HOME-START CENTRAL & WEST CHESHIRE - BACKGROUND

What is Home-Start?

Many parents feel overwhelmed or exhausted by the stresses and difficulties of everyday life. Too often they have no close family members or friends who can give them encouragement or breathing space when they most need them. Lack of support at a crucial stage may increase the risk of family breakdown

Home-Start is a voluntary organisation in which volunteers offer regular support, friendship and practical help by visiting families with at least one child under 5 yearswho are experiencing parenting difficulties in their own homes. This support will help families develop confidence in their approach to bringing up children, accessing local facilities, attending family groups and making friendships which strengthen the family, directly benefits the children and enables family to play a more active part in their own community.

The Development of Home-Start

Home-Start was initiated in Leicester in 1973. Similar schemes exist or are being developed throughout the United Kingdom, as well as abroad. It would seem that parents everywhere experience similar problems. There may be differences between individual Home-Start schemes to meet local needs, but all share the same constitution and common features:

  • they all focus on families with at least one child under the age of five
  • they have a multi-disciplinary management committee, thus ensuring close links with other voluntary and statutory caring agencies working with young families in the community
  • each has at least one paid co-ordinator to run the scheme, who is equally acceptable to the families, the volunteers and the referrers, and who has the necessary competence, commitment and warm personality
  • meticulous attention is paid to the careful recruitment, preparation, matching and support of the Home-Start volunteers
  • all schemes require secure on-going funding before starting
  • all Home-Start schemes receive training, information and guidance from Home-StartUK in order to retain a common ethos and to ensure that high standards of practice are maintained.
  • Quality Assurance System. Based around 16 quality standards, relating to the charity's direct support for families and to every aspect of Home-Start's work that underpins that assistance: from governance, planning, equal opportunities and managing staff to confidentiality, monitoring support for families and promoting children's welfare.

What is the Home-Start approach?

Home-based visiting is essential to the Home-Start approach, which relies on a more realistic, flexible response and caring attitude, than on a clearly-defined method of working. The families visited, like the Home-Start volunteers, come from a wide range of education, cultural and financial backgrounds.

After attending an initial course of preparation, volunteers are matched with one or two families, and visit for as long as is necessary, sometimes for a few months, but often for a year or more. Visits occur usually once or twice a week for a few hours at a time. The approach varies according to the needs of each family and draws on the flexibility, good humour and imaginative skills of the volunteer. Talking with the parents, playing with the children, helping in the home or accompanying the family on outings or appointments, may all be offered. By sharing their time and friendship, volunteers offer families an opportunity to develop new relationships, ideas and skills.

Who are the Volunteers?

Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds are welcomed. The only stipulation is that they have had parenting experience themselves. They need no specific qualifications, but they do need the ability to listen with understanding, to maintain confidentiality and bring with them commitment both to the scheme and to the families they visit. Parents who have been visited often become volunteers themselves.

Who Refers Families?

Families are usually referred to Home-Start by Health Visitors, Social Workers, GP’s or the family themselves.

Home-Start Central & West Cheshire

Home-Start Central & West Cheshire was formed in 2015 as a result of a merger of Home-Start Central Cheshire (formed in 1998) and Home-Start West Cheshire (formed in 2006). Each organisation was originally set upby members of the local community as a response to local needs. We currently provide support to families in Crewe, Nantwich, Winsford & Northwich.

We have 4 coordinators and 2 administrators and we recruit, train and manage a team of approximately 75 volunteers who support about 120 families a year.

For further information please visit our website