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
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.”