ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/2018

TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2

MANAGER’S REPORT 3

EARLY YEARS 4

OUTREACH 5

GROUP WORK PROGRAMME 6

BUMP START 8

FAMILY SUPPORT 9

PARENTING OUTREACH SUPPORT SERVICE 10

FINANCIAL REVIEW 11

TRUSTEES AND STAFF 12

“IF I DIDN’T HAVE YOU AND MY FAMILY NURSE AROUND

I DON’T KNOW WHERE I WOULD BE, I’M SO HAPPY YOU ARE ALWAYS

HERE FOR ME.”

Stepping Stones North Edinburgh Client

“BUMP START HAS BEEN MY LIFELINE.”

Stepping Stones North Edinburgh Client

CONTENTS

2 3STEPPING STONES NORTH EDINBURGH ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/2018 STEPPING STONES NORTH EDINBURGH ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/2018

The past year has been a year of settling in and adapting to life in the new Child and Family Centre. The staffs of Stepping Stones and Granton Early Years are enjoying the new premises and its enhanced resources.

Our Manager, Morag Wilson, returned from her maternity leave early in 2018. As we welcomed Morag back, so we said farewell to Marilyn Keilloh. Marilyn did a splendid job easing the staff into their new situation and keeping Stepping Stones on a steady course. We wish her well in her ‘second retirement’! Morag got into her role as though she had never been away! The work has continued to develop since her return.

The organisations finances looked like suffering as several significant grant awards were coming to the end of their natural life. Happily, however, thanks to the hard work of both Managers, new funding has been secured to maintain the present level of staffing and guarantee the existing level of our service. Our main source of funding, however, remains Edinburgh Council and we are very grateful for this vital source of income.

Another change occurred when Jenny Farquharson asked to be relieved of her post as Company Secretary, due to health problems. Pat Haikney agreed to take on this role and we are grateful to her for being willing to do so. Jenny had hoped to continue as a member of the Board but, sadly, this was not to be as Jenny’s health deteriorated and she died on 27th August 2018.

Jenny was involved with Stepping Stones from the early discussions on setting this up to its actual founding in 1993 and remained on the Board from that time. She was fully committed to her position both as secretary and Company Secretary, dealing ably with both and ensuring the Board was fully aware of its responsibilities as a Charity overseen by O.S.C.R. She was also instrumental in securing new Trustees when the Board became a Company Limited by Guarantee in 2005. She worked tirelessly to promote Stepping Stones, always carrying a copy of the latest Annual Review and handing these to anyone expressing an interest.

We have been able to welcome Sandra Cumming as a new Board member. Her work experience has been in the Housing Association sector. She also brings a knowledge and involvement in Granton, where she has lived for many years.

I am indebted to my fellow trustees for their commitment and the expertise which they bring, not only to our meetings, but also in all that they do for Stepping Stones out with the meetings.

We thank the Manager and Staff for their excellent work and dedication and promise them our support has they continue to serve the parents and children of North Edinburgh.

Ian Moir Chair of the Board of Trustees

2017/2018 was a year of change for Stepping Stones. I headed off on maternity leave at the beginning of the year and Marilyn Keilloh returned from retirement to oversee the project in my absence. This was a huge undertaking as it would be within this time that Stepping Stones would move premises. Marilyn and the whole Stepping Stones team however took this in their stride and did a fantastic job, pulling together and moving into the new Granton Early Years centre in September 2017. As ever the team were adaptable and continued to deliver a high level of support to families throughout the move and we are now settled into our new space. Thanks must be given to the Granton Early Years team for welcoming us into their new building and we look forward to the joint working opportunities this will bring in the future.

As an organisation we continue to try and bring the families we work with together. Many of the families we support can lack the confidence to get out and about with their children and can feel isolated within their community. Alongside the day to day work of our organisation we are working hard to bring people together and make connections. Within the last year we’ve held a circus themed family fun day, Easter trips to the botanic cottage, days out to local swimming pool and Lauriston castle and gone further afield to the Museum of Scotland, Gorgie City Farm and the Edinburgh Fringe.

