The last 12 months have been especially tough for parents with young children. Viva’s Charlotte Pearson-Miles shares the stories of two individuals, and the larger-scale collaborative impact of a new Early Years Network in Oxfordshire.

I’d like to frame this story with two sets of neighbours. Neighbours with young children.

The first family moved in next door when we were renting just outside Oxford. They had two small children. Our tenancy finished not long after they arrived but my husband has done various practical jobs for them.

During the first UK lockdown (March-July 2020), he noticed that the mum was struggling – by then she was pregnant with her third child – and he encouraged her to attend Friday Refresh, a weekly Zoom support group we ran in May and June.

Rebecca was a catalyst in bringing about the Oxfordshire Early Years Network.

A church goer, Rebecca had loved connecting with other families through her church’s parent and toddler groups. Lockdown meant those groups shut. New to the area, she didn’t have any other local support network.

There are two sides to every story. Many church toddler groups are run by volunteers, often either elderly and shielding, or struggling with home-schooling their own children.

Sarah, for example: “I have found it really difficult to keep up with [running my toddler group] due to increased work at home, with home schooling and working longer hours, I’ve just not had the mental capacity to stay on top of it all.”

Hearing Sarah and Rebecca’s stories highlighted the need to make sure families with 0-5s were being properly supported. As a result, I convened a ‘roundtable’ meeting of various providers to explore what could be offered within Covid guidelines.

What provision was still out there to refer mums like Rebecca to? Or for families disintegrating because of the pressures of lockdown?

There have been shocking reports such as Ofsted (Nov 2020) reporting that the abuse of babies increased by a fifth during the Covid crisis. The Chief Inspector cited the virus putting extra strain on families, with a rise also in accidental deaths.

What can we do in response? On a small scale, we can get to know families with 0-5s in our own neighbourhoods. We can be neighbours to them.

Larger scale, in true Viva collaborative style, we can start up a new countywide Early Years Network to reach as many families as possible.

Compelled by stories like Rebecca’s and Sarah’s, Doorsteps launched such an initiative in October, in partnership with Home Start, Oxford. There are already more than 150 organisations signed up, strategic-level meetings have resulted and the network is making a difference to struggling families.

Alongside regular newsletters, we have hosted three well-attended Zoom networking and training events so far. We have featured a variety of different speakers, addressing issues requested by practitioners.

One church commented: “Thank you so much for organising the gathering on Friday and for sending out all these really helpful resources – it does make a real difference…it’s great to learn from others and see what else is happening so we can pass stuff onto families.

“The wellbeing resources look really good and I’m going to email those round to all the families we’re in touch with.”

Under the UK government’s roadmap out of lockdown, parent and child groups are allowed to meet outside from 29 March, so our next meeting on Monday 22 March will focus on encouraging groups to start up again in person, outside. If you would like details of the link for this meeting, click here

What a lifeline that will be for parents of babies born in lockdown, including Rebecca, whose third child has never yet attended a real-life parent and toddler group.

Large scale impact should result as all 150+ groups in the Network, including Sarah’s, reconnect with families on their books.

And small scale? Among my current neighbours there are three struggling families with 0-5s. I’m really looking forward to inviting them all for a get-together in my garden.

Charlotte Pearson-Miles is Partnerships Manager for Doorsteps, Viva’s partner network in Oxford