Home-Start Blaby District Oadby & Wigston
Our Vision
We believe that children need a happy and secure childhood and want to see every parent, in our community, have the support they need to give their children the best possible start in life.
Mission Statement
Home-Start Blaby District, Oadby & Wigston offers support, friendship and practical help for families with young children, in our local community. We help parents grow in confidence, to strengthen and enjoy their relationships with their children to the full and to widen their links within our community.
We believe that children need a good start in life and that parents play the key role in ensuring that they have a happy and secure childhood, to help them reach their full potential.
We offer a unique service by recruiting and training our volunteers, usually parents themselves, to visit families with under 5’s at home to offer informal, friendly support.
Background
Home-Start Blaby District began operating in 1999 as the result of requests from health visitors to provide a Home-Start service in the area. In 2005 after consultations with Home-Start Leicester, Home-Start Oadby and Wigston was brought under the umbrella of Home-Start Blaby District and the scheme changed its name to Home-Start Blaby District Oadby and Wigston and became a Company Limited by Guarantee with a new Charity number.
Despite annual difficulties in securing adequate funding to meet demand, Home-Start Blaby District Oadby and Wigston continues to deliver a crucial service to parents in need, with at least one child under 5 within the family, through home visiting by trained volunteers and peer support groups. As an organisation it has grown in capacity and now supports more families than in 1999. It works under the umbrella of Home-start UK
Home-Start Blaby District Oadby and Wigston currently operates within the District of Blaby and the Borough of Oadby & Wigston:
Blaby District
The District lies to the south of Leicester City and is the second smallest in area of Leicestershire’s seven districts.
There is a population of 93,900 people in 18 wards and 24 parishes. The diversity of the District is illustrated by the parishes, which vary from the rural and sparsely populated parishes in the southwest, such as Potters Marston and Aston Flamville with populations of less than 50 and 150 respectively to the northern and eastern areas which are predominantly urban in character, including Braunstone Town and Thorpe Astley with a population of 15,000. The south eastern parishes contain villages that have grown substantially, such as Countesthorpe and Whetstone whose populations are both in excess of 6000. The population density is 7.2 persons per hectare compared to 3.1 for Leicestershire.
The BME population is 9% with the largest minority ethnic group being Asian (3.8%).
Employment rate in the District is 88%. (JSNA 2010 Blaby District, Oadby and Wigston)
Oadby & Wigston Borough
The Borough lies to the south eastern side of Leicester City and is the smallest in area of Leicestershire’s seven districts. The Borough has seen extensive residential development since the Second World War. The area is predominantly urban, consisting of three main settlements; Oadby, Wigston & South Wigston.
It covers 2352 hectares and has a population of 58.500. The population density is 23.72 persons per hectare compared to 2.93 for Leicestershire. The BME population is 19% this is the second highest in the East Midlands next to Leicester City, with Asian/British Asian making up 13.3% of this group. The high minority ethnic population means that community cohesion is important. The wards of South Wigston and Wigston Fields, have significant levels of children living in income deprived households, and are ranked in the top 30% of deprivation for England.
The employment rate in the district is 69%. (JSNA Oadby and Wigston (2010)
Volunteers and families
In 2013 HSBOW trained approximately 18 volunteers and has a pool of 60 active volunteers supporting families either within groups or by home visiting. In 2013 HSBOW supported upwards of 120 families per year via home visits and attendance at family groups.
Resources
Home Start Blaby District Oadby & Wigston Management Board comprises 6 or more Trustees including a Chair and Finance Trustee and 1 advisor, and includes volunteer and family representatives. The scheme employs the a range of part-time staff including a Scheme Manager, 5 Coordinators, an Early Years Play Development Specialist, 2 Scheme Administrators and a Finance Officer.
The scheme is based in the Blaby District, renting ground floor office space and kitchen from Parkers Limited.