Some other highlights this year have included our Nurture group which was delivered in partnership with PYCP to 12 primary age children across eight weeks. The group was to support targeted young people to help their confidence grow, work on their communication skills and build new friendships. The group was a great success and was concluded with a residential stay. We’ve also expanded on our work in local high schools by developing a 10 week course with Craigroyston high school looking at sexual health and relationships. This was delivered to S6 pupils and in order to develop this work further we have been successful in securing funding through City of Edinburgh Council Choose Youth Work funding programme.

Finally I would like to highlight the enormous contribution our board member Jenny made to Stepping Stones. Jenny very recently passed away and will be greatly missed both by the board and the staff team. Jenny had been with Stepping Stones since its inception and was a driving force behind much of the project’s progress. She will be remembered for her commitment to the project and the care and compassion she has shown us all over the years.

Morag Wilson Manager

TRUSTEES’ REPORT MANAGER’S REPORT

4 5STEPPING STONES NORTH EDINBURGH ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/2018 STEPPING STONES NORTH EDINBURGH ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/2018

Over the past year the playroom have faced a few staff changes; however the team has continued to work together to create a safe and stimulating environment for the children and families.

Kirsten, our Early Years Parenting Practitioner, left in Aug 2017 to take up a new role at the Citadel. We wish her well for the future. Ali joined the team in October taking over Kirsten’s role and has fitted in well. He has also been a great hit with the children!

We continue to make great improvements within both of our playrooms. Staff plan weekly child led activities with a mixture of free play. This helps encourage their confidence and independence. The children have all settled in well to the new environment of the playroom at Wardieburn since moving to the new building in September. They particularly enjoy the free flow from the room to the garden where most of them choose to spend their time. There was no outdoor space for a few months so we took advantage of this and took the children and families on a variety of outings such as the museum, visits to the local parks and a teddy bears picnic at the Botanic gardens. Much fun was had by all.

Our playroom at Muirhouse has also been as busy as ever. All the babies are now on their feet and exploring the room trying to join in with the older

children. We are proud to announce that we successfully developed and nurtured five healthy butterflies from tiny caterpillars; the children were extremely pleased with their achievement. It has been another busy year with staff continuing to develop their own skill set and knowledge base. All staff have taken part in several training sessions around how to use the project’s new software system Carista, they are adapting well and continue to improve. As well as the updated training for Up Up and Away (a framework which helps to identify children’s needs and supports their learning and development), we will continue to use this document with the new revised booklets. Pam and Clara took part in an outdoor play training day which was linked to the Spare Parts and My World Outdoors documents. The training highlighted new innovative and imaginative ways to create play areas using the garden’s natural materials.The Early Years has been well attended for yet another year with 20 Families receiving keyworking and 48 children attended the playroom.Finally thank you to all the families, children and colleagues who continue to support the Early Years.

Kimberley Torrance Early Years Manager

Firstly I would like to thank all the parents who have accessed the outreach service this year. You have all engaged brilliantly with the service and brought fresh ideas which helps the service grow and develop.

The Outreach service is often the first point of contact for families and begins with home visiting to make plans for support which can include assisting with welfare benefits, housing issues, home safety and accessing social support. The main aim of my post is to support families that are isolated and encourage them to access groups within their community. Alongside putting this support in place I support families to build their confidence and enable them to engage with the Stepping Stones Introductory Group. Over the last year the groups have covered a number of topics such as personal safety, child development and healthy lifestyles. These groups are also about parents building positive relationships with their peers which can help to reduce the isolation young parents can feel. The groups are involved in the planning of their group work programme and I strive to ensure we are responsive to the needs of the parents.

