Little Acorn Services (LAS) provides accommodation, support and outreach services for teenage parents.

Supported accommodation:

LAS provides supported accommodation for teenage parents of pre-school aged children in need of support to achieve positive outcomes. We work with young parents to develop the skills and resilience to provide safe, stable and consistent care that promotes positive attachment between parents and children.

We support young parents to prioritise the needs of their children whilst working towards their own personal goals as we recognise that parents capacity improves of their own needs are being met and they are engaged in work that assists them to develop, grow and achieve their full potential.

The LAS staff team includes a qualified social worker with over ten years experience of working in child protection and care proceedings. All of our support workers are experienced and have or are working towards the QCF level 3 in Children and Young People. Our team works in conjunction with the relevant social work team and multi agency partners to ensure that young parents are adequately supported to provide stable nurturing care that is commensurate to the needs of their child.

Outreach:

LAS provides outreach support for young parents that are able to live independently but require additional support for their families to thrive. Our staff team visit families at home and engage in activities in the community to make long lasting improvements to their parenting. This may include support to attend appointments, forming relationships with community groups, develop routines and systems that promote positive outcomes.

The LAS Teenage Parent and Child service aims to offer guidance and support to parents using the Signs of Safety model to build on strengths whilst addressing areas for development. We are able to work with parents from a wide range of ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. We understand that young parents face a unique set of challenges due to their age and experience therefore we ensure that we are working in a manner that is supportive without losing sight of the needs of the child.