ScotlandOur local Home-Starts across Scotland support over 3000 families and nearly 6000 children very year. Our local community network of over 1000 trained volunteers work with families from before birth through to school age offering compassionate, confidential help to parents when they need us most. Our focus is on enabling parents and carers to be the warm, consistent and nurturing adults they want to be so that their children get the best possible start in life. Starting in the home our approach is as individual as the people we are helping – on most days of the week you will find teams of great parent to parent supporters involved in activities as diverse as offering one to one support around perinatal mental health problems, increasing breastfeeding through local support groups, getting children outdoors through gardening and messy play days, tackling the attainment gap in partnership with schools, bringing lonely or isolated parents together to forge new friendships and getting dads involved in antenatal workshops. Home-Start in Scotland brings the Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach to life by bringing family support to the parents and carers who need it most because childhood can’t wait. volunteer our work Contact us in Edinburgh Home-Start recognised in Scottish Parliament The work of Home-Start in Scotland has been recognised in the Scottish Parliament as Jenny Gilruth MSP tabled a members’ debate to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Home-Start Glenrothes, as well as hosting an event attended by MSPs, charity leaders and funders. Responding to the many MSPs who spoke in praise of local Home-Starts the Minister for Children and Young People, Maree Todd MSP, said she has seen the powerful work that Home-Start does across Scotland. She also said that Home-Start Scotland are carrying out vital work and that we are one of the Scottish Government's key stakeholders and delivery partners in delivering the National Parenting Strategy. During the debate tributes were paid to the work of Home-Start Glenrothes and Home-Start Cowdenbeath. Annabelle Ewing specifically praised our many volunteers and Alexander Stewart MSP referred to his previous involvement with Home-Start Perth and Home-Start Clackmannanshire and saying that our services across Stirlingshire and Fife are needed more and more. Claire Baker MSP spoke about Home-Start Kirkcaldy and Home-Start Levenmouth. She reminded her colleagues that too much time is spent applying for grants for short-term programmes despite the work of building happy, healthy connected families being vital in terms of helping local authorities achieve their long-term outcomes. She also praised several volunteers by name. We also heard high praise from Rona MacKay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, who described us as being at the forefront of the ACEs movement before anyone used that term. Later, at a reception the Minister for Mental Health Clare Haughey MSP spoke in praise of the work many Home-Starts do to improve perinatal mental health. The minister was responding to the powerful stories told by some of the young women supported by Home-Start Glasgow North, as well as two of the volunteers working with them. The women have been involved with Home-Start Glasgow North’s young mums group which has been funded by the British Red Cross and the Co-Op to tackle loneliness in mums under the age of 25. Speaking after the event, Home-Start UK’s director for Scotland, Shelagh Young said, “One-in-four of Scotland's children are living in poverty and we know the stress on families is increasing. That's why the support of Scotland's parliamentarians for the work of Home-Start's community network of trained volunteers is so important. We encourage them to do all they can to help increase investment in relationship based family support so that every child in Scotland can reach their full potential." Manage Cookie Preferences