Starbucks Didcot

Home-Start Southern Oxfordshire offers support and friendship to families across the southern area of Oxfordshire with at least one child aged under 5 years old. We aim to intervene early when family life becomes challenging to help the family and support the best outcomes for the child(ren). Parenting is one of the hardest challenges adults will face but it is vital that parents are supported to be the best that they can be. We want parents to enjoy being parents and children to form secure relationships with their parents. Evidence suggests that life outcomes are significantly improved for children with secure relationships with their parents. We support families through a number of initiatives. The largest proportion of or work is covered by our 1:1 home-visiting volunteer programme. All our volunteers have parenting experience and complete a 40 hour preparation course before working with families. The course will explore a number of topics including safeguarding, relationships and equality. Regular additional training opportunities are offered. Our small team of paid staff will match a volunteer with relevant experience to a family who is referred to us and make an introduction. The volunteer will visit the family every week for 2 - 4 hours to offer support that is needed by that family. The needs of each family will be unique and, consequently, the type of support offered by the volunteer will be tailored to those needs. Some of the reasons for families needing help are : - Postnatal illness or depression - Isolation - Single parenting - Bereavement - Illness or disability (of parent or child) - Drug or alcohol abuse - Multiple birth This list is not exhaustive - the beauty of our support is that it can be tailored to any situation. The only only criteria for referral is that the family has at least one child under 5 years of age. Families are usually referred by health visitors but can be directed to us by social workers or other health care professionals, education professionals or families can self-refer. We also run a number of support groups, including a First Babies Group where expectant parents and first-time parents can come along with their babies and share their experiences with other parents and our trained Group Worker. They can also access Baby Massage classes and advice from a visiting Staff Nurse. The setting is safe, relaxed and informal and encourages parents to make friends, support each other and join in age appropriate play with their baby. Through our programme of non-judgmental support and friendship we aim to empower parents to enjoy parenting and build strong attachments with their chil(ren). We try to intervene at an early stage to prevent challenges and life events becoming overwhelming and we hope to reduce the need for involvement from statutory services. Ultimately, we aspire to improve outcomes for the child as he or she progresses through school and into adult life.