As a health visiting team in an area with high levels of deprivation we wanted to help our families become more active but realised there could also be positive knock on effects with improving attachment, parenting and reducing social isolation.
The project was also part of our Trust’s commitment to launching more Building Community Capacity projects within health visiting.
Walk, Talk and Grow BD4 was the result, although one little boy renamed it “walking club”.
Working with partner agencies in the local community we found a room where we could meet beforehand. We don’t walk too far, just to our local park where we then let the older children play on the play equipment or join in activities we organise, such as kite flying, football or hide and seek. The babies and their parents will sit and talk. To finish we walk around the park before going back for coffee and a chat.
We have made our own activity sheets for children to spot various objects during the walk and win stickers for everything they find and we have treasure maps to collect attendance stamps on, so that once they have come to six walks they win a prize.
We also give pedometers to the adults once they do their first six walks to help them track their steps and increase their activity levels. Our trust kindly helped us buy the prizes with a grant from their charitable funds.
The walk has also given the health visitors a chance to meet families in a different, very relaxed setting, we have found parents feel comfortable enough to open up and talk about their worries and problems.
We use modelling to promote positive interaction with the children and have seen children grow in confidence during their time with us. As staff we found that we are benefiting from getting out and about and being more active during our working day and we are also developing stronger links with community groups.
It has also given the team an opportunity to engage with people wanting to volunteer with the trust as we have benefited from their help to run the walk. We managed to get the walk promoted in the local newspaper and on social media and run the walk under the “Walking for Health” umbrella, with three of us completing walk leader training and first aid courses.
Ultimately we hope that we can identify a parent or volunteer to complete the walk leader training programme and that they then take over running the group, making it a true community project, our involvement would continue but in a less prominent role.