Over the past five years the Owl Tree has been providing face to face community support to parents and carers with young children and has established itself as an invaluable resource for these families. Free funded spaces and food/drink are offered to those in financial hardship. We have grown from a local parent and toddler group to a full-time community hub, the Owl Tree Community Nest. It runs out of a previously disused church building, bringing it back to life and allowing it to be used once more as a space for our local community run by people who live in that local community. Not only do we offer a space for other local baby/toddler groups to run, we also provides activities focussed on the adults including regular evening craft sessions and a weekend book club. A lot of work is focussed on ensuring that the barriers to attending are broken down by ensuring that those experiencing loneliness and perinatal/parental mental health issues feel able to attend and supported both face to face and through an online support community. By getting parents together and facilitating face to face conversations about the many joys and challenges they face in parenting young children, the impact on their mental health and giving each other advice about potty training, breastfeeding or getting back to work and how to access tax free childcare – the parents who visit us feel both supportive to others and supported by others. While these conversations may sound small or insignificant, the value of this cannot be understated. Each year we obtain feedback from parents and carers. The support received at the Owl Tree, from both peers and staff, has contributed to reducing low mood and anxiety either during parental leave or during the transition from one to two children by allowing them to overcome feelings of isolation, low self-esteem and low confidence. Some recent feedback: “It's a place so welcoming and dedicated to getting you all comfortable with the sometimes uncomfortable, becoming part of a regular group of parents or carers who have learnt to lead your child with total confidence in knowing you are fully supported by your community leaders. We trust you and love what has been made available to us.” “What a place! I feel very engaged and part of the community. I always feel like there's someone to talk to at the owl tree cafe and that's really good for my mental health. My husband is also really comfortable in this setting - he avoids all other formal baby/toddler groups as he feels he doesn't fit in there but he feels comfortable and never feels judged for being a man or his parenting style at the owl tree cafe.” We welcome all parents and carers of younger children and are a space welcoming to all generations.

We have gathered extensive knowledge about the community through regular informal feedback over the years. In the current year we have asked Connected Voice to perform a business review and as part of this process they sought feedback from various stakeholders including staff, volunteers and customers. The following quotes have been included to highlight what a central space the Owl Tree holds in the lives of the parents who come here, and the impact we have had for parents and carers with young families. “This is a place full of love and happiness. It shines through every single person here. If you’re having a bad day, there’s always someone there to talk to and you never feel judged. Adult life is hard, as well as being a parent on top of that, and this is such a safe place to be in.” “The owl tree has been such a fundamental part of my parenting journey. Now my kids are both in school the cafe is still an essential part of our week. I love coming to the cafe after a day at work and knowing I am in a safe non-judgemental space where I can relax and chat to other mums and staff.” We currently have an online facebook group, with over 2000 members, where we regularly consult with the community about any feedback they may have, things they would like to see and anything they would like us to change. We regularly involve the local community in events we hold and they frequently come together to provide support to us. Through the move to the newer building, we have made numerous links with local businesses and charities (including franchised baby and toddler classes, charities for parents of children with disabilities, links with local perinatal mental health services and private hire for one off business events etc) - allowing them to hire the main hall of the church to expand the locations of their services. These organisations have the opportunity to provide feedback to allow us to continually improve.

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration