the postnatal gap

Gaps in Provision The postnatal gap We asked people why they joined mums’ groups in our survey and again in interviews. Many of the mums we heard from said they had attended antenatal classes, but then they experienced a ‘gap’ afterwards. Suddenly they felt isolated and alone with the new baby. Although the healthcare services…

Read More
Outside the Box Mums’ Peer Support Research

The Benefits of Peer Support Why mums join groups   Following on from our initial work setting up mums’ peer support groups in the Scottish Borders 11 years ago, we decided it was a good opportunity to follow up with some of those original mums and to talk to others about informal peer support. We…

Read More

Hello and welcome to our latest Outside the Box South-East Newsletter. Where has the year gone, it is flying by. It has been great being able to get out and see people in person again, it really does feel like some sort of ‘normality’ is returning. As always, we have been very busy here in…

Read More
Title image with Scottish Government and Outside the box logos

Tips for inclusive family groups and buggy walks New Tips guide for family groups Read and download our new resource: Tips for inclusive family groups and buggy walks. This blog shares why we think informal social connections and support among families is powerful – and ideas for shaping inclusive groups. Family connections and supportive peer…

Read More
LGBTQ+ families inclusion training -

Learning from the Queer Families peer group The Queer Families peer-support project created two LGBTQ+ inclusion resources last year, one for families and one for services and organisations supporting them. Through research and sharing stories and experiences, we put together learning on barriers LGBTQ+ families face in Scotland. Lots of charities, community and arts projects,…

Read More
Families wellbeing videos. Stories: Owl Babies and the Odd Egg

Families Wellbeing Videos Families Supporting Families: wellbeing in the pandemic Earlier in the Covid19 pandemic, Families Supporting Families worked with local creators to find new online solutions for family wellbeing. With support from the Scottish Government Wellbeing Fund, these projects were able to run engaging online sessions and create families wellbeing videos. These sessions were…

Read More
New team member in Newtown St Boswell

It has been a busy first month for our newest member of the team Fiona. Fiona is a member of the South East team working in her own village of Newtown St Boswells as a project worker one day a week supporting our Rural Wisdom and Families Supporting Families project.  Fiona has hit the ground…

Read More
Our 2 printed LGBTQ+ family support resources

We are excited to launch our new resources, developed alongside our Queer Families group! We started the Queer Families group in Glasgow in 2018 after realising there was a gap for LGBTQ families who wanted to socialise and have friendships with other LGBTQ people, in a child-friendly space. Some felt they had lost their connection…

Read More
LINKS Eyemouth awarded Scottish Children's Lottery Chance to Flourish funding!

Scottish Children’s Lottery funding for Eyemouth LINKS Eyemouth LINKS awarded a £8441 grant from the Scottish Children’s Lottery Chance to Flourish fund! During lockdown Eyemouth LINKS delivered 375 healthy ingredient bags, supporting families to cook at home and share meals virtually. Now the project will be able to continue thanks to £8441 from Chance to…

Read More

Finding ways to belong can help make us feel less lonely A sense of belonging is a human need, just like the need for food and shelter. Feeling that we belong helps us to see value in our life and helps us cope with difficult situations.  It also helps with our motivation, health, and happiness. …

Read More