Our home-visiting volunteers work alongside families in North Somerset with at least one child under 5, giving emotional and practical support to help them get through tough times.You will be matched with a family and spend 2-4 hours a week with them. We respond to the needs of each family: some might just need someone to talk to, others may need more practical support such as getting out of the house to the local park or library, play ideas, reading with the children, finding out how to access local services, or meal planning.

What will I get out of it?

- A comprehensive initial training course. The course is 6 weekly sessions (4 hours long) in North Somerset on a week day and covers areas such as confidentiality, safeguarding, child development and perinatal mental health.

- Ongoing support and advice from the Home-Start team.

- Home-Start support has a lasting and positive impact on the development of children and the health and welfare of the family. Our volunteers find that being able to help a family in this way is extremely rewarding.

Is it right for me?

- You must be a parent yourself, or have experience of parenting young children.

- We look for volunteers who understand the pressures of bringing up a family and have a non-judgemental attitude.

- We welcome parents of all ages and backgrounds.

- You need to be free to support a family for at least 2-4 hours once a week and be able to volunteer for up to a year.

- We only support families during weekday office hours (not at weekends or in evenings) so volunteers need to be available to give their 2-4 hours during those times.