Family Support Work

What Family Support Work does

Family Support Work (legally "The Chichester Diocesan Association for Family Support Work") is a UK registered charity (Charity No 285337) operating as a Company Limited by Guarantee, founded in 1890 by churchwomen in Chichester and headquartered at Garton House, 22 Stanford Avenue, Brighton. The charity delivers free, in-person support services to vulnerable children and families across Sussex through a distributed network of Family Support Practitioners and Play Workers, organised geographically across 20+ Sussex towns. Its core service is home-based one-to-one support covering emotional and practical help, parenting advice, money management, employment support, specialist referrals, advocacy, food/clothing provision, and winter fuel assistance. Complementary services include structured play sessions, support groups, after-school clubs, school holiday activities, daytime drop-ins, food bank distribution, and an NACCC-accredited Eastbourne Family Contact Centre for supervised and supported contact between non-resident parents and children.

The organisation operates with approximately 20+ paid staff supplemented by 209 volunteers (delivering 5,450 hours, equivalent to 2.8 FTE) and 168 Deanery Committee members supporting community fundraising and advocacy. In 2024-25, FSW supported 3,458 children (a 58% year-on-year increase) and 818 families, delivering 1,048 food bank deliveries. In 2024-25, families reported a 55% increase in parental wellbeing, 65% increase in economic stability, 47% increase in confidence and ability, 55% of families reporting children's educational needs being met, and 62% growth in social/community networks. 46% of practitioner time is now spent on educational needs, with SEND/EHCP advocacy emerging as a significant vertical.

FSW is funded through a diversified mix of streams: individual donations (single and regular monthly from £3/month), trust and foundation grants (Garfield Weston, Henry Smith Charity, Ernest Kleinwort, Chalk Cliff Trust, Laing Trust, Sussex Community Foundation, and others), corporate partnerships (Grant Thornton, PMW Communications, RBC Brewin Dolphin), charity shop retail (Eastbourne at 26 Cornfield Road), and legacy donations (via Bequeathed). Go-to-market is community-led via referrals from schools, health professionals, social care, family centres, local churches, and self-referrals; the 16+ Deanery Committees drive grassroots fundraising and advocacy. The charity is in partnership with the Diocese of Chichester and is led by CEO Martin Auton-Lloyd and Chair of Trustees Richard Bickersteth, with the Bishop of Chichester serving as President.

Name

Family Support Work

Legal name

The Chichester Diocesan Association for Family Support Work

Website

https://familysupportwork.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1890

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Family Support Work is a UK registered charity founded in 1890 that delivers free, home-based emotional and practical support to vulnerable children and families across Sussex through 20+ paid staff, 209 volunteers, and an NACCC-accredited Eastbourne Family Contact Centre.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Family and Children Social Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child Care Services (6244), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services (EDACALAH)

Keywords

• Family support services
• Children's charity
• Community social work
• Child contact centre
• Vulnerable family support

Headquarters

HQ city

Brighton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and regular donations from individuals. Single donations range from £25 to £250+ for specific purposes; regular donations start from £3/month as Friends membership.
2. Trust and Foundation Grants: Funding from charitable trusts and foundations including Ernest Kleinwort, Henry Smith Charity, Chalk Cliff Trust, Homity Trust, Laing Trust, Isabel Blackman Foundation, Three Oaks Trust, Garfield Weston, Sussex Community Foundation, Wealden District Council, Horsham District Council, and others.
3. Charity Shop Sales: Retail revenue from charity shop in Eastbourne selling pre-loved clothing, shoes, accessories, books, CDs, DVDs, toys, games, bric-a-brac, and small furniture.
4. Corporate Partnerships: Support from Sussex-based companies through employee fundraising, event participation, project sponsorship, and product/service donations. Examples include Grant Thornton, PMW Communications, and RBC Brewin Dolphin.
5. Legacy Donations: Gifts left to FSW in wills. Partnership with Bequeathed for free will writing services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Family Support Work provides free, intensive one-to-one emotional and practical support to vulnerable children and families across Sussex through home visits by Family Support Practitioners and one-to-one structured play sessions by Play Workers. Services include parenting advice, money management, employment support, specialist referrals, advocacy, food and clothing provision, and school holiday/residential breaks, complemented by an NACCC-accredited Family Contact Centre in Eastbourne, group activities, a food bank, and a charity shop.

