In September Stepping Stones families enjoyed a gifted play session at The Yard!

Our Family Wellbeing Practitioner Clare recently attended a three day training course hosted by by Psychology of Parenting Project NES (NHS) in Glasgow, to become an Incredible Years Parent Group Leader. Read on for Clare's reflections.

After a fun packed summer, our groups have returned with exciting plans for the upcoming term.

Stepping Stones continues to be an SQA accredited centre for learning and over the last term we have had two group of parents who have been working towards their SQA award in personal development.

This month the Bump Start Workers attended Antenatal Peep Training through Peeple. The training focused on building practitioners’ abilities to support expectant parents to bond and consider their babies as individuals with emotions, thoughts and social needs.

Our groupworker, Liam, recently went to forest kindergarten training, which introduced the concept of outdoor learning and its importance for child development. The training was situated in the Granton area and focused on finding green spaces in urban areas and bringing the benefits of the outdoors to children.

Our Family Wellbeing Practitioners identified a need within their intensive parent support service: a place for mums over 25 to meet, socialise, and create new community bonds. Many of the parents we work with over 25 are less interested in or unable to attend the more formal arts and crafts, employability workshops, and young parent groups – but they still want the opportunity to meet other parents.

Last term the Bump Start Team really enjoyed volunteering with Pregnancy Counselling and Care, helping to sort donations of baby clothes and items in their new premises at the Gyle.

We have had a very busy term at our Toddler Group with lots of fun and learning. Read on to hear more about what the group have been up to.

Our Tuesday's parents group has recently concluded their Media Education project where they developed ideas that were important to them into short films.

One of our Family Wellbeing Practitioners recently attended a 3 day course ‘The Dynamics of Relationship Based Practice’ hosted by Dr Suzanne Zeedyk and Children in Scotland. Suzanne Zeedyk is a research scientist and a well known advocate for early years development relating to parent-baby connection. Read on to hear more about the key take-aways from the course.

The Introductory Group completed four sessions recently with Creative Electric founder Heather Marshall. Through Creative Electric, Heather creates theatre, live art and tape art with and for people that may not traditionally engage in the arts due to social, physical and/or financial barriers.

We’re excited to announce that the National Lottery Fund Scotland has granted us an Improving Lives award!

As we continue to develop our parent groupwork and adapt the groups’ themes to what suits the parents’ needs, Stepping Stones is planning a 5-week trial-run of a group for parents of a local primary school. Read on to find out more.

With spring and summer nearing, we are proud to announce the re-launch of our Steps to Grow programme. We run this group once a week within Granton Community gardens, which is based in a safe, secure and natural outdoor environment.

BWell Family Wellbeing Practitioners, Abi and Aimee, recently carried out our first piece of groupwork with a group of the P7 girls at one of our referring primary schools. The aim of the group was to support the girls with their upcoming transition to high school and to encourage good mental well-being. The 6-week programme was developed to cover building positive relationships, promoting increased confidence/self-esteem, introducing the importance of self-care, dealing with conflict, and managing change. The girls were identified by the school as in need of some additional support surrounding these areas.

We had a lovely day yesterday at our under 5s Christmas party, with over 40 families joining in on the celebrations.

At Stepping Stones, we believe that access to early learning opportunities are vital and we understand that the toddler stage can bring with it new challenges as well as lots of fun. Our early learning team recognised a gap for this age group due to the demand for spaces in the local nurseries and feedback from parents who were looking for local opportunities to play with their children and support their development. Read on to hear more about Toddler Steps.

Over the Autumn, parents took part in 7 sessions of Wellbeing Group, where they explored factors that affect their mental and physical health and how to improve them. They then planned activities around these factors, based on interests and areas that they were concerned about.

The Bump Start team were very pleased to welcome Maree Todd Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport along the Pregnancy and Baby Café on the 21st November.

Please take a look at our new 'What's On' this term. We would love to welcome you along!

Recently some of the team attended a day’s training at Edinburgh College that allowed us to explore our knowledge of mental health, reflect on how it affects our practice and how we look after our own mental health at work.

Throughout summer we supported 110 children and 75 parents to access our weekly activities with outings to local green spaces, the National Galleries, East Links and the Fringe. Across the 15 different trips we supported children of all ages, with an emphasis on including children under 5 so that families could access a holistic provision during the school holidays.

We have some changes to our group work programme this term!

BWell Together has been running for just over a year now, with our Family wellbeing Practitioners, Abi and Aimee supporting 33 children and their families during that time. BWell Together is made up of a range of partners include Circle, Granton Youth, Intercultural Youth Scotland, Muirhouse Youth Development Project, Pilton Youth and Children’s Project and Wester Hailes Youth Agency.

Baby Steps is one of our newer groups, read on to find out how the group came to be set up and what the families have thought about it.

Seasons for Growth is a programme which helps children and young people understand the experience of change, loss and grief and how these can impact a person's life. Mubarra completed her Seasons for Growth training in September 2022 and is coming to the end of delivering her first Season for Growth group in Pirniehall Primary School in partnership with Ferrywell Youth Project.

