Family Action
Key Facts
Location
Project Criteria
Contact
Tanya Rayner
Email
Project funding
£164,217
Funding round
Family Action has an established position as a centre of excellence for Parenting Support in Slough. Based in the heart of Britwell, we have a deep understanding of the needs of families across Slough gathered over five years of working in the area. We gave significant input and feedback in the mapping exercise and development of the strategy for Slough. We are a cross generational project that offers services and support to all ages within the community.
We are represented on CAMHS steering Group, Slough Domestic Abuse Forum, Children and Young People's Voluntary Sector Forum and Preventing Violent Extremism Steering Group. As well as linking to local plans our service is driven by Central Government Agendas including the Every Child Matters and Every Parent Matters.
We have a proven record of success in delivering parenting programmes, we have offered Anger Management for Parents, Family Links Nurturing Programme, Family Links Teen and Parents Group, Family Links Incorporating Islamic Principles, ADHD support Group, Webster Stratton Parenting Programme and YMTB – an accredited programme for vulnerable teenage parents.
We work in partnership with all statutory services and as we a voluntary organisation, clients are more likely to engage with us, enabling the statutory services to be more effective. We deliver our work in accordance with standards laid down by the National Occupational Standards in Working with Parents.
The service has a well recognised volunteer scheme, all of whom are CRB checked, which adds value to all aspects of the overall Slough service.
How our service links to the five outcomes of The Every Child Matters Agenda
Be healthy – Parenting programmes focus on healthy lifestyles (relating to physical and mental health of children). Our cross generational gardening project ensures that we can deliver practical support and experiences around seasonal produce and healthy eating to families and young people. Our single sex youth groups deal with sexual health and healthy lifestyle choices. We work closely with health visitors and support early intervention/ preventative work.
Stay safe – We provide "Safety in the Home" and "Rights and Responsibilities" courses for parents. We deliver sessions in our single sex youth groups on keeping yourself safe. We provide school holiday "Parent and Play Days", where we encourage and model positive play and interaction with children and provide a safe and inclusive environment for families. We will deliver our first course for Children who have witnessed domestic abuse in Summer 09. We provide domestic abuse support for women and we work closely with the Police and Domestic Abuse Co-ordinators for Berks.
Enjoy and achieve – We have provided a wildlife area in our garden for children to learn about the environment. Our communal allotment gives children the opportunity to see plants growing and understand their environment and the food chain. We have a UK on-line suite which is available for open community access. Our current Girls' Group is completing The Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme and is about to start work on producing a documentary on the effects of domestic abuse.
Make a positive contribution – Our volunteer scheme enables young people to access training and education in a setting which is an alternative to school. We provide certificates for young volunteers. Our gardening project utilises input from the Youth Offending Team, Probation/Community Service Teams and we are working with Springboard and Haybrook College on involving their young people in our gardening project.
Achieve economic well-being – Our volunteer scheme has gone from strength to strength, 20 of whom have accessed NVQ qualifications in Advice and Guidance, Social Care and Early Years. All volunteers receive induction and on-going training. Volunteering raises self-esteem and has enabled several of our volunteers to find employment.