Thurrock Community Mothers

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Thurrock Community Mothers

• Growing Skills
• Growing Confidence
• Growing Communities
• Celia Suppiah
• communitymothers_at_btconnect.com
• www.communitymothers.org.uk

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A Community Mother

• Is informal and non-professional
• Shares her experiences, insights and street
  cred as another local parent
• Offers a semi-structured monthly home visiting
  programme that promotes health and parenting
  skills

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Outreach home visiting are crucial gateways
between families and integrated
services National Evaluation of Sure Start 2006
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Community Mothers Build Trusting Peer
Relationships

• Parents coping with low income multiple
  stresses are at greater risk of being outside the
  system
• May not seek help
• Less able to cope
• Suspicious of professionals
• Health for All Children Fourth Addition. David
  M.B. Hall David Elliman. Oxford University
  Press 2004

Professionals cannot do it on their own!
Complements professionals doesnt replace
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• Relationships are at the heart of support Its
  not just about what helpers do its also the
  characteristics of the helper and the
  relationship developed
• Supporting Parents Messages from Research
  Prof.David Quinton publ . By Dept of Health and
  DfES 2004Jessica Kingsley

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Background Thurrock Community Mothers (Essex)

• First CMP in Dublin (early 1980s)
• First pilot in UK Thurrock 1991 (different model
  to Dublin)
• Now over 25 CMPs operating across UK based on
  Thurrock model
• National network for coordinators

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Key processes
Rigorous recruitment and selection of volunteers
Community outreach
Engaging with local parents using peer support
An ongoing group learning experience for
Community Mothers
Advocacy and signposting to enable easy access to
services
Clarifying and reinforcing boundaries of safe
practice
Non-prescriptive, semi-structured home visiting
programme and parents support groups
Regular supervision, personal development
support for Community Mothers
Participatory evaluation
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Evidence Base

• Improves
• Improved cognitive stimulation of children
• Access to services and information about
  parenting
• Child immunisations
• Breastfeeding rates
• Family nutrition
• Maternal positive feelings
• Language development
• Child safety
• Health literacy
• Reduces
• Isolation and depression
• Child behaviour difficulties

Parenting skills and maternal self-esteem had
been sustained with benefits extending to
subsequent children Journal of Public Health
Medicine, Vol 22, Issue 3, 337-342
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Community Mothers Volunteer to EmploymentTraining
and Progression Pathway
Reflections courses
Signposting to other opportunities
Community Mother volunteer recruited
Introductory training Course for Community Mothers
Introductory training course for breast-feeding
support. Accredited at levels 2 3
Ongoing training programme (1-2 years) (Generic
modules) Experiential learning and work
experience. National qualification pathway
Strand 3 ELPP
Literacy Numeracy Tutor Training Progression
Option
Employment Programme Development
Workers (Co-ordinating roles working towards
Level 4)
Employment Community Mother Support Worker
Employment Community Mother Health Literacy Tutors
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How parents visited access support from a
community Mother
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The Core Home Visiting Programme

• Semi-structured visiting materials enable
  purpose, direction focus to each visit
• Parent identifies own needs
• CM parent explore solutions together
• CM enables parent to set own ongoing achievable
  monthly targets

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Particularly helps parents with

• Low self-esteem
• Depressed / isolated / unsupported
• Children generally under stimulated
• Difficulties coping
• Relationship issues
• Vulnerable Parents with past experiences of
  being poorly parented
• Parents wary of the authorities

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ConfidentialityWhat we share together, we keep
amongst ourselves
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Tools of the Trade
Semi-structured Home Visiting Materials
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Child Development Diary

• Parents observation of childs new skills
• Raises parents awareness of their contribution
• Helps Community Mum to select appropriate cartoons

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Cartoon illustrated information materials are key
to success

• Several shared during each visit
• Non threatening
• Trigger discussion
• Overcomes literacy issues
• Reminders after the visit

Cartoons cover important health and parenting
topics. The way they are shared with parents is
crucial.
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Cartoon Cover a Wide Range of Issues

• ? Language development
• ? Cognitive
• ? Specific child health issues
• ? Nutrition
• ? Social / Behaviour
• ? General parenting issues
• ? Early education
• ? Healthy relationships
• Breastfeeding
• Literacy issues
• ? Identified community health issues

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Community mothers work with parents on a wide
range of issues that span across all 5 outcomes
of the Every Child Matters Outcome
FrameworkThe Early Learning Partnership
Project Focussed on Early Learning Aspects
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Stepping Into Learning Group
A six week course for parents with children under
5 Empowers parents to support and encourage
their childs learning and development through
play and everyday tasks
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Early Learning Partnership ProjectDCFS

• Expands
• New approach to recruiting volunteers
• Home visiting programme
• Step Into Learning groups
• Outreach to homeless families (Acorns Practice
  and homeless hostels)
• Antenatal engagement

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Reflections Course A user-friendly pathway for
parents to make a contribution to supporting
other parents within their local community
Welcome to Reflections
Welcome to Reflections
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The course

• Short and focused
• Builds initial confidence
• Give and take message
• Raises parents awareness of their own talents,
  skills and personal potential
• Explores opportunities for getting involved
• Making practical commitments
• Mentoring and personal development support
• Moving on

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New Work with Parents Facing Language Barriers