A day in the life of Regine – Family Centre Support Worker
Regine, a Spurgeons Family Support Worker at Elmbridge Family Centres, gives us an insight into her work.
“My role is to support families so they can build on their strengths and resilience to best meet the needs of their children. I work with up to 15 cases at a time.
“Our service is consent based so when families are allocated to us, they can refuse our offer of support. However, most families are grateful for the help I can offer. I visit them in their home and together we identify what support they need. This can often vary in detail from the information we have received from the allocating agency.
“I carry out an Early Help Assessment and use other assessment tools so parents and children can see the progress they have made.
My role is to support families so they can build on their strengths and resilience to best meet the needs of their children
“With the families’ agreement we bring together all the agencies working with them including the children’s schools. This may be via a Team Around the Family (TAF). This holistic approach ensures that the family can still access support in the community after our involvement ends.
“I encourage the parents to attend courses and sessions to give them the knowledge, strategies and confidence to positively parent their children.
“I can also help with practical needs such as dropping off food parcels to families unable to collect them.
“I meet with the children in school as they often open up more than at their home. I can help them with whatever is worrying them or us. We draw, talk and play games. I work closely with the school so that the children can receive consistent support from all of us.
“It’s very rewarding work. The families generally respond really well and I am proud of them when they work hard to succeed. Even if their journey is not complete by the time our involvement ends, I know that they will have the right tools to carry on.”
About the Spurgeons Family Centre Service in Elmbridge and Surrey:
Spurgeons family centres in the borough of Elmbridge, Surrey are places where parents of children aged 0–11 years can share the challenges and joys of parenthood. The centres offer a range of activities and support services to help you with all aspects of parenting, helping you make sure your child gets the best start in life.
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