Thurrock Community Mothers

Growing Skills

Growing Confidence

Growing Communities

Thurrock

Primary Care Trust

Promoting Positive Health and Early Parenting Skills

Mission Statement

“We are growing team in the heart of the community enabling parents to help themselves by building confidence, skills and new opportunities”

2 Programme Strands

Community Mothers recruited and trained

Parents supported

Community Mothers Team Thurrock2006

• Operational base in Community Shop• Public Health Practice Development Nurse• 7 Programme Development Workers• 6 Support Workers• 20 volunteers• Secretary • Evaluation and finance officer

The Model: A Community Development Programme

Parents supporting parentsBy the

community and in the community Outreach

Builds local skills

Mutual learning

Addressing health inequalities by transferring skills to the community itself

Facilitated but not ‘controlled’ by professionals

Advocacy

Community networking

Partnership working alongside professionals

Complements professionals – doesn’t replace

Enables informal easy access to support

Non-stigmatisingNon-stigmatising

Parents working with other parents as peers and equals

Professionals cannot do it on their own!

Outreach & Primary Prevention

•Developing early parenting skills•Promoting health: practical & real life context•Nipping early difficulties in the bud•Enabling self-help and building confidence •Easy access to health and other services•Developing literacy and numeracy skills•Identifying community views and needs•Community participation

•Innovative semi-structured monthly home visiting Innovative semi-structured monthly home visiting programme to parents with young childrenprogramme to parents with young children

•Breastfeeding support: community, home & hospitalBreastfeeding support: community, home & hospital

•Health focused literacy & numeracy home tuition for Health focused literacy & numeracy home tuition for parents with complex needsparents with complex needs

•Active community outreach to homeless & travelling Active community outreach to homeless & travelling familiesfamilies

•Parent support & learning groups in the communityParent support & learning groups in the community

Services Provided

One third of parents supported are single parents

Programme Funding

Thurrock Primary Care NHS Trust provides £315,000 mainstream funding per annum

Needs AssessmentTargeted outreach to engage with parents who:

• Are isolated / depressed / low self-esteem• May not seek help / vulnerable• Are less able to cope• Have poor past experience of being parented• Are suspicious of professionals

“It’s not just about what helpers do it’s also the characteristics of the helper and the relationship developed”

Supporting Parents: Messages from Research Professor David Quinton published by the Dept of Health and DfES 2004Jessica Kingsley

Needs Assessment• Outreach strategies targeted to geographical

communities with highest levels of need (socio-educational / health inequalities / unemployment)

• Introductory visits offered to all parents, following birth of first baby or moving into area

• Professional referrals: parents facing difficulties e.g. child behaviour problems, depression

• Parent empowered to identify own need for service

• Learning needs assessment for literacy referrals

• Parent identifies aspirations / difficulties in context of own daily life

• Community Mother and parent explore new ideas and solutions together

• Parent empowered to set own practical and achievable ongoing monthly goals

Personalised Needs Assessment Using the Home Visiting Programme

Initial needs assessment

6 semi-structured monthly home visits

Further needs assessment

Empowerment and Self-help

Non-directive approach that enables parents to:• Avoid dependency on community mother• Identify and reflect on own life • Express own views, needs and concerns• Recognise own strengths and achievements• Value existing skills and build new ones• Self-select practical and achievable goals• Take small steps and build up to bigger steps• Learn from own mistakes and find own solutions• Build own social support networks

Sharing of cartoon illustrated information materials during visits is key to success

The process of sharing cartoons is crucial:

• Non threatening• Not personalised • Triggers &

openers for discussion

• Awareness of literacy issues

• Tips, suggestions, & reminders

•Speech•Cognitive•Child health•Nutrition•Child behaviour•Relationships•Breastfeeding•Community health•Early education•General parenting issues

Common issues that parents work on

• Reducing isolation: support groups, social contacts, child-care and accessing services

• Coping skills: reducing stress, improving couple relationship, money worries, personal issues

• Child care skills: sleep, safety, behaviour• Healthy eating (whole family)• Taking more exercise: walking, swimming• General health: dental, immunisations, weight

management, cervical screening, relaxing• Supporting child’s learning and development

Training & Support Package

• Responds to both community led and statutory agendas• Emphasis on experiential learning / work experience• Provides flexible personal development opportunities

Community Mother Credentials

•Able to build trust and keep confidentiality•Good communicator, listening skills, sense of humour•Caring, likes people, shows empathy & understanding•Strengths and insights (overcome difficulties herself)•Reliable, responsible, committed to the community•Works as an equal: does not ‘look down’ on others•Willing to share experiences / work as part of a team

Professional support is vital:• Monitoring, supervision, facilitating • Taking professional action when needed• Clarifying & reinforcing programme boundaries • Delivering the accredited training programme• Developing partnership projects• Encouraging referrals from co-professionals• Evaluation and dissemination

“Quality and training of staff is vital to programme success, as is good support and supervision”A Review of the International Evidence. Policy Research Bureau for DfES No 578 (2004)

Community Mothers Volunteer to Employment

Training and Progression Pathway

Community Mother volunteer recruited

Introductory training Course for promoting community health and child development. Accredited at levels 1&2

Initial Taster CourseSignposting to other opportunities

Introductory training course for breast-feeding support. Accredited at levels 2 & 3

Ongoing training programme (1-2 years): (Generic modules)Experiential learning and work experienceAccredited at levels 2 & 3 Literacy & Numeracy

Tutor Training & Progression Option

NHS EmploymentCommunity Mother Support

Worker

NHS EmploymentProgramme Development

Workers(Co-ordinating roles

working towards Level 4)

NHS EmploymentCommunity Mother Health

Literacy Tutors

Capacity Building: Sustainable Employment in the Community

Employment opportunities within the service:

•Co-ordinators

•Trainers

•Tutors

•Support workers

Employment opportunities outside the service:

•Community Development

•Health and social care

•Education sector

Benefits to Community Mothers

A Community Mother Journey: 10 Years

Volunteer Breast Feeding Supporter

Volunteer Community Mother

Learning Support Worker

Skilled for Health Project Co-ordinator“The programme has enabled my skills to develop to help me reach higher goals. Doors have opened and I am enjoying going through them. I feel a valuable member of society because I am sharing my skills with my community and watching parents grow and the community going from strength to strength”

Benefits to Parents and Children

Improves:• Child immunisations• Breastfeeding rates• Family nutrition• Stimulation of children• Maternal positive feelings• Language development• Child safety• Health literacy• Access to services

Reduces:• Isolation and depression• Child behaviour

difficulties

A Single Parent Journey

“I have become more confident as an individual. My community mother has arranged visits from the women’s refuge and counselling from MIND has benefited me a lot. I have become more aware of healthy eating and what foods are right for children. I have enrolled on a hairdressing course and I am looking forward to going on this course and maybe making some new friends. I took my son to the doctors and he has referred us for family counselling. This is a very positive step towards helping my son. I have made contact with the single parent support group and have tried to make new friends. I feel my life is on the right path at the moment and I feel really happy.”