These are the groups we are running this term, if you would like to try one of the groups you can drop us an email, contact us via social media or call the office on 0131 551 1632.

We are running 4 sessions for families over Easter, all local and available for any of our families to come along to.

We've had a busy first term of 2023, delivering over 260 individual support sessions and 60 group work sessions so far this year. The term has saw our walking group resume, new employability support delivered to parents and Pregnancy Cafe continuing at The Heart of Newhaven. 

The run up to Christmas has been as busy as ever but it was lovely to take time last week to celebrate with families and Santa at our first big indoor party since the pandemic. Read on to hear more about what's been happening at the project this month.

It’s been an exciting few weeks at the Monday Young Parent’s group. Jay Lafferty from Watch This Space Productions has been working with the parents and sharing her experience of creating short comedy sketches, with great results!

We are excited to welcome groups back next week!

We've just finished delivering our first 'Schools Out' group which was attended by 9 P5/P6 pupils from local primary schools.

We have a couple of new groups running this term alongside our usual activities. Please get in touch if there's anything you would like to come along to.

For once the Scottish weather was kind to us this summer and the team had a great time putting on a range of activities for families. Take a look at what we got up to.........

Alongside our normal services we've lots of extra activities on for families over the summer........

One of our family wellbeing practitioners, Ali, recently completed training in group Triple P. Read on to find out more about Triple P and how it can support parents.

Think you know the story of The Three Little Pigs? Think again! Our after-school group came together over the last few months to form a theatrical troupe: ‘School’s Out!’, in which the players put together a performance of a lively, surprising and rather revolting retelling of one of the world’s best loved fairy tales, according to Roald Dahl.

Here's a peak at the groups we're running up until the summer holidays.

An absolutely choc-a-block Easter calendar this year at Stepping Stones!

We're delighted to have finally moved into our new premises at Inchgarvie Court on Ferry Road Drive.

As we enter Spring we've been reflecting on the start of the year and all that has been delivered so far to support families in North Edinburgh.

Yesterday staff from Stepping Stones’ Family Wellbeing and Group Work team joined Craig from Adventure Outdoors for bespoke training in delivering groups outdoors.

It's been great to start re-building our groups again in 2022. We are continuing to offer a blend of indoor and outdoor sessions with lots on offer for all ages. Read on to see what's available in February.

It has been a hard year for many of the families we support and hard at times for us as an organisation to continually adapt the services we could safely deliver. However, here are some photos from throughout the year highlighting the many great times we've had with families in 2021!

We've got lots coming up before groups finish for the holidays on the 16th of December. Also keep an eye on our social channels for our Christmas advent, which will be giving you ideas of things you and your family can enjoy together in the run up to the holidays.

This group has been running for four weeks and it's been great to see what the group have been getting up to. Read on to find out about the aims of the group and working towards their Hi5 awards.

Lots of great group work opportunities this term.

Starcatchers recently joined Stepping Stones at Granton Community Garden to host a series of weekly sessions aimed at children under 5 and their families. Read on to hear what the session included and what our families gained from coming along.

We've lots going on in September, if you spot anything you might be interested in or support someone who could benefit from coming along just drop us an email at info@steppingstonesnorthedinburgh.co.uk.

Our wellbeing group has recently moved outdoors after taking place on zoom for the past few months. It was great to kick start things with a fitness session at the beach!

We’ve got lots of activities still taking place over the school holidays, come and take a look at what is on!

It is World Wellbeing Week so we thought it would be a good time to tell you about our Family Wellbeing Practitioners within the Stepping Stones Team.

It's great to be able to see more families as restrictions ease. Our Steps to Grow group at Granton Community Garden is now fully up and running, with lots of activities planned up to summer.

This week is Maternal Mental Health week, and this year the focus is on Journeys to Recovery. It is always important to speak about your mental health with trusted others, and equally to feel comfortable reaching out to seek further support when you need it. But to allow women to feel comfortable doing this, everyone needs to have an awareness of how mental health can be affected after having a baby, and it is our shared responsibility to ask mothers if they are OK, in a meaningful way.

Here's what we have planned for after Easter.

Last week as part of International Women's Day we celebrated the achievements of some of the women we are proud to work with.

We continue to offer a blend of outdoor group work in small groups and online group work opportunities.

It has been a particularly tough tome for everyone over the last year, whether you are a new parent or one with a growing family. Either way, it can be difficult to know whether you're doing the best thing for your baby. That's why we've partnered with Parent Club to tell you about their Wellbeing for Wee Ones campaign.

A little look at what we are delivering next week, which we will continue to adapt in order to ensure it meets the needs of local families.

We would like to thank all of the families who have engaged with the service during 2020, it has been great to support so many and to help re-connect children and parents after lockdown. Whilst 2021 will still hold many challenges we hope that there will be many more positives to come. Read on to hear some of the great feedback we've had from families.

We are proud to be working with a range of partners on this Link up Leith project, supported by the Scottish Government funding, Investing in Communities.

