Home Start Warrington & Cheshire

What Home Start Warrington & Cheshire does

Home Start Warrington & Cheshire is a UK registered charity (Charity No. 1116515, Company Registration No. 5563277) founded in 1973 that provides volunteer-led family support services across Warrington, Northwich, and Winsford in Northwest England. The organisation operates a community-based service delivery model in which trained volunteers conduct weekly 2–3 hour home visits and facilitate group sessions, supporting families with children aged 0–14 who are experiencing mental health challenges, isolation, financial hardship, parenting difficulties, or limited support networks. Its service portfolio includes the core home-visiting programme, the Dad Matters programme supporting fathers and male carers, Babyzone Warrington (the first Babyzone outside London), Singing Mamas perinatal singing groups, Forest Playgroups with the Puddle Project, and various community drop-in sessions at venues including The Old School and Living Well Hub. The charity employs approximately 15 staff, contributed 1,391 volunteer hours, and supported 737 children across 400 families in 2023/24.

The underlying operating model relies on volunteer coordination infrastructure (structured training programmes including Big Hopes Big Future school readiness training, weekly structured volunteer diaries, referral forms, supervision frameworks) rather than proprietary technology. The organisation has no app, no public API, and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities. Outreach extends into Warrington Hospital and Leighton Hospital, and referrals are sourced through NHS midwives, health visitors, children's centres, Family Hubs, and self-referral via the website.

Home Start Warrington & Cheshire operates as a private non-profit with no parent company and is independently governed by a Board of Trustees led by Chair Anne Cleminson. Revenue is sourced entirely from charitable channels: two anchor grants (the National Lottery Community Fund £399,511 over four years from 2022; the Steve Morgan Foundation £150,000 over three years from 2022), ongoing foundation grants (Cheshire Community Foundation for Dad Matters, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB for Parent Infant Mental Health), corporate sponsorships, individual donations via JustGiving, Warrington Community Lottery proceeds, and Easyfundraising affiliate income. All services are provided free of charge to families.

Name

Home Start Warrington & Cheshire

Legal name

Homestart Warrington and Cheshire

Website

https://homestartwarringtonandcheshire.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Home Start Warrington & Cheshire is a UK registered charity founded in 1973 that provides volunteer-led home-visiting and group support to families with young children across Warrington, Northwich, and Winsford through programmes including Dad Matters, Babyzone, and forest playgroups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Family Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Other Individual and Family Services (62419), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Home Visiting & Parent Coaching Programs (EDACALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Coaching, Parent-Mediated & Home Visiting EI Services (EDACAFAJ), Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services (EDACALAH)

Keywords

• Family support services
• Volunteer home visiting
• Early childhood development
• Perinatal mental health
• Community fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Warrington

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations from individuals, corporate sponsors, and community fundraising events. Includes JustGiving platform donations, direct cash donations, and in-kind support from businesses.
2. Warrington Community Lottery: Weekly lottery ticket sales at £1 per week, with 1 in 50 chance to win prizes up to £25,000. Proceeds support the charity as a designated good cause.
3. Easyfundraising: Online shopping donation mechanism where partner retailers donate a portion of purchases to the charity at no cost to supporters.
4. National Lottery Funding: Large-scale grant of £399,511 over four years from The National Lottery Community Fund for operational costs, volunteer recruitment and training, and community support programs.
5. Foundation Grants: Steve Morgan Foundation provided £150,000 over three years to support expansion into Northwich and Winsford. Cheshire Community Foundation provides ongoing funding for Dad Matters program.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Home Start Warrington & Cheshire is a registered charity that provides free, volunteer-led home visiting support and community group programmes to families with young children in Warrington, Northwich and Winsford. Trained volunteers deliver 2–3 hours of weekly in-home emotional and practical support, supplemented by group activities such as Babyzone Warrington, Dad Matters father support groups, Singing Mamas, and forest playgroups in partnership with the Puddle Project.

Product overview

Home Start Warrington & Cheshire operates as a community support organization rather than a technology product company. The organization offers a portfolio of family support programs including volunteer-based home visiting services, Dad Matters (father support program), Babyzone (early years development center), Singing Mamas (perinatal singing groups), forest playgroups with Puddle Project, and various community drop-in sessions. The core service model involves trained volunteers providing emotional and practical support to families with young children, with staff coordinators managing caseloads, matching volunteers with families, and facilitating group programs. The organization expanded its geographic reach into Northwich and Winsford following Steve Morgan Foundation and National Lottery funding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dad Matters: A programme supporting dads to have successful relationships with their families, supporting dads with anxiety, stress and mental health issues, and training volunteer dads to work with the organization.
• Babyzone Warrington

