Our Big Hopes Big Future project supports families in the home with being school ready and supporting with all that is needed with the transition to school. Volunteers support in the home for 12 weeks.
Mum’s story – supported by a volunteer in January 2026
Mum & Dad live with Child 1 (of school age) and Child 2 who was the focus of our support and due to start school in September. Child 2 was non-verbal and was referred by their nursery for speech and language support and to develop home learning and social skills. Nursery also highlighted challenges with potty training, behaviour, concentration, and emotional regulation.
Mum has mild learning challenges and struggles with anxiety. Child 1 has been struggling with attending junior school for the last 2 years. As a result, there have been professionals coming into the home to support Child 1’s needs and discuss parenting.
Our work with the Family
Mum was initially unsure about the programme as she struggled to understand how support from a volunteer would work and was anxious about someone coming into their home and “judging” her family. However, she shared that her first impression was very positive, that the coordinator really took time to listen and she was able to share about Child 2’s needs and difficulties with behaviour. “I found her easy to talk to as in the past I had struggled with professionals… where communication had often broken down and I felt low and not confident in my parenting skills.”
The volunteer and mum formed a positive relationship, and the volunteer was able to use her experience working with children with additional needs to tailor the support for Child 2. Each week the volunteer left an activity for mum to do with her child to help embed key learning behaviours, including puzzles, games and writing tasks. The family were also supported to start using Makaton and visual timetables to aid communication.
Mum reported that Child 2 really looked forward to the volunteer’s visits, and that they would wait outside the house each week with the family dog for her to arrive. By the end of our support, mum reported improvements in her child’s ability to focus, in their behaviour and in communication, with the child even saying a few words now.
Mum’s Feedback
“The volunteer was so warm and friendly and I felt happy to share. I was really wowed with the volunteer’s knowledge and all her brilliant ideas to support. My [child] was comfortable with her within minutes. She was able to go at [their] pace each week and was very flexible and she always left time for me to talk and this really helped my confidence. She was great with the whole family.
By the end of our time together, I believe that my [child]’s attention span had tripled. My [child] has now included others in [their] world and is looking to communicate with others. [Their] behaviour has improved amazingly at home and at Nursery too. My [child] is also saying a few words now and when I asked about how they felt about the volunteer, they said ‘Happy’. I feel more confident in my parenting skills and my confidence to support my children. Thank you.”