Since 2022 the service has been commissioned by Public Health through Home-Start, an organization with a successful track record in supporting parents of all ages, with a dedicated Coordinator providing a key point of contact and working closely with other services.
With many young parents having a history of adverse childhood experiences, chaotic lifestyles and little or no support from their own families, their needs are often complex. By establishing a strong relationship with the young parents, the Coordinator can explore their situation to identify their needs and coordinate tailored support during pregnancy and in the transition to parenthood. Support can be weekly and may include priority issues, such as housing, finance, and safeguarding concerns, but also focuses on building young parents’ self-esteem and confidence in parenting and exploring their future aspirations.
Reflecting the evidence from Sure Start Plus, having a trusted adviser is the cornerstone of the project, enabling young parents to share their feelings and needs without fear of judgement.
Most young parents are referred early in pregnancy from Manchester’s young people’s specialist midwives, facilitated by the Coordinator who attends their weekly clinic. Other sources of referrals include school safeguarding leads and local sexual and reproductive health services.
Key to delivering effective support for young parents is the Coordinator’s established relationship with other services. Strong partnership working has developed an integrated pathway with the specialist young parent midwifery team, health visiting, sexual and reproductive health services, schools, post 16 education, Children’s Centres, and the specialist Thriving Babies project (led by Early Help in partnership with Home-start and Barnardo’s), and Family Hubs which host co-located young parent clinics. Young parents are often cautious around professionals and services but through building a trusting relationship with the Home-Start worker they are supported and encouraged to open up and engage with other professionals, which helps in the transition to mainstream services.
The strong links with education, mental health, family Hubs, SureStart and sexual health also help with swift referrals. The Coordinator also attends Social Care multi-agency meetings to ensure information sharing and safeguarding as appropriate.
The impact of the project is measured by parents’ self-assessment at the start and end of support and regular intervals in between. Of the over 100 young parent families supported since Spring 2023, 82 per cent report improved money management; 88 per cent improved prospects in relation to education or employment, with at least eight young mums starting college courses, 74 per cent improved involvement in their child’s development and 72 per cent improved parent infant relationship.
Lessons learned.
- Patience and flexibility are key to successfully find and engage young parents.
- Engagement is much more successful if the young person meets the Home-Start worker face to face at the clinic rather than ‘cold’ referrals or expecting the young parents to come to us.
- Repeated contact and a commitment to keeping support available long term is essential as young parents take a long time to build trust, and their vulnerability means their situation can change very suddenly at any point.
- Listening to what young parents want and need is essential for setting up and evolving a trusted and effective service.