Home-Start Manchester Welcomes Lucy Powell MP and Dame Andrea Leadsom
27 June 2025
Local and national leaders visited Home-Start Manchester to learn more about innovative approaches to supporting babies, children and families. Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell and founder of the new charity 1001 Critical Days Foundation Dame Andrea Leadsom spent the morning at Woodville Family Hub in Cheetham and met with parents supported by Home-Start to see at first-hand how they benefit from the services provided.
The visit highlights the essential role Home-Starts play in giving babies and young children in the city the best possible start in life.
Home-Start Manchester is part of a national network of 175 Home-Starts across the UK, and in many areas Home-Starts have been delivering integrated services through family hubs to deliver perinatal and infant mental health support, school readiness projects as well as delivering home-based, volunteer-led peer support for parents.
Home-Start Manchester is also delivering an innovative programme of supporting babies by strengthening their relationship with their dads, called Dad Matters. This unique service, which was developed by Home-Start HOST in Greater Manchester, and that can be delivered though family hubs, such as Woodville, has already been expanded to 23 local Home-Starts.
Lucy and Dame Andrea were welcomed by the CEO of Home-Start Manchester, Shelley Roberts, Home-Start UK Director of Network Impact, Sarah McMullen, and Home-Start Dad Matters lead, Kieran Anders, who introduced them to parents who have received emotional and practical mental health support to help foster secure attachment with their babies. Reflecting on the visit, Lucy said:
“Andrea and I have worked together on the 1001 Critical Days issues for over ten years and I was delighted to visit the centre in Manchester with her today.”
“Manchester has long championed and protected vital spaces for early years support such as our Sure Start Centres.”
“The work and early interventions delivered by sure start centres and family hubs are crucial to giving children a great start in life and supporting parents when they need it.”
Commenting, Dame Andrea said: “It was fantastic to visit Cheetham Family Hub with Lucy today. By supporting parents and carers across Manchester, Home-Start is making a tangible difference to the lives of babies. The Dad Matters programme is especially powerful – it shines a light on the often-overlooked role dads play in their babies’ early development and emotional wellbeing. For too long, paternal mental health has been under-supported. This work is helping to change that. We know that when dads are supported, babies thrive. It is vital that we support dads to ensure that their baby has the best start for life.”
Home-Start Manchester CEO Shelley Roberts said: “We are incredibly proud to welcome Andrea to Home-Start Manchester and to be able to showcase the work we do to support babies, infants and their families across Manchester. Andrea’s visit reflects the importance of compassionate, community-based support in the earliest years of life.”
Commenting further on the difference Home-Start makes, Sarah McMullen said: “For over 50 years, Home-Start has been providing vital practical and emotional support for families in their homes and communities across the UK. By working in partnership with Family Hubs, we are ensuring more holistic and joined up support for families. This support is highly valued by parents with babies and young children, and has been shown to increase their capacity to deal with challenges and to build strong, nurturing relationships with their child.”
About Home-Start UK
Home-Start UK is a local community network of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with young children through their challenging times. Last year Home-Start supported 58,850 families and over 75,000 children across the UK.
Families struggling with perinatal mental health issues, isolation, physical health problems, bereavement, cost of living and many other issues receive the support of a volunteer who will spend around two hours a week in a family’s home supporting them in the ways that meet each family’s individual circumstances.www.home-start.org.uk