Products and services

• Home Visiting Volunteer Support Core service matching trained volunteers with families for 2–3 hours weekly home visits providing emotional and practical support, including regular supervision and guidance. Targeted at families with children aged 0–14 across Warrington, Northwich and Winsford.
• Dad Matters Programme helping dads have successful relationships with their families, supporting them with anxiety, stress and mental health issues, engaging dads with services traditionally targeted at mums, and training volunteer dads to work with families. Delivered through dad-focused groups and neonatal journey support in Warrington and Cheshire.
• Babyzone Warrington Community-based early childhood development service offering infant breastfeeding support, healthy lifestyles workshops, dental clinics, pelvic floor workshops and SEND support. Hosted at Warrington Youth Zone for families in Warrington.
• Singing Mamas Free weekly singing group for women (mums, aunts, sisters, grandmothers) using the NHS 5 ways to wellbeing approach to improve mental health and community connection.
• Forest Playgroups (Puddle Project) Nature-based sensory playgroups for families offering enriching woodland experiences, woodland dens and outdoor learning activities through collaboration with the Puddle Project.
• Perinatal Support Group (Leftwich) Weekly support sessions for mums in Northwich who are pregnant or have a baby under 12 months old, providing relaxation, mindfulness activities, mental health support and practical baby care advice.
• Community Drop-in Sessions Universal free drop-in group sessions for families at multiple locations offering support and activities including a Wednesday drop-in playgroup.
• Outreach Services Emotional and practical support delivered to families outside home settings, including budget assistance, meal planning, home safety guidance, and connection to community resources through outreach at hospitals and children's centres.

Quantifiable outcome

• 737 children benefited from programs in 2023/24
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Babyzone UKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 March 2024Collaboration to launch the first Babyzone outside of London in Warrington, in partnership with Warrington Youth Zone. Babyzone provides services including infant breastfeeding support, healthy lifestyles workshops, dental clinics, pelvic floor workshops, and SEND support for early childhood development.
• Warrington Youth ZonecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 March 2024Host venue partner for Babyzone Warrington, providing the physical location for this community-based early years support service.
• Puddle ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration providing forest playgroups for families. Puddle Project sessions offer nature-based sensory experiences, woodland dens, and outdoor learning activities. Transport assistance provided to families who would otherwise be isolated.
• Singing MamasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Helen Elliot from Singing Mamas to deliver free weekly singing groups for mothers and caregivers, using NHS 5 ways to wellbeing approach to improve mental health and community connection.
• Warrington Community LotteryminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSelected as one of the good causes for the weekly community lottery. Tickets cost £1 with 1 in 50 chance to win prizes up to £25,000, with proceeds supporting local charities.
• EasyfundraisingminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline fundraising partnership enabling supporters to generate donations when shopping with 6,000+ partner retailers at no additional cost.
• Warrington Council - Children's ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Sarah Hall, and collaboration with local Family Hubs and children's services.
• Dad Matters UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational partnership delivering Dad Matters programme locally, including conferences, training, and resources for supporting fathers' mental health and engagement.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Gingerbread: UK charity supporting single-parent families with advice, helpline, and peer support. Comparable as a non-medical social support charity targeting vulnerable families with young children, though focused on a different demographic segment.

Broad incumbents

• Barnardo's: One of the UK's largest children's charities, supporting families and children through early intervention, parenting support, and family hubs. Overlaps HSW&C on family support, child development, and parent coaching service lines.
• Relate: UK charity delivering relationship support, counselling, and family wellbeing services. Comparable as a family-support charity with regional delivery, professional referral channels, and a mix of grant and self-generated income.
• The Children's Society: National charity supporting disadvantaged children through early intervention, family support, and advocacy. Comparable as a multi-programme family and children's charity reliant on grants and donations operating in overlapping geographies.
• Action for Children: National UK charity delivering services for children and families including early years support, family hubs, and one-to-one family support. Comparable operating model combining grant-funded commissioning with family-facing delivery.
• NSPCC: UK children's charity providing family support, parenting advice, and early intervention services. Comparable as a high-trust, donation- and grant-funded family support charity operating in the same North West catchment as HSW&C.
• Family Action: UK-wide charity providing family support services including home visiting, parenting programs, and early intervention. Comparable as a similarly mission-aligned charity delivering family support across multiple UK regions with grant and statutory funding.
• Home-Start UK: National umbrella body of the Home-Start network that HSW&C is affiliated with. Operates the same volunteer home-visiting model and provides HSW&C with brand, training, and quality standards across 1,000+ local schemes.

Direct peers

• Home-Start Manchester: Neighboring local Home-Start scheme operating the same volunteer home-visiting family support model in Greater Manchester. Direct comparable on service offering, target beneficiaries, and funding model, with potential referral overlap in the Northwest.

Emerging players

• Dad Matters UK: National programme HSW&C partners with to deliver father-focused perinatal and mental health support. Highly comparable on the niche of father support, a key differentiator for HSW&C, and operates in the same service space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/homestart_warr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@homestartwarringtoncheshire
• Facebookfacebook.com/HSWarrington
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/home-start-warringtonandcheshire
• Instagraminstagram.com/homestartwarrington

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Home Start Warrington & Cheshire