Please have a look at what services we are continuing to deliver in the coming weeks as we approach Christmas. We continue to not have access to our main office / landline number so please email moragwilson@steppingstonesnorthedinburgh.co.uk or info@steppingstonesnorthedinburgh.co.uk with any queries. Stepping Stones will be close from 23rd December until 5th January.

We have really been enjoying developing our outdoor group work programme, with families having some really lovely experiences whilst they explore local green spaces and connect with peers.

Whilst there continues to be restrictions across our communities these latest changes to meeting socially do not apply to services or activities that are already exempt from these restrictions and have been permitted to open subject to their own guidance. Stepping Stones continues to safely offer a wide range of services both face to face and online. Please read on to find out more about our current activities.

We are delighted to be one of fifteen organisations chosen to be support by the Scottish Governments new Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund.

It may now be the summer holidays but we are still here providing support and planning activities for local families. Included in our summer activity packs is a treasure hunt which we've planned around North Edinburgh, click on the new tab on our website to find out more. Or read on here to find out about the rest of our summer plans.

Undoubtedly these are challenging times however families across North Edinburgh have been trying to make the most of lock down by enjoying simple things they can do at home with their children. Recently this has included taking part in our kids art competition......

We continue to offer a range of support to families and we have had some great feedback on what has been delivered so far. With this in mind we continue to plan for the weeks ahead.

We would like to say a massive thank you to the individual donors and trusts that have donated funds to support our work in the community recently. Stepping Stones continues to support families in a wide variety of ways and we would encourage any families who need extra support during this time to reach out to us.

We understand what a difficult time this is for the families in North Edinburgh and we are continuing to offer whatever support we can to those in need. Please do note that we can not currently pick up calls from our office landline. Any emergency enquiries should be made to moragwilson@steppingstonesnorthedinburgh.co.uk

In what is a very difficult time for all we have reviewed our service delivery in line with the most recent government advice regarding COVID-19 and are amending our services accordingly.

A Network of 84 organisations across Edinburgh have organised a campaign called #SideBySideEdin showing how Edinburgh’s charities work with Children, Young People & Families across the city, side by side all public services. We are pleased to be part of this campaign and for parents to have the opportunity to talk about what Stepping Stones means to them.

We are delighted to have been awarded £8695 from the Tampon Tax Community Fund which is run by Foundation Scotland. This funding is vital for us to deliver our Bump Start project which helps support pregnant women and their families.

Happy New Year from Stepping Stones! We have lots of exciting things coming up this term for families to take part in.

It has been a busy month with a whole host of different Christmas activities happening throughout the project.

We are looking forward to getting together all our Stepping Stones families for the project Christmas Party which is taking place on the 18th of December.

We had a range of activities on last week for families to enjoy and celebrate Halloween, the children loved coming along to our groups in fancy dress.

Two of our staff recently attended a training course with a focus on working with families to increase their confidence and skills in financial education.

We are currently looking for maternity cover for our Family Support worker position.

The children are settling in well after the summer break and we are exploring their interests in transport as well as taking small steps to support their independence.

Today we had a visit from Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People Shirley-Anne Somerville to talk about the new Scottish Child Payment.

Upcoming Information Session on Monday 7th October at 3 pm here at our office on 9A Pilton Drive North.

We are enjoying having all our groups back after the summer holidays and a have a term full of great new topics lined up.

We know that filling the school holidays over summer can be difficult. We have a range activities planned this summer and would love to see lots of families there!

Last week we took 9 parents and 16 children to the Scout Adventure camp Fordell Firs. This is an extra activity for families to attend and gets their summer holidays off to positive start. The project raises funds to cover all the costs of the trip and it provides great opportunities for families to enjoy time with their children.

We are excited that our work with Stellar Quines Theatre Company is nearing completion. The parents are taking part in a 9 week course which has supported them to explore young motherhood and write pieces which are now being brought to life through short film.

The groups are taking time out this week to try something new and fun!

Norinder brought a taste of India to the group this morning with the parents having lots of fun learning about different spices and how to prepare fresh Indian food on a budget.

The group had a fun first morning back planting sunflowers and looking for ladybirds. 

Families enjoyed a range of activities over the Easter Holidays, including a trip to the National Galleries.

Come into the project on the 8th of April between 10 and 12 if you would like help setting parental controls on any of your devices.

Some pictures from our PEEP group which is running from West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre on Thursday mornings. 

This week we have started peer education training with our young parents. The training takes place ahead of going into Broughton High School to deliver workshops to S3 pupils on the realities of becoming a young parent. 

We've joined the world of social media! 

Our introductory group meets twice a week in two different locations within the community. The aim of this group is to introduce families to their peers, build their confidence and reduce the isolation that many families can feel. 

Young Parent group work this term in the project.

One of 16 Projects awarded funding through the Big Lottery Fund Young Start Programme.

The children have been enjoying building on the stories they have been reading in the early years room. 

Throughout December we've been busy getting into the Christmas spirit with families.

Another successful year being supported by Forth 1 Mission Christmas, Cash for Kids.

“I’m just a Mum” is something our Muirhouse parents often found themselves saying. Supported by local artist Lauren Mclaughlin the group explored this topic using art.

Four of our young parents have just completed the Raising Children with Confidence course.