Sure Start is a service to parents and carers to improve health, social and educational opportunities for children aged 0-4 in Marsh Farm.
Marsh Farm Children’s Centre
Redgrave Gardens, Marsh Farm, Luton,
LU3 3QN
Tel: 01582 515300
Fax Number:- 01582 515717
Email: Surestart@luton.gov.uk
Who are we?
We are Sure Start, Marsh Farm project. This is an exciting new service that can offer parents and carers the opportunity to work with us to improve the health, social and educational opportunities for your children aged 0-4 in the Marsh Farm, Sure Start area.
We will be providing a range of new services and improving existing ones, and also asking for your ideas about what activities you would like for your children. The Coulter Building will be available for you to use if you want to drop in to get advice and support, use the facilities, or join in with the activities we offer.
Sure Start, Marsh Farm consists of a friendly, informal team who can also visit you in your home and support you on any issues that are of concern to you. We have our own trained, professional:-
- Midwives
- Family Health Advisors (Health Visitors)
- Substance Misuse Outreach Worker
- Community Food Advisors
- Community Development Worker
- Nursery Nurse
who can provide you with up-to-date advice and information about your childrens' health and developmental needs.
Who can we work with?
- Any parent or carer living in the Sure Start area with a child under 4 years
- Any parents who may be under stress or isolated
- Parents who need help accessing different services
- Parents caring for a child with special needs
- Any parents looking for training and/or work opportunities
- Any parents finding their child's behaviour difficult to manage or challenging
- Any parents or partners who have drug or alcohol issues
Want to know more?
To find out more about what we can offer families/carers of children aged 0-4 in the Sure Start area, please call 01582 515300
Family Health Advisors
We have our own Family Health Advisors, qualified Health Visitors providing an outreach and clinic service to the families of 0-4's and parents-to-be on the Marsh Farm estate.
How the Family Health Advisors can help you:-
- Assessing your child's health, growth and development.
- Providing advice to the families of young children on such issues as teething, sleeping and feeding; immunisation programmes; parenting classes, sleep clinics and managing difficult behaviour; any special needs your child may have.
- Advising parents of 0-4's on employment and benefit rights.
- Supporting fathers-to-be and reassuring fathers about their role.
- Giving information on local support networks, including leisure activities, antenatal classes, and parent and toddler groups, and advising on childcare options.
- Helping families of young children to cope with a bereavement, serious illness, disability, and unhappy or violent relationships, family conflicts, language and cultural difficulties, and in difficult circumstances such as being a lone parent.
- Providing sensible, practical and professional advice on how to stay healthy, and running health promotion groups such as quit smoking groups, keep-fit classes, baby massage groups and stress management sessions.
If you wish to speak to our Family Health Advisors about any health issues, or to arrange a home visit, please call the Sure Start offices on 01582 515300.
Midwives
We also have our own Midwives. We work with parents-to-be, new parents and newborn babies. We aim to achieve better outcomes for parents and babies by developing services for the community.
We hope to achieve this by:-
- Offering antenatal/postnatal advice, support and education.
- Monitoring normal pregnancies.
- Advising on the examination necessary for the earliest possible diagnosis of pregnancies at risk.
- Providing a programme of parenthood preparation and a complete preparation for childbirth.
- Assisting with infant feeding.
- Detecting early signs of postnatal depression and offering support.
- Supporting those wishing to stop smoking through pregnancy.
- Offering Family Planning information and guidance on appropriate agencies.
- Giving extra support to young mums-to-be.
If you are pregnant, your antenatal care will continue with the Community Midwife attached to your GP's surgery, but you can also access the Sure Start Midwives for support. If you are less than 20 weeks pregnant our Midwives will contact you to do a home visit at about 14-18 weeks.
Nursery Nurse
We have a Nursery Nurse who provides support to parents and young children, working across education and health boundaries.
How our Nursery Nurse can help you:-
- Assisting in the organisation of parent and toddler groups.
- Working alongside parents to provide stimulating activities to aid their children's individual areas of learning and development.
- Aiding parent socialisation.
- Attending baby clinics with the Sure Start Family Health Advisors
- Offering help to families (on a one-to-one basis at home) with any concerns that they have with their child's development.
- Home Safety Assessments.
If you wish to speak to our Nursery Nurse about any of the issues mentioned above, or to arrange a home visit, please call the Sure Start offices on 01582 515300.
Community Food Advisors
We have Community Food Advisors, working to help parents-to-be and families with any food related or dietary issues concerning either themselves or their children.
How the Community Food Advisors can help you:-
- Organising a weight wise, nutrition and exercise club to help with healthy eating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
- Setting up and running practical group sessions to improve parents' cooking skills, introduce them to new recipes and ingredients, and providing advice about healthy eating on a budget.
- Giving advice on food hygiene, and health and safety issues.
- Helping parents to improve their childrens' diet by providing them with information on healthy lunch boxes, foods to avoid, dealing with fussy eaters, and any other food-related questions and concerns.
- Advising expectant mothers about the best foods to eat for the health and nutrition of both themselves and their baby.
- Supporting parents of young babies with advice about weaning on to solid food.
- Working with the Marsh Farm community to identify and deal with any food, nutrition and dietary issues concerning young children, their parents and expectant mothers on the estate.
If you wish to speak to our Community Food Advisors about any food, nutrition or dietary issues, please call them at the Sure Start offices on 01582 515300.
Community Development Worker
We have a Community Development Worker who is working in partnership with parents and carers of children aged 0-4, as well as community organisations representing the needs of pre-schoolers, to help shape the future for the children in the Marsh Farm community.
How the Community Development Worker can help you:-
- Recruiting and providing access to childcare workers, including the provision of childcare training to local parents, and those interested in working with young children on the estate.
- Helping parents of children aged 0-4 gain access to any type of training, and progress into employment.
- Assisting in the formation of community interest and support groups, and helping parents to access funding for community projects.
- Working with local playschemes, nurseries,and parent and toddler groups to ensure that good quality, accessible services are provided to the families of children aged 0-4 on the estate.
- Introducing a new educational programme and supporting health and safety awareness.
- Providing a link between parents, childcare workers, schools and community groups, helping them work towards shared goals and improve the lives of young children and their families on Marsh Farm.
To contact our Community Development Worker about any of the issues mentioned above, please call the Sure Start offices on 01582 515300.
Drug and Alcohol Outreach Worker
We have a Substance Misuse Outreach Worker who can work with parents-to-be, parents and carers of children aged 0-4, families and partners of users with drug or alcohol issues.
How the Substance Misuse Outreach Worker can help you:-
- For any drug or alcohol issues.
- For Assessment, Referral and Fast Track into treatment.
- Can visit you in the comfort of your own home.
- Provide support with housing and benefit problems.
- Offer advice and information on harm reduction.
- Relapse Prevention.
- Counselling
- Auricular (Ear) Acupuncture
- Appropriate childcare arranged when required.
For a confidential service please call our Substance Misuse Outreach Worker direct on 07816 771248 or the Sure Start offices on 01582 515300
Opening Hours
Monday to Thursday - 9am to 5pm
Friday - 9am to 4.30pm
