For the second year running we were named finalists and this year we were successful in our bid to be named Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce’s Social Enterprise/Charity of the Year. Stepping Stones staff attended the awards ceremony, held in the Normandy Hotel in Renfrew, on Friday the 11^th of November and were overjoyed to be announced as the winners of the award.

The evening was hosted by the Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce and comedian Fred MacAulay compered the evening. Loud and Proud, again, provided this year’s entertainment and was enjoyed by all.

Stepping Stones for Families would like to thank the Chamber, the judges and all our supporters for making this achievement possible. We would like to offer a special thanks to all of our staff, volunteers, partners and service users who work so hard to make positive changes in communities and in the lives of families, without them our work, and the changes that we bring to children, families and communities, would not be possible.

Finally, congratulations to all the much deserving winners and finalists in all of the categories.

We think this recognition shows that, simply, Stepping Stones for Families is a great wee organisation.

The organisation is extremely proud to have been nominated for the Social Enterprise of the Year award and be announced as finalists in the category for the second year running.

To be recognised as a social enterprise with excellent standards of practice and for all the good, hard work that all our staff and services provide has made all our staff very happy, we couldn’t hope for more.

Watch this space to find out how we got on.

Do you like shopping online? Would you like to raise money to help children in Scotland sitting in the comfort of your own home and at no cost?

Go to www.easyfundraising.org.uk →

Register and select “Stepping Stones for Families” as your chosen charity →

Then the next time you’re going online to shop, visit www.easyfundraising.org.uk to select the retailer you’re shopping with and, however much you spend, that retailer will give part of their profit back to your chosen charity →

That’s it! It costs you nothing, and the best part is you are helping us to continue supporting Scotland’s vulnerable children and families.

For more information of donating to Stepping Stones for Families, visit our Make a Donation page.

Votes can be placed online via the RBS Community Force website, so if you have a chance while you are online, please place your vote, each one counts.

And of course, any other votes that you can encourage will be greatly appreciated and will go a long way to adding to the projects’ chances.  

Here is link to Community Force website → http://communityforce.rbs.co.uk/

All the nominated projects can be found by searching for ‘Stepping Stones for Families’.

Alternatively, here are links to our projects →

Children’s Inclusion Partnership (CHIP)

Girvan Family Connections Project

Thistle Childcare Centre

Thank you to all our staff and supporters who make all of our work possible, and to all those who have voted for our projects. With your support we can continue to make positive changes in the lives of children and families in Scotland.

Stepping Stones for Families will expand their intensive family support service in Girvan to families with young children, typically under the age of five.  Support offered will include group sessions and 1:1’s in a family’s home.  The support provided can be very intensive and at key times for families (e.g. working with a vulnerable family every morning to introduce a routine to their lives so that children are fed and dressed ready for nursery and school).  Group work programmes focus on a range of parenting skills, and children’s emotional and behavioural development. 

In addition we will expand their Family Health and Wellbeing project to parents and children aged 0-5 years in the most deprived areas.   Most activities will be carried out in 5 centres through 1:1 work and group work.  Groups cover topics such as healthy eating and parenting, 1 :1 work focuses on the family’s specific needs and provides advice, information and opportunities for building confidence and self-esteem.

Isobel Lawson, Chief Executive Officer, has said, “Being selected to be part of the Early Years Early Action Fund is terrific. The investment will enable us to expand our Family Health and Wellbeing work into 5 new centres in Glasgow and one centre in Kilmarnock. The funding will also enable us to extend our Intensive Family Support work in Girvan in South Ayrshire, supporting vulnerable families in their own homes and local communities. We provide support when families need it most, enabling them to go on to make even more positive changes in their lives.

“We are particularly pleased to be selected by Inspiring Scotland because of the development support they provide in addition to financial investment. We know that by strengthening the capacity of our organisation we will be able to grow, and become more efficient which will not only benefit us, but it will also benefit the children and families that we support.”

Stepping Stones for Families are very pleased to have this opportunity and very much looking forward to working with Inspiring Scotland over the next year and also with our staff, key partners and stakeholders to help make a positive difference in the lives of children and families.

Minister for Children and Young People, Angela Constance met with representatives of three charities from a total of 24 who will receive a share of a  £6.8 million funding boost for vulnerable young children and families.

The Early Years Action Fund delivered by Inspiring Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Government will invest in a total of 28 projects delivered by 24 charities across Scotland.

The funding, launched earlier this year, will support vulnerable children and their families to prevent any problems they face escalating into costly and difficult crisis situations.

The areas the fund aims to support include: parenting, play, childcare, child and maternal health and family support with the clear aim of helping parents and communities build better lives for themselves and their children.

During a visit to the Scottish Learning Festival in Glasgow, Ms Constance met with representatives of Barnardo’s Scotland; Stepping Stones for Families and Circle.

Ms Constance said: “This investment of £6.8m in early years and earlier intervention is very good news with hundreds of children and families set to benefit. I’ve enjoyed meeting some of the recipients of the awards today and look forward to seeing others in due course to find out how the investment is changing children’s lives.

