Home-Start Runnymede and Woking
There for parents when they need us most...
Because childhood can't wait
About Us
Our Year at a Glance
93 families
supported
by home-visiting
volunteers
78 families
supported by a Family Support Worker
or Co-ordinator
(crisis support)
154 new
referrals
received
18 Families attended new online groups for new mums and SEN parents
367 children
under
5 years
supported
111
children
over 5 years
supported
Over 2000
hours of
volunteer
support
Over 1000
volunteer
contacts and visits to
families
Total number
of children
supported =
478
Four main reasons why families look for Home-Start Runnymede and Woking support
1. Coping with mental health issues
2. Coping with physical health issues
3. Coping with feeling isolated
4. Involvement in child’s development
Families
We have over 30 volunteers in Runnymede and Woking at any one time and usually help over 200 local families during the course of a year, most of them will receive home visiting volunteer support. Families are from all areas of the two boroughs so it is likely that we are already supporting a family near you. In 2022-2023 Home-Start Runnymede and Woking supported 298 families with 478 children, of which 93 were supported by a volunteer in their home and 78 by either one of our Family Support Workers or Co-ordinators
Trustees
A Board of Trustees, who are interested local professionals, run Home-Start Runnymede & Woking, together with the Scheme Manager, two Co-ordinators, two Family Support Workers and an Administrator. The scheme is an independent charity in its own right but all Home-Start schemes work under the Home-Start UK umbrella and to the same Standards and Methods of Practice to provide excellent quality and uniformity.
Volunteers
Our volunteers are usually parents themselves, and are all ages and from all walks of life. They all understand the difficulties and frustrations that young families face and therefore can offer a flexible and sympathetic approach to support the family so that every child we meet can have the best start in life possible.
At Home-Start Runnymede and Woking we recruit and train new volunteers on a hybrid preparation course involving a combination of independent e-learning and face to face group sessions, before matching them with a local family. Volunteers offer friendship and support to the family for anything from a few months up to a year. We also provide regular ongoing training throughout the year on relevant family support issues, as well as peer support.
If you would like to support a family in the area, we would be really keen to hear from you. Please see the Volunteering page for more details.
Home-Start Runnymede and Woking Annual Report
Our latest Annual Review is available to download by clicking on the button below. Please note that it is around 1MB in size and may take several minutes to download depending on your internet speed. The file is in PDF format.
Next: Meet the team
