“Home-Start provides an excellent service.They tailor their service to each service user and are very accessible.I refer women who are asylum seekers or refugees and their needs have always been met through Home-Start”
Information for Referrers to Home-Start
Support for Families
Home-Start is a Family Support Charity providing practical and emotional support for parents and children experiencing stress or difficulties.
Any family living in Rochdale, Pennines, Heywood, Middleton and Bury with a child pre birth to 12 years of age, can access support from an experienced parent volunteer who can visit them at home.
We have a team of dedicated, skilled volunteers who all have parenting experience, who visit families at home for 2-3 hours per week. Volunteers are trained and checked by the Disclosure and Barring Service prior to being matched with families.
Emotional support and practical help is offered for as long as it is needed. Volunteers build on parents skills, help boost self esteem and confidence whilst enabling them to cope with the pressures of family life. Our aim is to help reduce stress and prevent crisis and breakdown. Home-Start can also introduce families who need short term support, to one of our experienced Support Workers.
Our Support Workers can help families who experience more complex difficulties at Early Help level.
Support for Families with a child experiencing Autistic Spectrum Conditions and ADHD, with or without a diagnosis
We can provide:~
- Home Visiting Support for parents
- Sam’s Sibs Group Support—for siblings of children with a diagnosis of Autism (age 6-15 years)
- Informal Group Support sessions, for parents.
- Telephone support from our experienced Coordinator
- Parent Information Sessions
(Please note, this support is only available in the Rochdale Borough until we can access funding to support families in Bury)
Contact Sam Freeman or Roisin Pickering on 01706 436145 or
Email sam@hsrb.org.uk or roisin@hsrb.org.uk
Support for Families, experiencing low to medium level Mental Health difficulties
Home Visiting Support is offered over 6 weekly sessions for parents experiencing stress, anxieties,
depression, relationship breakdown, health needs, phobias or isolation. The Support Worker can
help parents to access additional support they may need, encourage them to develop coping skills
and confidence.
Contact Charlotte Sandiford at charlotte@hsrb.org.uk Tel: 01706 629651
PIMHS—Parent Infant Mental Health Support
Practical and emotional support for expectant parents and newborns up to the age of 2 years
Contact us on 01706 629651 or Email ali@hsrb.org.uk
School Readiness
Practical support and activities for children who may need extra help to prepare them for pre-school.
Contact Donna Arden McKenna at donna@hsrb.org.uk Tel: 01706-629651
Additional Support for Families
We offer seasonal activities where funding allows, including Hits Radio toy appeal, Group support
sessions and access to food banks.
What shall I do next?
- Speak to the family about Home-Start.
- Introduce Home-Start by giving them a family information leaflet.
- Only when the family want to accept support……please help them to complete a referral form with as much detail as possible, identifying how they would like a volunteer to help and ask them to sign the back page and consent for GDPR.
- Incomplete referrals will be returned.
- Send the form to one of our Coordinators at info.homestartrochdale@gmail.com, who will contact the family to book a home visit.