The Early Years team plays an important role in helping new families to settle in to the Introductory group. Both parent and child are supported to feel confident and comfortable with the early

years room and it provides a great opportunity for children to explore and build relationships whilst their parents engage in the group work.

A new development within the introductory group has seen two of our parents become mentors within the Introductory Group. Their role within the group has been to support and befriend new parents, encouraging them to attend regularly and engage with the sessions. This will in turn help support parents to move onto our Core group work programme which provides more structured learning opportunities.

Joanne Findlay Outreach Worker

“ALL OF THE SUPPORT I’VE HAD HAS HELPED ME COME OUT OF MY SHELL AND I’VE MET NEW FRIENDS.”

Parent

EARLY YEARS OUTREACH

6 7STEPPING STONES NORTH EDINBURGH ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/2018

Our group work programme has continued to develop and grow over the last year. Our aim is to support parents to increase their confidence, reduce feelings of isolation and enable parents to be better equipped to move onto positive destinations. Working in partnership with local and national agencies helps us to achieve these aims whilst also supporting parents to make connections with their wider community. In the last year our group work has been supported by Youth Scotland’s Money for Life programme, Changeworks fuel poverty support, SHE Scotland, our community police officer delivering Personal Safety & Domestic Violence workshops, and working with local high schools to deliver our peer education programme.

This year we continued with the development of our SQA programme with the delivery of a Personal Development award. As part of the award the parents were tasked with working together to plan an event in their community. The parents expressed an interest in planning an event for older people. The aim was to build relationships with older people in their community and break down the barriers which can exist between these generations. The group worked with the Pilton Equalities Project (PEP), an organisation that supports older people in our area, and took the lead on planning and delivering an Intergenerational event. The event

was held in a local bowling club with transport provided from PEP. Three parents planned an afternoon tea and facilitated conversation with 10 older local people. They asked questions about what life was like when they were young and explored their views on young people today. Since the event one parent has applied for and gained a volunteering position with PEP.

This year for our annual residential we visited Fordell Firs. 8 parents and 14 children stayed for two nights in a lodge within the Scout grounds of Fordell. Parents got the opportunity to challenge themselves in an adventure challenge course and 3G swing while the children took part in woodland trails and art activities. This was followed by parents and children enjoying grass sledging and a waterslide activity together. All the families had a great time and enjoyed spending time outdoors. Thanks to Scout Scotland staff for making our trip a memorable one.

Kerry Riddell Programme Development Worker

GROUP WORK PROGRAMME

GROUP WORK SESSIONS INCLUDED

PERSONAL PROFILES

KEY WORKING

SQA PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARD

INTERGENERATIONAL EVENT

PEER EDUCATION TRAINING AND DELIVERY

RAISING CHILDREN WITH CONFIDENCE

LITERACY WORKSHOPS

FIRST AID

MONEY FOR LIFE

SHE SCOTLAND

CHANGEWORKS / CANNY FAMILIES

SECOND HAND SMOKE WORKSHOP

ALCOHOL AWARENESS

SEXUAL HEALTH

RECYCLE AND SEW

SOFT FURNISHINGS

JEWELLERY MAKING

TRIPS

205 SESSIONS

914 INDIVIDUAL ATTENDANCES

22 PARENTS ACROSS TWO GROUP WORK

LOCATIONS

8 9STEPPING STONES NORTH EDINBURGH ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/2018 STEPPING STONES NORTH EDINBURGH ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/2018

During the last year there have been several changes to the Bump Start and Antenatal team. Alongside the Stepping Stones move, the North West midwifery base also moved to the new Pennywell All Care Centre, from where the Bump Start team access many of their North West referrals. Parenting co-ordinator Louisa headed off on maternity leave and we welcomed Mubarra to the team to provide cover.

