The early years of a child’s life are vitally important, and Home-Start Oxford is committed to helping parents give their children the best possible start.

This year, Home-Start Oxford celebrates its 25th year of supporting families with children under five years of age.

First set up in 1988, we have been helping parents and young children from all backgrounds, communities and circumstances to deal with a range of difficult situations.

While for most having young children can be wonderful, it can also be exhausting and demanding, and anyone who wants to be a good parent worries about it. Most have moments of doubt, but are able to bounce back.

Those who can’t, or have other challenging circumstances to deal with, can end up losing confidence. These are the parents that Home-Start Oxford aims to support.

One member of a family supported by Home-Start explains how important the service has been to them: “I have been able to talk openly about issues, and know that she will just listen. She’s helped me through difficult times.”

Home-Start helps by recruiting, training and supporting volunteers to visit families with at least one child under-5 in their own homes. Their volunteers first undergo a comprehensive training programme delivered by coordinators who are specifically employed to train and supervise the family work.

The length of time a volunteer is involved with a family varies and is for as long as support is needed — this can be short term or up to a year, sometimes even longer.

The volunteers commit themselves to visiting ‘their’ family for 2-4 hours a week. They offer practical and emotional support delivered through befriending model, so they often become a friend to both parent[s] and children.

Parents and volunteers often develop a deeply trusting relationship which can lead to powerful change within the family.

One Home-Start volunteer illustrates just how special that bond can be: “The children’s father said a lovely thing to me the last time I visited. I was playing with the twins and said ‘I wonder what they’ll be like when they’re older?’ He said ‘Well, you will know. You’re a family friend, so you’ll be around to see them’.”

With impending cuts to funding, and ever increasing numbers of families needing support, Home-Start Oxford needs your help more than ever.

If you would like any information about how to become a volunteer yourself, either visiting families or becoming a trustee helping to run the scheme, and/or how to make a donation please visit the website at www.home-startoxford.org.uk

  • If you want to contribute to this column please contact Maisy Ash at Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action by emailing maisy.ash@ocva.org.uk