Oxford Road Children’s Centre
The Brief:
Facilitating a series of Parents' Forums to enable local parents to help shape the services of the Oxford Road Children’s Centre in Reading; to provide training for Children’s Centre staff in participatory facilitation; and training for parents in community event planning and consultation.
Engaging Just Ideas:
Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) Children and Young People’s Services team engaged Just Ideas to work with Children Centre staff to deliver a series of Parents' Forums leading to recommendations on how the new Children’s Centre can best meet the needs of local families. The project aimed to develop the skills and confidence of parents and staff to take action in the local community, by planning events and representing or enabling the views of families to be voiced to the local authority.
The Outcome:
Using a range of participatory activities, parents and families created maps and visuals of the area and the services available and that they would like to see, as a tool for enabling planning. Just Ideas increased confidence of staff and parents in using participatory methods through parent forum meetings and capacity building training.Two groups of parents met regularly to discuss the needs of the community and how to realise them. Overall confidence of the participants was enhanced, networks extended, and very positive feedback made about the forums and events. The RBC team is excited about the process, and looking to share learning from it with other departments. Children Centre staff are pleased to have engaged meaningfully with users of the centre, and are confident that the results will be services that respond to the genuine needs of families with young children in the area.
“Just Ideas have been running the Oxford Road parents forums, getting parents involved in the development of the centre. The parents forums are now up and running, the parents are starting to work on their own projects such as dance/fitness/gardening/event planning and foods from around the world. The work that Just Ideas does is of a high standard and works really well with parents."
Georgina Clark, Children’s Centre Co-ordinator, writing to the Strategic Lead for Parenting at RBC
“A big thank you to you all for last night. Helen, you did a great job - the parents were really enthused and it was excellent. It was good to have such a good turn out - 11 parents were there."
Georgina Clark, Children’s Centre Co-ordinator