Mubarra came from an Early Years background and has enjoyed being able to work with the whole family whilst incorporating her early years experience. Mubarra has also gained her baby massage qualification whilst with the team and looks forward to delivering this to new bump start clients. The full team also completed ‘Big toes, little toes’ training which focused on baby/toddler bonding and parent-child attachment play for parents and their children. We are now looking forward to completing ‘Keeping the Baby in Mind’ in the upcoming months.

The Bump Start service has continued to be in high demand with health professionals maintaining their rates of referral this year. Alongside the mainstream support that Bump start delivers we also offered family swimming sessions this year and held another pamper day in the summer with

several pregnant ladies and new mums coming together for some well deserved pampering and relaxation as well as a spot of afternoon tea.

In November Claire and Jacqui attended the Faculty of Public Health Annual Conference to present Bump Starts Poster Presentation and the poster won the category for ‘Partnership Working’. The team were delighted to receive this award and have their good work recognised.

As a team we are grateful to everyone we have worked with this year and we are looking forward to continuing the work we do with the families and professionals. Special thanks to our City of Edinburgh Council Life Long Learning colleagues Jacqui Bain and Yvonne McDonald who are an integral part of the Bump Start team.

Claire Chalmers Bump Start Parenting Co-ordinator

Mubarra Ashfaque Bump Start Parenting Co-ordinator (Maternity Leave Cover)

Nicola Milne Antenatal Support Worker

The Family Support Service continues to provide a high level of support to young parents aged 25 years and under. Family Support offers one-to-one support to families who are looking to make life changes, supporting, advising and encouraging them to identify areas of need. This is carried out during the initial assessment process. Often, the focus may be on aspects of: interpersonal relationships, social inclusion, housing, finance and health. Depending on the complexity of the family’s needs, support can be offered on a short or long term basis and usually consists of regular contact including home visits. The complex profile of families predominantly dictates the need for building strong relationships, mutual respect and trust. Good communication is important in an organisation and we regard our relationships with parents and the wider community as crucial to the success of the project. My role within Family Support requires close collaboration with various agencies including working with professionals from Education, Health, Social Work, Early Years and Housing, as well as building a good rapport with other local community and voluntary organisations.

As part of family support I aim to encourage families to engage with their wider community and it has been a rewarding experience to see families overcome barriers and make it along to some of the project family fun days. The project holds a verity of events throughout the year and it’s great to see families getting to know other local families from within their community and becoming less isolated as a result.

Looking ahead we hope to be able to continue to support families to engage with group work such as Incredible Years and Triple P, which helps parents gain new resources for managing their home life. I am also looking to support the facilitation of a mindfulness group; sharing useful techniques with families experiencing issues around stress and anger management.

Morag Lang Family Support

BUMP START FAMILY SUPPORT

10 11STEPPING STONES NORTH EDINBURGH ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/2018 STEPPING STONES NORTH EDINBURGH ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/2018

There have been a number of changes in the parenting outreach support service within the last year. The service continues to be provided by two workers, however, Kirsten moved on to a new organisation in August and Anna headed off on maternity leave in December. Flexible and targeted parenting support now continues to be delivered by Ali Mcllhone and Tiam Lithgow.

Prior to beginning her maternity leave Anna was working in partnership with Circle Scotland to provide a tailored group, working with fathers, covering a variety of different topics and areas with the aim of providing them with better skills and information to take forward when with their children. This partnership is very valuable to the service and one that we look forward to developing further in the future.

As part of his post Ali is involved within the early years room setting and has been settling in well to this part of the role. As part of this he has also been undertaking outside study, completing courses at Edinburgh College in Child Development and play in early education, and he is currently studying towards a level 8 PDA in Childhood Practice, further strengthening his skills in this area and bringing new ideas to the organisation.

Both Ali and Tiam are Sleep Scotland trained so have been able to carry on the work with the sleep clinic, which has remained in high demand. Families are able to access advice and guidance to help them support their children’s sleep patterns where problems have arisen. Sleep workshops have also been delivered in partnership with Drylaw neighbourhood centre enabling waiting times for support to be reduced. Looking forward, this is something which they will continue to focus on, as it can provide really positive outcomes for families.

