Feedback From Professionals

During my time as a Health Visitor in Maidenhead I have referred a number of families to Family Friends for support; I know that they have all found the service very helpful.  All of the volunteers are friendly and professional; many families have found them to be a lifeline when things have been particularly difficult for them at home. The support that Family Friends gives have prevented difficult situations deteriorating further and have allowed families to flourish.

Having worked alongside the Family Friends team on a number of occasions in my role as Family Link Worker, I have found them to be an invaluable source of support and guidance for parents seeking to do the best by their children.  Their flexible response and ability to tailor to the individual needs of families, inevitably results in high quality experiences and positive outcomes for all concerned. They find creative solutions for families seeking guidance or support and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them as a team of professionals.

We have made a number of referrals, for various reasons, and each has been met with a professional and speedy response.  In our busy school environment their referral system suits our needs perfectly. The Family Friends team are extremely approachable and our pupils have responded well to their care, enthusiasm and compassion.  The blocks of sessions work well and knowing that the door to Family Friends is always open gives the pupils the strength and confidence to face their individual challenges.

One of the brilliant things about working for Children's Services in the Royal Borough is the support provided to children and their parents by Family Friends. They are a unique organisation. Everyone finds parenting to be a struggle at times. Family Friends provides evidence-based interventions for parents. They know what works. As the organisation makes extensive use of well-trained and supervised volunteers (most of whom are local parents themselves), the support they offer is neither patronising, nor interfering, but genuinely family-friendly.

Family Friends offers extremely valuable services to families in the Borough. Parents talk about them being ‘a lifesaver’ and they feel their situation would have rapidly deteriorated if they had not had a Family Friends Volunteer. The Children’s Centre has worked closely with the Family Support Worker (Children's Centres and Early Years) from Family Friends. They have provided an excellent information service to parents that use the Children’s Centre and also work in partnership with us to encourage parents who, for a variety of reasons, may find accessing a Children’s Centre a challenge. Family Friends provides a really good top quality service to parents at the times when they need it most.

Support from Family Friends is so accessible because parents can approach the service to ask for help themselves. Family Friends also works with parents and other professionals to support people to be the best parents they can, and for children to have the best quality of life possible.