Charity head visits children's centre in Wellingborough

The chief executive of national charity Action for Children, Sir Tony Hawkhead, visited the charity’s children’s centres in Wellingborough and Daventry on Tuesday August 2.

As well as meeting staff and volunteers, Sir Tony was introduced to parents and children supported by the charity.

At Wellingborough Children’s Centre Sir Tony met local parents Paul Denton, 36, and Lisa Brown, 30, as well as their two children Roxy, 6, and Jessica, 2. Paul and Lisa completed the ‘Triple P’ (Positive Parenting Program) course last year and have recently enrolled on ‘Family Partners’, a programme that encourages parents to make positive changes to their family life.

Paul said: “It was really nice to meet Tony – we had a good long chat with him about the help me and Lisa have had over the last year or so.

“Our support worker Georgina has been brilliant; even just sorting out the simple things have made such a difference to us as a family – things like planning our day and week, and putting together a structure of activities at home and for when we go out.

“Being helped with ideas of things we can do together has been so useful as well - especially now in the summer holidays. As parents we’re both much more confident and we can definitely see a big difference in Roxy and Jessica.”

Sir Tony said: “It was fantastic to see the dedication of our staff and volunteers at Wellingborough and Daventry. I was really proud to hear of how closely we work with families to give their children the best start in life.

“Our services across Northamptonshire can be a real lifeline to parents – somewhere to get that little bit of extra support and assurance. Our staff won’t judge you if you drop in looking for help so I’d encourage parents to find out more about what we offer.”

On behalf of Northamptonshire County Council, Action for Children runs a range of services across the county including targeted family support, parenting programmes and help for those experiencing domestic violence.

The charity also provides services for families with older children and those with special education needs and disabilities.

To find out about more about nearest Action for Children centre visit actionforchildren.org.uk.