“Early support and preventative spending for vulnerable children and families in Scotland helps us tackle problems before they turn into crisis situations, all which is hugely beneficial for children and young people, as well as society as a whole. For every £1 spent in early intervention in the early years, taxpayer saves £9 in future. This investment is across almost the whole of Scotland supporting parents, children and local communities and I’d like to thank Inspiring Scotland for the key role  it has played in helping deliver this hugely important initiative.’’

Barnardo’s will use its award to expand its You First programme for new parents under 21 across Inverclyde & Renfrewshire; Lanarkshire; Forth Valley; Ayrshire & Arran; Tayside; Grampian and Highland, while Stepping Stones For Families will expand its family support projects in Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Girvan. Circle’s funding meanwhile will be used to expand its existing model of tailored interventions for children affected by parental substance misuse. 

Andrew Muirhead, Chief Executive of Inspiring Scotland said: “It is abundantly clear the support a child receives in their earliest years becomes a huge factor in their later life. This fund presents us with an opportunity to give a child the best start in life enabling them to fulfil their full potential.

“We know that the voluntary sector in Scotland is extremely well placed to support vulnerable children and families, and there is so much great work taking place across the country.

“We are confident that the charities we have selected to initially invest in through the Early Years Early Action Fund will benefit greatly from our unique model.  By providing substantial development support from the private sector in addition to financial investment we will reach even more children and families in most need.  We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Scottish Government on this vital area.” 

As part of the Early Years Action Fund selected charities will receive significant development support from Inspiring Scotland to strengthen their capacity to reach even more vulnerable young children and families.  This development support is provided by Inspiring Scotland directly and over 120 individuals and businesses who provide free or reduced fee services and expertise to the charities involved.  

The aim of Travel Connections was to provide transport that would make a positive difference to the lives of those living in a rural area by utilising private hire firms and volunteer drivers to provide subsidised transport to employment, training, health and social inclusion activities at times when neither public nor private transport was available.

The feasibility study is being carried out by EKOS in collaborationwith the working group.

The project is being part-financed by the Scottish Government and the European Community Ayrshire LEADER 2007-2013 Programme.

Community Jobs Scotland is a jobs programme, made available by the Scottish Government through a £10m investment, that will support 2000 individuals throughout Scotland in to employment or training opportunities within the Third Sector. The initiative will be rolled out across Scotland from August 2011 and will provide young people aged 16-24 with six-month contracts of 25 hours or more per week, for at least the minimum wage.

Stepping Stones for Families is dedicated to making and supporting positive changes in the lives of any who face, or are affected by, disadvantage in our communities. We recognise the importance for individuals to receive support, to build upon their experience and to be given a start or a boost in the employment market.

We look forward to working with individuals that possess the potential to build upon their skills and knowledge and to prepare them for future employment.

Click here for a link to our ‘Join Us’ page, where all the Community Jobs Scotland Vacancies can be viewed.

For more information on Community Jobs Scotland click here, or visit the SCVO or Scottish Government websites.

Edie Scobie project manager says the parents and children are eagerly anticipating the visit. Alongside hearing about the organisation’s broader reach of work with families the Minister will visit the children’s Peek-a-Boo garden to see the ‘Plant-Nurture-Harvest- Chop-Cook-Eat’ activity.

The Minister will learn about the financial challenges facing lone parents when she takes part in a virtual Money Management workshop. 

Angela Constance, Minister for Children and Young People, said, “I am looking forward to seeing at first hand how the project’s holistic approach assesses the demands of families, ensuring everyone’s needs are being considered.

“Stepping Stones show that by intervening early to offer family support where required, we can reduce the need for costly, crisis interventions later on.

“It also demonstrates that when services are integrated and joined-up, in line with our Getting it right for every child and young person approach, it’s possible to improve life chances and deliver better value.”

Isobel Lawson, Chief Executive of Stepping Stones, welcomes the visit and is confident the minister will see successful early intervention in action. Lawson says “ The Stepping Stones for Families holistic approach is a model of effective early intervention that makes a positive difference to the lives of vulnerable families. It is a model that can be replicated in other communities”.

Almost 400 local residents registered to use the service and on average 4000 journeys were arranged each year. By far, the highest percentage of the journeys was for travel to employment. 

In recognition of the need to combat poverty and rural isolation; remove transport barriers to employment, social inclusion activities and a range of new opportunities, Travel Connections was established in 2002 for the purpose of two years action research into the transport needs of the KA26 rural communities. The project has been very successful and as a result funding has continued for 9 years. 

The aim of the project was to make a positive difference to the lives of families living in the Carrick area by utilising private hire firms and volunteer drivers to provide subsidised transport to employment, health, training and social inclusion activities at times when neither private nor public transport was available.

The project was funded initially by the Scottish Government then Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. To help sustain this community transport lifeline, additional funds were received from the local wind farms, South Ayrshire Council Social Inclusion Partnership and funds from Stepping Stones for Families reserves. 

Stepping Stones for Families deeply regrets the loss of this important service and hopes that families find alternative transport to ensure that the people in the area continue to have access to employment and other services.

South Ayrshire Council, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, Ailsa Horizons and Stepping Stones for Families are actively exploring an alternative, more sustainable community transport service within the Carrick Area.