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Achievements

Each year OPFS:

  • Influences the lives of almost 9,000 families and 4,000 children – and builds their capacity to be full and active contributors to Scottish society.
  • Remains the biggest childcare at home provider in Scotland reaching out to 1,500 families each year - allowing parents to work, take time to learn or participate in training.
  • Gives active support to 2,500 families and their children in their local community.
  • Provides information and support through its lone parent help line to 3,000 families.
  • Attracts almost 200,000 hits to its website - helping visitors find vital connections to services and valuable contacts.
  • Enables hundreds of parents to find new confidence and purpose and enter work – adding to Scotland’s productivity.

Evaluations

OPFS was positively evaluated by CEIS in 2007 and the information services were externally evaluated by York Consulting in 2008, with a recommendation that they be continued as a vital service to families in need of specialist information. The Dundee Community Family Support Service was externally evaluated in 2006 by Dundee University and was judged a great success by partner agencies and parent users.

Partnerships

Partnership is at the heart of all our work. OPFS has developed excellent working partnerships with the public, voluntary,and private sectors. For example:

  • As part of Parenting Across Scotland

    • Creating a Telephone Helpline Gateway to enable call takers from Parentline Scotland to transfer clients directly to the other partner agencies, and there web sites.
    • Promoting engagement between statutory services and consortium members in relation to national policy development and information given by statutory agencies to families.
    • Engaging parents in policy making through opinion polls, focus groups, conferences and seminars.

  • Lone parent organisations

    OPFS works closely with Fife Gingerbread in Scotland and with One Parent Families/Gingerbread, SPAN and Scoop Aid in England and with Gingerbread in Northern Ireland, on UK policy issues of shared concern.

  • Anti-poverty work

    OPFS works closely with the End Child Poverty group of charities as well as those involved in the Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform, and the Scottish Free School Meals Campaign.