Funding: The Scheme currently receives its core funding and some project funding through the Blaby ,Oadby and Wigston Commissioning Programme through Blaby District and Oadby and Wigston District Councils,and works to Service Level Agreements for both areas. This accounts for about 50% of funding with the rest mainly coming in 2013 from the National Lottery ‘BIG’ Lottery Fund from whom 5 years funding was secured in August 2008, and from 2014 from a further bid that has been received for another three years. Other grant giving bodies are being approached for future funding as there is uncertainty over future funding via the District Councils.
Building on our 2011-14 Plan
This is the third plan we have put together and we are pleased to report that overall we achieved what we set out to over the last four years. We have been particularly successful in expanding and building on the work funded by the Big Lottery fund ie
¨ Community Cohesion Project (previously known as BME project)
¨ Home visiting extended across Oadby & Wigston
¨ Setting up Family Groups
¨ Setting up Mums in Mind - MIMS - with local district funding
A full evaluation of the BIG project which was completed in 2013 is available
In addition we have improved the way we work and now meet all the Home-Start UK quality standards which have been assessed. We are looking to re focus our work and target marginalised families in 2014, particularly as we have received further BIG funding for this work
Home-Start Blaby District Oadby & Wigston Strategic Plan 2014-2017
Priority Areas / 2014/15 Action(deadline March 31 2015) / Areas identified for
Action in 2015/6/7
1.1 To have robust budgeting systems and financial housekeeping / To continue with present financial system
To have a reserve to cover 3- 6 months activity and a contingency plan
To log finance systems in office in case of finance officer absence (PM)
1.2 To ensure we manage BIG and other SLA funds / To work cross county to secure an SLA with the county council for 2015/6
· To review impact of 20% reduction in funding and possibility of only 6 months of funds (September 2014)
To understand our costs and collate and update present costings
To be able to report on BIG expenditure separately
1.3 To implement our fund raising plan / To update the fund raising plan (by September 2015) to include
· Quarterly bids for large grants (330,000)
· Bids for smaller grants for specific projects and identify these project
· Opportunistic funds
· Consider contributions from families
· Keep a database of grants applied for (Chair FRC)
Priority Areas / 2014/15 Action
(deadline March 31 2015) / Areas identified for
Action in 2015/16/17
2.1 Develop and deliver the BIG Lottery Diversity Project to meet required outcomes (see Appendix). / Target our work to reach families in diverse and sometimes marginalised communities.(See Appendix) / Increase the number of marginalised communities supported
2.2 To provide Home Visiting Support across Blaby District, Oadby and Wigston / Support at least 130 families in total
To support at least 50 new families (BIG and Council SLA targets –see Appendix) / Additional families supported via home visiting
2.3 To provide Family Groups / Support families via Family Groups across the area
Set up at least 2 new groups in different locations
Provide up to 4 summer day activities and review them. / Additional families supported via family groups.
2.4 To deliver the MIMs
contract / Deliver 3 x 8 week courses per year to support mothers with post natal illness
Support 30 families a year via MIMs course, biweekly group, and 1-1 support
Establish a MIMS steering group (CM)
2.5 Link in with partnership agencies to ensure a joined up approach / Re-establish at least 3 partnership/networking events eg lunches or coffee mornings
Use this as a basis for the BIG Lottery reference group - see 4.6
Invite partnership agencies to a session on course of preparation, to share information.
2.6 Have a system for planning monitoring and evaluation / Plan and develop effective monitoring system for the BIG Lottery, and other work to report on all outcomes. (TM/FB)
Continue to report quarterly on HSUK MESH and then on HSUK SIMs as it becomes available.
Report quarterly for the LPG against our SLA
Undertake yearly review of Scheme Ethnicity Data for BIG outcome 1 (Sept 2014) has to be then used as baseline
Regularly report this outcome data to Board and staff and use information gained to report and to develop good practice
Include quality standards and safeguarding reporting / Repeat Ethnicity audit
Do Health visitor audit for referrals
2.7 Stay up to date with, and signpost to relevant support / Use relevant internet sites to stay up to date, and pass relevant information on to volunteers/families.
