Thurrock Community Mothers Parent Support Programme began in Essex in 1991 as the first pilot in the United Kingdom. The programme is a community development initiative that involves the careful recruitment and training of experienced and trustworthy mothers from disadvantaged areas. They promote community health and the development of early parenting skills within their own communities by delivering a semi-structured home visiting programme to parents with young children. The volunteer Community Mothers receive high quality accredited training from skilled community development nurses.

The Thurrock Breast Feeding Support Programme was first launched in 1996 in response to low breast-feeding rates and the views expressed by local mothers. It came about as a ‘sister’ programme to the Community Mothers scheme and operates as a partnership with local mothers who have breast-fed and an experienced National Childbirth Trust Breast Feeding Counsellor. Ongoing training, guidance and support are given to enable the Breast Feeding Supporters to improve levels of breast-feeding within their own communities. Skilled and experienced Breast Feeding Supporters are offered employment opportunities when possible, to enable them to become programme development workers themselves.

Thurrock Community Mothers has developed a Health Worker Basic Skills Programme in partnership with Thurrock Adult Community College. Community Mothers became aware that many parents they were visiting had basic skills needs. Health and basic skills needs are closely linked. If possible, parents are encouraged to join a local basic skills class or family learning course. However many parents lack confidence so an employed Community Mother tutor provides initial one-to-one health focused basic skills support as part of the routine mother-to-mother home visiting programme that they provide. Community Mother tutors also provide basic skills awareness training to front line health workers who are encouraged to make referrals. The project is one of 8 National Skilled for Health demonstration projects.

A 2-year research project funded by the Health Foundation, will evaluate the implementation of a collective evaluation package across several established Community Mothers schemes operating across the United Kingdom. The research will involve the collecting, ‘pooling’ and manipulation of evaluation data across the participating programmes using the evaluation strategy already developed in Thurrock. The outcomes of the research will result in the development of a sustainable monitoring and evaluation guide that would be available to the plethora of new CMPs now developing across the United Kingdom. The research will be carried out by Celia Suppiah who has co-ordinated the Thurrock Community Mothers Parent Support Programme in Essex since it began in 1991.

Find out more about the local and national training courses that we provide. Our Community Mothers receive ongoing high quality Open College accredited training (levels 1 to 3) that is built into programme delivery. Different training and progression pathways support the differing Community Mother roles. Skills development leads onto volunteer to employment opportunities encouraging local ownership and capacity building. Our national training courses are aimed at other organisations that are either running or setting up a new programme.

Please contact us to request an information pack and and how to order from our range of publications on 01375 858512. Also email us at communitymothers@btconnect.com