Community response to Family Centre welcomed
Members of The Highland Council’s Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee have welcomed a fully detailed self-evaluation report on the “Family Centre – Inverness”.
The Family Centre provides early intervention and support to children and families through one-to-one and/or group work. The Centre also provides fully funded early learning and childcare provision for eligible 2-year-olds with 66 children attending over a one-year period.
Cllr David Fraser, Chair of the Council’s Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee said: “The Family Centre is an excellent example of how (with support and help) children and families can thrive and prosper in their communities. Officers have listened to what support families want and need in their community and the community has responded positively and pro-actively in helping to create this excellent facility to help themselves.
“On a recent visit to the Centre I was pleased to see at first hand the excellent facilities and the service provided by staff which was graded as ‘excellent’ by the Care Inspectorate in April this year and ‘…with outstandingly high outcomes for children’. I would like to thank all the staff for their hard work in achieving this excellent report.”
Feedback from the community on two key services in the Family Centre, namely the Early Learning (nursery) provision, and a community-based Family Support Service was described by families in their own words:
- “It is a very welcoming environment.”
- “We were going through a lot and the staff were extremely helpful through it all.”
- “From the minute we started with the family centre we have felt welcome and accepted.”
- “Family being the key word Staff are angels I count myself lucky to have my child here!”
- “They’ve saved my family and myself countless times, forever grateful.”
- “Amazing staff I feel comfortable around them all.”
Previously known as the Merkinch Family Centre, the centre evolved and changed over time and in 2022, the Family Centre moved from Coronation Park, Inverness to the old Merkinch Primary School on Telford Road. The building was renovated to include two nursery areas which open onto a courtyard and garden with a family kitchen, family bathroom, group space and two office rooms also provided.
The large family kitchen space is used by parents to bulk cook, have family time and share and enjoy. The family bathroom gives people access to hot running water (bath or shower) and the use of a washing machine and tumble dryer. Support can also be provided for new parents on how to bath their baby.
Families were included in the design and decoration of group rooms in the centre which are available for a variety of purposes (training, meetings, family time, clinic, counselling and more) to ensure that the rooms are warm and welcoming to local needs.
For families struggling financially, a range of free sanitary and food items are available in the reception area to help themselves to as much or as little as they want or need.
From 1 May 2023 to 31 May 2024 family support was provided to 74 families comprising 171 children and 114 adults either through self-referral or referral from Social Work, Health, Education, Police, family or other organisations.
In addition, through the PEEP (Parents as Early Education Partners) – Learning Together Programme, 211 children and 208 adults have benefited from learning through play which helps make the most of learning opportunities in everyday life, supporting babies and children’s learning. Sixteen fathers and 16 children have also been supported through a dads/male carers group and 44 expectant parents have joined in couples workshop sessions. One-to-one sessions for 25 antenatal parents have been provided and 10 reunions sessions organised for parents to get together after their babies were born to socialise and share experiences.
Other groups developed in the centre include a Gypsy/Traveller women’s group at which 12 women and 17 children attended over the year. Bookbug Sessions were also participated in by 42 adults and 40 children, and the Play Talk Read Bus held sessions at which 15 adults and 17 children attended. Other events and sessions organised at the Family Centre included the Wee Music Matters by Artsplay Highland; a Cuppa and Cake Event attracting 30 parents; and the creation of the Family Centre Library at which 69 families registered.
Councillors welcomed the importance of the Family Centre report in highlighting the range of services being accessed by the local community and they supported the aspirations for community family support to grow across Highland.