Alongside these pieces of work one-to-one support to both parents and children has continued to be a key focus, with engagement remaining high for both. In the year ahead we aim to build on existing partnerships and facilitate more group work, with a plan to provide a mindfulness group to parents and to bring this work in to the one-to-one work delivered to children.

Ali Mcllhone Early Years Practitioner

Tiam Lithgow Parenting Outreach Support Worker (Maternity Cover)

Stepping Stones has had a financially challenging year in as much they have reported a deficit of £12,898 (2017 – surplus £16,215), however through careful monitoring of the finances during the year, the board were comfortable to make the decision to slip into this small deficit for the year to enable the continuance of providing the services we are committed to, by utilising previous years’ surpluses.

The main reason for the deficit is due to a decrease in incoming resources, which were £338,166 (14% decrease from 2017) due not sourcing as much Income & Endowments as in previous years.

We are thankful for the support that many organisations continue to give us. Stepping Stones continues to receive the majority of its funding from the City of Edinburgh Council, Big Lottery Fund & NHS Lothian Health Improvement Fund totalling £300,172 (2017: £298,796) which represents 89% of total income (2017: 76%). The other major funding sources are Scottish Legal Aid Board, Young Start, Robertson Trust & Corra Foundation.

For 2018/2019, we have sourced some additional funding and budgeted to receive increased income, which is projected to result in a small surplus for the year. The budget will be closely monitored against actual results by the board throughout the year with the main objective to continue to provide the services committed to within the available resources.

From a cost perspective, total expenditure has decreased by £325,428 (7%) due to changes in staff levels being impacted by maternity leave and Legal and Professional fees that were unusually high in 2017 due to Auto Enrolment (Pension) and Carista (digital document management system) set up costs.

Roy Craig Treasurer

PARENTING OUTREACH SUPPORT SERVICE FINANCIAL REVIEW

TRUSTEESIan Moir Chairperson

Fiona Gray Depute Chairperson

Pat Haikney Secretary

Roy Craig Treasurer

Jenny Farquharson

Alastair Duncan

Russell Bradley

Amanda Young

Sandra Cumming (appointed April 2018)

STAFFMorag Wilson Manager

Jackie Souness Business Administrator

Kimberley Torrance Early Years Manager

Pamela Ross Early Years Practitioner

Clara Massie Early Years Practitioner

Marnie Killin Early Years Practitioner

Joanne Findlay Outreach Worker

Anna Chrystal Parenting Outreach Support Worker (Maternity Leave December 2017)

Tiam Lithgow Parenting Outreach Support Worker (Maternity Cover January 2018)

Ali McIlhone Early Years Parenting Practitioner

Morag Lang Family Support Worker

Claire Chalmers Bump Start Parenting Co-ordinator

Louisa Leggett Bump Start Parenting Co-ordinator (Maternity Leave November 2017)

Mubarra Ashfaque Bump Start Parenting Co-ordinator (Maternity Cover)

Nicola Milne Antenatal Support Worker

Kerry Riddell Programme Development Worker

Jane Welsh Group Worker

12STEPPING STONES NORTH EDINBURGH ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/2018

TRUSTEES AND STAFF

After providing support to obtain baby equipment:

“I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW GRATEFUL I AM FOR ALL THIS HELP.

I DON’T KNOW HOW TO THANK YOU. YOU’VE REALLY MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE

IN MINE AND MY KIDS’ LIVES.”

Parent

Registered in Scotland as a Private Company Limited by Guarantee No. SC281866. Charity No. SC021775 DE

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Registered Office 9A Pilton Drive North, Edinburgh EH5 1NF

t 0131 551 1632e info@steppingstonesnorthedinburgh.co.uk w www.steppingstonesnorthedinburgh.co.uk