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Bright Start Islington’s Parent Champion Scheme was launched in January 2018. The aim of the scheme is to train and support volunteer parents to speak to other parents about Bright Start services for families from pregnancy until children are aged 5. When I started in my role as Parent Involvement Development Officer in 2017, I did a lot of research about what was already in place in the borough, and where the gaps were. I then created a tailor-made scheme with the needs of volunteers at its heart, ensuring recruitment from as wide a community as possible. The scheme is funded by Public Health, managed within the Early Years and Childcare service, and works in partnership with a wide range of professionals both internal (Family Information Service, iWork, Make Every Contact Count, Healthy Schools) and external to the Council (The Parent House, Help on Your Doorstep, Whittington Health).
Once they have been trained, the aim is for Parent Champions to spread information to other parents about:
- free early education for 2, 3, 4 year olds
- support available from the Family Information Service
- key health messages e.g. breastfeeding, dental health, vaccinations, Healthy Start
The Parent Champion scheme is a very flexible volunteer role. I always have the parents needs in mind. It is so flexible that they can do it if they’re not working, working full time or anything in between. They are not expected to perform this role in a particular place, but instead can do it within their normal daily routines, wherever that might be. It could be at the school or nursery gates, parks, swimming lessons, birthday parties, at church, the mosque, at community centres, or in the workplace; wherever they see parents in Islington with other children.
In the last 5.5 years, there have been approximately 100 Parent Champions who have received training and then gone on to volunteer. Every time a Parent Champion speaks to a parent, this is called a ‘contact’. A contact could be face to face, on the phone, or on social media. Since Covid, most contacts take place through Whatsapp. Collectively, our Parent Champions have made over 60,000 contacts! And we know that even more conversations have taken place, but these are the ones that have been captured. Reaching families we wouldn’t otherwise be reaching is one of our main priorities. We know that parent to parent word of mouth is very powerful. For example in December 2022, the take up of 2 year old free early education went up by 6% on the previous year to 76%
Another aspect of the Parent Champion’s role is to be the parent voice in planning council services. For instance, they trialled the Solihull Online Parenting before it was available and gave feedback. They inputted into the Bright Start timetables, making them more parent friendly and easier to use. They were also involved in the recruitment of Linzi Roberts-Egan, Islington’s former Chief Executive as part of the community panel.
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Our Parent Champions really represent the communities we have in Islington They are from different walks of life; some finished their education at aged 16, while others have 2 master’s degrees. We have mothers and fathers, single parents, foster carers, parents of children with SEND, and parents from a wide range of community groups and languages including: Turkish, Somali, Algerian, Spanish, Bengali, Polish, Bulgarian, Japanese, French, Kyrgz. It is so important the Parent Champions reflect the diversity of Islington’s parent community.
There are many different reasons for parents to join the scheme and become a volunteer. Some have been supported into the role by a Family Support Worker with the overall aim of increasing their confidence. Some have joined whilst on maternity leave having had no idea of the services available to them, and once they find Bright Start they don’t want anyone to experience unnecessary isolation. Some people want to use the scheme as a stepping stone, they might be changing career as they have a family and their life changes. Some of our Parent Champions told us:
“I love the feeling that I am a Parent Champion and can help other parents especially families speaking other languages and feeling isolated.”
“Since doing Parent Champion training, I have become more confident and ready to get out there and tell everyone about the services we have.”
"I am able to support specific families with information that changes their lives for the better!"
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The success the Parent Champions have gone on to achieve continually astounds me. One of our Parent Champions became a childminder. She now employs 4 people, one of whom is another Parent Champion. One of our Parent Champions is now Equality Events and Learning Manager for the Council. I am always happy to provide a reference if a parent has volunteered for 6 months or more. One parent had been a secondary school teacher in her home country and had very little English. A Parent Champion spoke to her, they communicated through Google translate. As time went by, she did an ESOL course, became a Parent Champion, became a Bright Start apprentice, and now has a full time job in an Islington primary school. Both of these Parent Champions received an award from the Coram Family and Childcare Parent Champions National Network for Biggest Personal Development in 2020. I was also lucky to receive the award for Co-ordinator of the Year the same year.
With feedback from parents and professionals, the scheme is always evolving. We have seen over time that it really does work. It’s good for the parents, it’s good for the services and good for the parents who receive information from Parent Champions or receive improved services. I am so proud of all of the parents who have taken part in the scheme. And I am excited to be part of the journey of many more Parent Champions to come.
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