The FNP deliver a safeguarding preventative service to teenage parents. They offer a licensed programme which engages young mothers as early on in their pregnancy as possible and then provides a consistent and constant programme of support until they graduate from the service aged two years. They aim to improve the health and life chances of both the baby and the parents but also wider family members, reduce the risk of removal into care, and improve employment and education outcomes.

The nurses always find a way to engage and work with these clients, often when other professionals have long disappeared. The clients regularly report the one thing that made the biggest difference is that the nurses were consistent and constantly present regardless of what was happening. They do not judge, do not avoid tricky difficult issues and they remain focussed on the baby.

CEO Grant Macdonald said:

“I have got to know more detail about the Family Nurse Partnership teams work over the last year. I have been inspired by their empathy and commitment – they go to great lengths to care for the young mothers and children they work with. This is an excellent service valued by many members of our community and I am delighted to acknowledge their hard work”.

The nomination

The FNP team were nominated by Service Director for Community Services Emma Leaver – for their commitment to making a difference.

Emma commented:

“Recently we held the FNP Annual Review. Two teenage mothers came to describe the experience they had had through FNP. One was 17. A care leaver, been in care most of her life. She told us she wanted to be a better mum than she had. Her son was 17 months and the brightest, happiest, most connected boy to his mum. She loves working with her nurse who helps her with all sorts of issues including development, behaviour, child safety, managing emotions- herself and her baby, housing. She was very clear had she not had the family nurse partnership service she would not have been in such a positive place, and that would have greatly impacted her son.

“The second mum who came to the annual review wanted to share her story because it demonstrated the lifelong legacy the FNP service leaves. She was 19 when she fell pregnant with her first child, homeless and estranged from her own mum. She knew she wanted better than she had had by way of parenting. She now has a bright, happy, kind six-year-old and a new baby aged 4 months, the things she learnt the first time round have been put into practice with baby number two. She has also sorted her housing- and that advice she received she has shared with her own mum who has sorted her housing also. She is working as a Teaching Assistant in a school and aims to train to be a teacher starting in 2026. Her ambition is to commence teacher training in September 2026. She was very clear with us that her child might be in care, and she might be in a very different place without the support to break that cycle. It was incredible to hear such a positive impact on our clients from this service.”