Helping families grow stronger together
Home-Start Banbury, Bicester & Chipping Norton (HSBBCN) is quietly offering something invaluable to parents with young children: practical help, a listening ear, and steady encouragement during the early years of family life.
Their trained volunteers visit families at home, providing a friendly, consistent presence when life feels overwhelming, isolating, or uncertain. It’s simple, personal support that can make all the difference, because the early years are too important to face alone.
The families they work with
Every parent needs support at times, but some face multiple challenges that can make daily life incredibly hard. Families supported by HSBBCN may be dealing with mental health difficulties, financial pressures, domestic abuse, substance misuse, bereavement, poor housing conditions, or the additional barriers faced by refugee and asylum-seeking families.
In these situations, even small moments of practical or emotional help can make a huge impact — helping parents feel less alone and more able to give their children the safe, loving start they deserve.
Their approach: building on strengths
HSBBCN’s approach is rooted in seeing each family’s strengths and helping them grow. They focus on building parents’ confidence and skills, not creating dependency. Support is free and tailored to each family’s needs, and can include:
- One-to-one home visits (2–3 hours weekly) from a matched volunteer
- Specialist help from their Family Support Worker for more complex situations
- Three weekly drop-in play sessions during term time for parents and children
This holistic way of working means they respond to the whole picture, not just one problem in isolation.
The impact in numbers and stories
Last year, 52 volunteers supported 79 families, reaching 173 children. Feedback from parents shows just how much difference it makes:
- 100% reported higher or sustained self-esteem
- 100% felt more able to cope with isolation
- 96% felt more confident managing their children’s behaviour and development
These aren’t just numbers. They represent families feeling more capable, connected, and hopeful about the future.
Volunteers at the heart
Senior Manager Louise Sansom explains: “Our volunteers make an incredible difference to local families through small but invaluable acts of support. Giving families space to talk, someone who truly listens, someone who stands alongside them and recognises their strengths. These moments create lasting change. But it’s not just families who benefit. Our volunteers grow in confidence, learn new skills, and often use their experience as a stepping stone to new careers.”
Could you help a local family?
Home-Start Banbury Bicester and Chipping Norton is looking for volunteers with parenting experience who can spare just 2–3 hours a week. Full training and ongoing support are provided, expenses are covered, and many volunteers find the experience benefits their own wellbeing too.
As one volunteer shared: “Volunteering has been incredible for my own mental health. When you’re praising and encouraging another person, it’s difficult not to recognise your own self-worth.”
The next volunteer training course starts this September — a great time to get involved.
Get in touch
Email: info@home-startbanbury.org.uk
Visit their website.
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Jaime Hewett, Development Officer
