Home-Start Banbury, Bicester
& Chipping Norton
There for parents when they need us most... Because childhood can't wait
Are you a Parent in need of Support?
What is Home-Start ?…
Home-Start Banbury, Bicester & Chipping Norton is a registered charity offering emotional support, friendship and practical help to families at home with at least one child under 5. While we work according to practices laid down by Home-Start UK, we are independently run and funded and have been operating since 1986.
How can Home-Start help ?…
Being a parent, wherever you live or whatever the situation, is not easy. Many parents feel exhausted and overwhelmed by the stresses of family life. It is even more difficult if family or friends are unable to offer you support and breathing space when you most need it. Some parents lose confidence in their ability to cope and most can remember days when they would have liked someone to turn to.
A Home-Start volunteer will visit you regularly (usually once a week for a couple of hours) in your home and offer support through difficult times for as long as it is helpful or needed. You decide with your volunteer when visits will happen and how you spend the time. Home-Start volunteers are parents too and may have been supported by Home-Start themselves in the past. You can choose whether or not to accept Home-Start support. A volunteer will only visit at the invitation of the family. Our service is free to you.
Who can Home-Start help ?…
Families from all backgrounds with at least one child under 5, who are experiencing difficulties. These might be, lonely or isolated parents or families with twins, multiple births or several pre-school children. Families where there is ill health or disability/special needs. Lone parents and mums who may have postnatal depression. We can even help families who are new to an area.
Who are our volunteers ?…
Our volunteers come from many different backgrounds and vary in age but all are either parents or have parenting experience and are carefully selected for their friendliness and understanding. All volunteers are appropriately approved and all attend a course of preparation before being linked with families.
They visit one or more families a week and take their own individual skills and experience to the families they visit. They are neither paid for their work nor are they professionals, so they will not replace your health visitor or social worker. Volunteers will visit you in your home because you have invited them and they wish to offer you their time and friendship and they will accept you as you are, so please feel relaxed about visits. If you are reading this because you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please see our Volunteering page.
What to do next ?…
Any family with at least one child under 5 can ask Home-Start for help. To find out if Home-Start can help, please visit our referrals page
If we can’t offer you Home-Visiting support ?…
On some occasions we are unable to offer a family home-visiting support for a number of reasons.
If this happens to you, we would love to welcome you to one of Stay & Play sessions. These sessions are open to any family and are run by our Stay & Play Facilitator. They include a snack, story and songs. Please find out more about these on the next page.
Next: Stay & Play