Product overview

Family Support Work is a faith-motivated charity providing a portfolio of services to vulnerable children and families across Sussex since 1890. The core offering consists of one-to-one intensive family support through home visits by Family Support Practitioners and structured play sessions by Play Workers. Complementing this are group activities including family days out, weekend retreats, peer support groups, parent-child drop-ins, after-school clubs, and school holiday programs. FSW also operates the Eastbourne Family Contact Centre (accredited by NACCC) for supported and supervised contact, a food bank for emergency provisions, and a charity shop in Eastbourne. All services are coordinated through central office in Brighton with local practitioners covering various areas across Sussex.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• One-to-One Family Support

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,458 children supported in 2024-25 (58% increase from previous year)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Grant ThorntonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVolunteered to revitalise the charity shop and boost shop and food bank donations. Significant community impact through dedicated partnership.
• PMW CommunicationsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided invaluable contribution to the winter fuel campaign with promotional artwork that resonated with the audience.
• RBC Brewin DolphinminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGenerous fundraising donations, dedicated assistance in packing Christmas hampers, and invaluable contributions to the food bank. One member completed the Texas Ironman raising funds for FSW.
• National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSW's Eastbourne Family Contact Centre is accredited to NACCC to offer Supported and Supervised contact. Provides a safe, neutral and welcoming space for non-resident parents to meet with their children.
• Diocese of ChichestercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSW operates in partnership with the Diocese of Chichester. A faith-motivated charity established by churchwomen, now providing services to all families regardless of faith.
• BequeathedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFSW is a member of Bequeathed's charity will writing programme. Offers free wills and valuable advice to supporters wishing to leave legacy gifts to FSW.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Contact (for families with disabled children): National charity supporting families of disabled children with advice, SEND advocacy, and family support. Direct peer: highly comparable SEND/EHCP advocacy work, similar family casework model, overlapping grant funder base.
• Family Action: Long-running national charity providing family support, parenting programmes, and early-intervention services across England. Direct peer: same beneficiary cohort, similar service mix (home visits, SEND advocacy, group activities), comparable grant funding model.
• Home-Start UK: National federation of Home-Start charities delivering home-visiting, volunteer-led family support to parents of young children. Direct peer: same home-visit model, similar family/parenting focus, comparable grant and donation funding mix.

Others

• Sussex Community Foundation: Sussex-focused community foundation distributing grants to local charities including FSW. Others: a current funder and ecosystem partner rather than a competitor, but illustrative of comparable local infrastructure players.
• National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC): Industry body that accredits FSW's Family Contact Centre and supports 350+ member centres across the UK. Others: regulator/standards body for FSW's supervised contact service rather than a competitor, but central to the operating model.

Broad incumbents

• NSPCC: UK's leading child protection charity with extensive family support and safeguarding services. Broad incumbent: overlapping child welfare focus but with national scale and government partnerships.
• Barnardo's: Largest UK children's charity delivering family support, fostering, and child welfare services nationally and across Sussex. Broad incumbent: overlapping family support and SEND services but at far greater scale and through commissioned contracts.
• Action for Children: Major national charity running children's services, family support and SEND programmes across the UK, including Sussex. Broad incumbent: overlapping service portfolio with county council contracts.

Emerging players

• Relate: UK's largest provider of relationship support and counselling, including family and child contact work. Emerging player: partial overlap through relationship breakdown and family contact services, similar volunteer/counsellor model.
• Gingerbread: Charity supporting single-parent families with advice, training and peer support. Emerging player: comparable family-support niche but more specialist audience (single parents) and primarily London-headquartered.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FSWSussex
• Facebookfacebook.com/FswFamilySupportWork
• Instagraminstagram.com/familysupportwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/familysupportwork

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Family Support Work