Who we are and what we do
Who is in the Health Visiting team?
Who do we work with?
Bright Start Health visitors work alongside early years services which would include family support workers, family engagement workers, nurseries and other children’s centre staff within the Bright Start early childhood services.
They also work alongside specialists from midwifery, primary care, speech & language and parent & baby services.
As community workers, Bright Start health visiting also works with the voluntary sector.
What we do
The Bright Start health visitors work together with families and early years services, to provide information and support, facilitating the Bright Start vision, which is to reduce stressors and build resilience in families, so that children will be happy, safe and active, learning and developing physically, emotionally and socially to their full potential. Underpinning the work the Bright Start health visitors deliver are four principles.
These are:
- the search for health needs
- the stimulation of an awareness of health needs
- the influence on policies affecting health
- the facilitation of health-enhancing activities.
We do this by taking a lead on the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme, which takes the form of five mandated visits.
Ante-Natal Contact
The initial contact made from our health visiting teams to families.
When pregnancy reaches the 28-week stage, all families will have contact from their Bright Start health visiting team introducing them to the Bright Start services and supporting individuals to think about the transition to parenthood. This contact may take the form of a letter, email or a home visit.
The email contains a number of attachments, all of which are available below:
- Bright Start leaflet
- Building a Happy Baby
- Antenatal Workshop leaflet
- Are You Expecting A Baby? (Online course)
- Breastfeeding Support in Islington
- Useful, Reliable, Evidence-Based Information for Parents
Pregnant women and their partners who would like additional support and information about pregnancy, labour and caring for their baby, may want to enrol on the Journey to Parenthood programme which is delivered across Islington Children’s Centres.
Additionally, a wide range of resources for families expecting a baby can be found here
If you haven't already registered with Bright Start and accessed the local activities and services, please print off this form and take it to your local Children's Centre where you will be helped to complete it.
10-14 Day New Birth Visit
The first home visit to the family by their named health visitor will take place when the newly born baby is aged between 10-14 days old.
The focus of this visit is the health and wellbeing of the mother and baby, and the wider family. Key health promotion topics will be discussed, with a particular focus on feeding and relationship building, transition to parenthood, sleep and the crying baby. Information will also be provided on all the local childhood services on offer, and support to engage with this as appropriate.
In addition to the New Birth Visit, all Islington parents will be invited to join the New Parents’ Group, which they can self-refer to by contacting their local Bright Start office. The New Parents’ Groups are a chance to meet other new parents and take part in topic-based discussions.
Families who would like extra support with breastfeeding can call the Islington Support Team on 020 3316 8439 (office hours) or their health visiting team. Outside of office hours, families can call the National Breastfeeding Helpline on 0300 100 0212. There are also a number of support drop-ins across Islington, information for which can all be found here.
Health Visitors help to support pregnant women and new parents who are experiencing challenges with their emotional and mental wellbeing. They will ask about families’ emotional health when they meet for routine visits and will discuss with them what the best sources of support might be. This could include offering Listening Visits – where a health visitor will visit weekly at home to listen to their concerns and offer counselling support. Health Visitors may also refer to a specialist service if that is more appropriate. Families can contact their local Bright Start health visiting team for further information about the perinatal mental health support.
If you haven't already registered with Bright Start and accessed the local activities and services, please print off this form and take it to your local Children's Centre where you will be helped to complete it.
6-8 Week Health Visitor Review
The 6-8 week health visitor review has its focus on the emotional wellbeing of parent and baby. It may take place in the home or a clinic setting, or at a children’s centre, and will be an opportunity to discuss how things are going, what activities are available to join in with, and if extra support is needed, how that can be facilitated.
Health Visitors help to support pregnant women and new parents who are experiencing challenges with their emotional and mental wellbeing. They will ask about families’ emotional health when they meet for routine visits and will discuss with them what the best sources of support might be. This could include offering Listening Visits – where a health visitor will visit weekly at home to listen to their concerns and offer counselling support. Health Visitors may also refer to a specialist service if that is more appropriate. Families can contact their local Bright Start health visiting team for further information about the perinatal mental health support.
If you haven't already registered with Bright Start and accessed the local activities and services, please print off this form and take it to your local Children's Centre where you will be helped to complete it.
12 Month Review
As a child approaches their first birthday, contact will be made from the local Bright Start health visiting team to arrange the 12 month review, which can take place in the home, clinic setting or a children’s centre.
At this review, the focus will be on the child’s development in the five key areas of:
- Communication
- Gross Motor Skills
- Fine Motor Skills
- Problem Solving
- Personal-Social
If you haven't already registered with Bright Start and accessed the local activities and services, please print off this form and take it to your local Children's Centre where you will be helped to complete it.
2-2½ Year Developmental Review
The second developmental review for a child will occur between the ages of 2 and 2½ and will be conducted by a member of the Bright Start health visiting team. This developmental review can take the form of a straight forward health review, or an integrated review if your child is in a nursery setting.
At this review, the focus will be on the child’s development in the five key areas of:
- Communication
- Gross Motor Skills
- Fine Motor Skills
- Problem Solving
- Personal-Social
Your 2 year old can learn play and make friends at a high-quality nursery, school or childminder. Apply now at www.islington.gov.uk/free2 or contact The Family Information Service on 020 7527 5959.
If you haven't already registered with Bright Start and accessed the local activities and services, please print off this form and take it to your local Children's Centre where you will be helped to complete it.
Working with parents, additional support might be offered in the form of the following:
- Complex health needs or disability
- Early Learning
- Healthy eating and healthy weight
- Home safety
- Introduction to family food
- Managing minor illnesses
- Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Oral health
- Parenting and transition to parenthood
- Sleep management
- Smoke-free homes
- Toilet training
- Vaccinations
How can I contact my Health Visitor?
There are many ways in which you can get in contact with your Bright Start Health Visiting team. You can contact your team directly here. If you’re unsure as to which team you come under, you can find this out by contacting either:
- The 0-19 Single point of access team on 020 3316 8008
- The Family Information Service on 020 7527 5959
Watch a short animation about our Health Visiting services
You can also watch the video with a voiceover in a number of other languages
Scroll down to select language: Albanian; Arabic; Czech; Polish; Russian; Somali; Turkish
Last updated16 Mar 2023