Parents often start with 'safe' questions like after school clubs and later raise more complex or personal issues such as support for their children's behaviour or help with domestic violence. The service has provided information to more than 70 local families and in every case so far we have identified at least one service that the parents were unaware of and which they said they would find useful. Occasionally parents ask for a service which does not exist. When a number of St Luke's parents asked for support with their children's behaviour and we found there was nothing to pass them on to, we set up our own, tailor-made parenting course. We have now run two successful courses and are starting our third this month.
Signposts is part of a pilot, action research project.
We are working hard to continue and expand the project and are putting in a number of funding bids for a wider family support programme in south Canning Town to begin in spring 2000. She works part-time, usually on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, but responds quickly to a message on the answerphone.