Making a referral

Home-Start Runnymede & Woking aims to give support to families who are struggling to cope with a variety of challenges.  We work with professionals in the Social and Child Care sectors as well as with Health visitors, Family Centres, schools and nurseries and we value our relationships with other agencies.

When a family is referred to Home-Start they will be supported by an experienced, professionally run organisation that offers a high quality service. Our volunteers are normally parents themselves and after a preparation course they bring to a family their personal experience and their knowledge of the resources available in the local area.  The support is non-judgemental, free and confidential and the volunteer will visit the family in their own home for two to three hours a week.

As a voluntary organisation, Home-Start can offer a very flexible and tailored approach to individual families.

All Home-Start volunteers, staff and trustees sign up to the Home-Start Code of Conduct for Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children and are subject to an Enhanced Check  from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

How to refer a family to Home-Start

• Discuss Home-Start with the family and obtain their agreement to receive Home-Start support.
• Establish that they have at least one child under five.
• Complete and send a Referral Form (below)

Home-Start will respond to the referral by:

• setting up an initial visit with the family to discuss their individual needs
• carefully matching the skills and experience of a volunteer to the needs of the family
• introducing the volunteer to the family as soon as is possible.
• reviewing the support at regular intervals.
• keeping the referrer informed, within confidentiality guidelines, about progress, when required.

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