issues occurring and to support families.


Please note that these GPPs are available to iHV members only.

If you’re not a member, please join us to get access to all of our resources.

The iHV is a self-funding charity – we can only be successful in our mission to strengthen health visiting practice if the health visiting profession and its supporters join us on our journey. We rely on our membership to develop new resources for our members.

So do join us now!

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New Good Practice Points for health visitors when visiting families where a child is born through surrogacy are published for our Associate members.

This factsheet, written by Cafcass for PHE, explains a couple’s role in surrogacy. Surrogacy is when a woman (the surrogate) agrees to carry and give birth to a baby for a couple who want to have a child (the intended parents). The intended parents may be heterosexual or same-sex, and at least one of the intended parents must be genetically-related to the child.

Please note that this new GPP is available to iHV members only.

If you’re not a member, please join us to get access to all of our resources.

The iHV is a self-funding charity – we can only be successful in our mission to strengthen health visiting practice if the health visiting profession and its supporters join us on our journey. We rely on our membership to develop new resources for our members.

Membership of the Institute is open to health visitors and anyone working with health visitors or interested in the work of health visitors. Membership of the iHV, a charity, is a widely recognised mark of commitment to health visiting and brings real professional benefits – so do join us now.Button 4

sexual_wellbeingNew Good Practice Points for Health Visitors about Talking to parents about their sexual wellbeing have been published for our Associate members.

Despite sexual health being a priority within the Healthy Child Programme, many health visitors, from student to senior health visitor level, report difficulties in initiating discussions about sex with new parents (Glazener, 1997).
As much as professionals can find sexuality hard to talk about, so can parents – but that is not because they don’t think it is important.

Please note that this new GPP is available to iHV members only.

New Good Practice Points for Health Visitors in supporting the couple relationship during the transition to parenthood have been published for our Associate members.

It is well established that new parents are more likely to ‘turn to’ someone like a health visitor when they first experience some kind of relationship problem. Health visitors are in a unique position to offer early preventative relationship support and promote family and relationship stability

The new GPP is found on the Relationships resources page (available to Associate members only).