Mums4aChange was established in September 2017 and offers support for mothers, with a particular focus on mothers whose children have additional needs and who are in challenging circumstances. This support is provided through a combination of creative and coaching tools via:- Group work- 1-1 coaching- Mums4aChange community events and establishing routes into other family supportThis is our third year. We have been fortunate enough to receive funding from the National Lottery via Awards for All, the People’s Health Trust using money raised by the Health Lottery South West and we have also received a Covid Response Fund small grant from the Rosa Fund. This enabled us to run Time for YOU 8-weekly weekly groups from Routeways in Plymouth as well as Jellyfish Arts Hub in Buckfastleigh as well as monthly meet-up groups which is a progression route for mothers who had completed the 8-weekly groups. When we went into the first lockdown in March 2020 we immediately took all our provision on-line running two weekly support groups which we extended to cover the first lockdown period and supplemented this with Facebook peer support. In addition we also continued to offer 2 monthly meet-up groups for any mothers who had done one of our courses to ensure on-going support where needed. Alongside this we offered monthly Musings on Motherhood events initially at Jellyfish Arts Hub and then via zoom. These events are an opportunity for mothers who have previous completed a Mums4aChange group to deepen their use of creativity as a self-development practice and share this with others. We have since continued to run all our offers via zoom.We found that by running our Time for YOU and meet-up groups on line we have been able to reach mothers who had prior to the pandemic had been unable to attend due to their own mental health challenges or their children’s challenges. In this way we have been able to provide a service to mothers who were chronically isolated prior to Covid and whose isolation has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. We plan to add online groups as part of our offer going forward.Over the course of the year we have delivered- 70 Group Sessions- 10 Individual bespoke coaching sessions- 22 Group meet ups- 10 Musings on motherhood events- A total of 95 mothers have engaged in our group sessions and 1-1’sThe benefits to our community include supporting mothers to:- Combat social and emotional isolation- Prevent ‘burnout’ and reduce stress- Use creative tools to explore some of the emotional challenges of parenting during these hugely challenging times- Increase confidence, self-esteem and self-compassion- Provide a safe and supportive environment to try out new skills and make sustainable changes and Create a network of supportUsing an abbreviated version of SWEMWS along with Kristen Neff’s self-compassion scores, we have seen positive increases for all those that attended mums4achange groups. 100% also report they agree or strongly agree that as a result of coming to the group they now take more care of themselves

Our stakeholders are mothers in need of support to focus on their emotional wellbeing, in particular mothers whose children have additional needs who are in challenging circumstances. During the pandemic they have found that services and access to support has been drastically reduced and caring duties have been massively increased. They have let us know that the groups have provided a life-line during these extremely challenging times.Consultation with stakeholders that attend mums4achange groupsStakeholders continue to be consulted about the format of each Time for YOU group. The first session of every Time for YOU cohort we run involves consulting with the participants so that we can shape the group to meet their hopes and needs. With zoom groups we also pre-meet each participant to discuss the groups and ensure it meets their needs. We create a group agreement with each group and structure the sessions based on this. The agreement can be altered as the group evolves, so that it continues to be relevant to participant’s needs. We also consult by getting feedback after each session and when the group has finished, so that we can use stakeholders feedback to improve the groups for future participants. Consultation with stakeholders that have 1-1 coachingEach 1-1 coaching programme is devised based on a consultation session with the mother who will be coached. After this a reflection form is offered for feedback after each session and the coach regularly reviews and adapts the sessions according to this feedback.We also have a ‘Tell us your experience of being a mother’ invitation on the website. This enables us to have in-depth interviews with our stakeholders about what their needs are and what they want support with and enables us to consult mothers who may not have attended a group or 1-1 coaching.Stakeholders continue to shape and influence mums4achange via all the above mechanisms plus- Consultation at community meet-ups- Opportunities to co-facilitate meet-ups and group work

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration