'Bright Beginning' for new Children's Centre

Friday 24 July 2020

Every Child Our Future has released an impact report on Bright Beginnings, the Children’s Centre and Nursery established by the charity in 2017.

The Centre offers a combination of free and paid services to between 80-100 families using the facilities each week.

These services include antenatal classes, support for toddlers and their caregivers, one-on-one work and mental health support. An overwhelming majority of those families feel that their needs are being met.

Bright Beginnings’ services are based on the 1001 Critical Days Agenda, which stresses the importance of the period between conception and the age of two in a child’s development. Every Child Our Future hopes to encourage healthy development of children and foster a strong relationship between a child and their caregiver through these guidelines.

Staff at the Centre are trained in perinatal and infant mental health, and are supported by weekly visits from other professionals, partnerships with third sector agencies and a ‘small army’ of volunteers, all of whom are offered child protection training. According to the report, 98.8% of visitors felt that staff were helpful, knowledgeable and supportive.

“Our objective when launching Bright Beginnings was to work together with families to support the development of a secure and loving relationship between parent and child,” said Huw Evans, Chair of ECOF Guernsey. “It is great to see the outcomes positively reflect what we have all been working towards.”

Pictured: The Bright Beginnings Children's Centre and Nursery, on the site of the former St. Sampson's Infant's School.

The report states that Bright Beginnings are ‘not complacent’ in their success, and are planning services to meet additional needs, such as support for families with ongoing difficulties and staff training to assist children and families who have experienced early trauma.

Additional sessions will be offered this summer for Nursery children to prepare them for school, funded by a donation from the Sarah Groves Foundation.

During lockdown, the Children’s Centre adapted its services to continue offering support through social media, including Zoom meetings, a public Facebook page and private social media groups for new and expectant parents to share tips and offer support.

“We are incredibly proud of, and thankful to all the staff and our amazing volunteers who put their hearts, time and energy into ensuring families continued to receive support throughout lockdown,” said Rachel Copeland, a Board member for ECOF.

“The impact report reflects the dedication of the team and importance of Bright Beginnings’ work to families.”

Pictured Top: The Impact Report for the Bright Beginnings centre presents a high level of satisfaction with the services offered to young children and their families.