Update directory of local services, including updating information held by VAL.
Collect up to date information from Sure Start Children’s Centres on their services and regularly e-mail/send out our leaflets to all relevant agencies.
Record signposting/ referrals to other agencies, as required by our funders.
2.8 Safeguarding / To ensure good safeguarding practices and are in place and followed at all times. Ensure staff and volunteers keep their safeguarding training up to date.
Priority Areas / 2014/5 Action
(deadline March 31 2015) / Areas identified for
Action in 2015/6/7
3.1 Undertake Homestart UK
Quality Assurance Assessment
and ensure standards are met / ¨ To undertake a review of all standard in the year as per HSBOW programme (see Appendix )
¨ Complete Self Assessment Progress Chart
¨ Develop action plans for areas where standards are “unmet” QA sub group
¨ Continue with QA sub group to oversee process / Complete annual review of Standards
Complete Self Assessment
Progress Chart
Develop action plans
3.2 Link this with ongoing policy
review and development / Review polices and develop new ones in line with QA standards*(see Appendix ), referring to HSUK policies, where appropriate
Policy sub group / Review polices and develop new ones in line with QA standards*(see Appendix X)
Policy sub group
3.3 Continue with QA sub group to
oversee process / Oversee QA process including identifying action needed as a result of standard reviews eg learning and development
Include Trustee and staff member as QA “leads”
QA sub group / Include Trustee and staff member as QA “leads”
QA sub group
Priority Areas / 2014/15 Action
(deadline March 31 2015) / Areas identified for
Action in 2015/16/17
4.1 Volunteers / Collect and collate feedback from volunteers at all opportunities including:
· All Team building/social events
· Volunteer training sessions eg safeguarding update.
· Volunteer survey – yearly
· Volunteer exit interviews
· / Review impact
4.2 Families / Undertake yearly Family surveys (online – with prize draw to incentivise completion)
Ensure family reviews are completed at 3 monthly intervals, and when support ends
Contact families 3 months after end of support, for feedback on ongoing impact. / Review impact
4.3 Health visitors, referrers and potential referrers / Undertake Health visitors’ questionnaires at endings and yearly survey need updating with more relevant and probing questions.
Hold Interagency events facilitated at varied time slots and different locations, to include the new BIG lottery reference group – see 2.5
4.4 Use of feedback / To ensure feedback is collected, monitored and used to develop the service
Look at/evidence non take up of service and never matched
Use Reference Group -see 4.6 / To continue to develop a robust system to evidence use of feedback
4.5 Marginalised groups / All co-ordinators have an area of specialism and will make links and promote work of Home-Start to diverse/marginalised groups. Invite new contacts to networking lunch/reference group. Monitor during supervision
4.6 Set up Reference Group for scheme / Set up Reference Group mechanisms for scheme by September 2015
Include individuals and community representatives
Use Reference Group to develop service changes / Reveiw
Priority Areas / 2014/15 Action
(deadline March 31 2015) / Areas identified for
Action in 2015/16/17
5.1 Volunteer retention / Expand existing database to obtain accurate length of service.
Identify, report and review trends for leaving
Explore feedback on Pre-COP interview forms, from HSBOW to see if there is a link with types of volunteers and length of volunteering. / Increased Volunteer pool including those from marginalised groups
5.2 Volunteer events / Have events/training on different days each time to ensure accessibility for higher numbers of volunteers and attendance.
Develop volunteer event plan to include training (and refresher training), peer support and “celebration of involvement” events.
5.3 Volunteer training / ¨ Have a development plan for ongoing training
¨ COP Course of Preparation – include MIMS
¨ Accredit courses
5.4 Trustee recruitment and retention / Recruit 3 more Trustees including at least one from families and volunteers October 2014
Deliver Trustee induction and support programme (Chair)
5.5 PR / Look at using a student in marketing to develop our marketing plan
Look for opportunities for press releases/photos/ radio coverage.
Improve and update our website and ‘Facebook’ page. / Monitor impact