What do we do?

Who do you work with?

We work with Young Fathers and Fathers to be aged 25 and under. Children must be under 5 years (or unborn). We will also work with Father figures for example step fathers or males that have a significant influence on the child/ren’s life.
Fathers do not necessarily have to be in regular contact with the child/ren or the child/ren’s mother. Our staff are trained in the CAF process and are willing to and are currently working as part of the Team Around the Child structure

What can you offer me?

One to One support
We can offer One to One support for individuals where by we will help to achieve personal and professional goals. This can include help and support in finding employment or education opportunities, sign posting and support to help address drug and/or alcohol issues to general parenting support to improve confidence in the role of a father.

Groups
We are planning to offer regular group sessions for young Fathers during which we will cover a range of topics decided upon by the young fathers so that they are relevant to the young fathers themselves. These groups will be different to the many ‘Mum’s’ group that are around so that the young father can identify himself within the group.
These groups are also an opportunity for young fathers to meet other young men in a similar situation to themselves creating a new network of friends.

Accreditation
We are now able to offer an accredited course introducing young men to the prospect of becoming a father and what this entails for both the mother and for himself. The course is OCN accredited and is an informal learning opportunity designed to provide knowledge of what to expect during the pregnancy and the first few months of parenthood; it encourage his participation and opens his eyes to other considerations.
We are also hoping in the near future to run a home maintenance course in partnership with Petroc college.
We are hoping that in the future we will be able to offer Paediatric First Aid certificates for young fathers that are interested as well as Food Safety and other relevant certificates of the young fathers choosing.

Day Trips/Activities/ Residential
We recognise the importance for young fathers to embrace their role as a father but at the same time do the things that young people do and have fun. With this in mind we will run trips such as Go Karting and Paintballing as well as family days out to local attractions. We are also planning in the not too distant future to organise a residential trip to Exmoor for the young fathers as well as a film project and music opportunities making use of the local resources.

How do you know so much?
The short answer to this is that “we don’t”!!
We are a support service, we work with you to find out what you want to achieve or do and we help you do that by finding other people who are trained and who specialise in that area for example, you want to start a college course? We do not know all the courses in all of the colleges in the area. However, we can help you arrange an appointment at your local college to discuss your options and what is available for you. We can even go with you to make sure you ask all the questions you need to. We will then keep in contact with you to make sure everything is going OK and if not, what we can do about that or what you want to do next!
We have many good contacts for all sorts of services in the Northern Devon area and we will do out very best to support you in what ever you need support in.

What if I want advice but I don’t want to be identified?
We will offer any advice and or signposting to any young father that approaches us. We do not claim to know everything about everything and if we are unsure of the answer we will help you to find it by asking other agencies. Your information will be kept confidential at all times unless you give us permission otherwise.
HOWEVER in a case where we have cause to believe that a child is at risk of harm or abuse (a safeguarding threat) we are required by law to pass on the information to the required statutory authorities. In these cases, where possible, we will keep you informed of our decision and actions

Safeguarding issues?
If you have concerns regarding the welfare of a child it is important that you tell some one about it. You can contact any of the following with your concerns; they will take your concern seriously and act accordingly.

Police - 999

Multi Agency Safegarding Hub (MASH) – 0345 155 1071