‘The Spice of life’: An evaluation of Home Start Manchester South

The research was funded and undertaken by Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) between April 2013 and July 2014. The overall aim of the research was to evaluate the work undertaken by Home Start Manchester South (HSMS) for the year 2013-2014. The evaluation had the following objectives: • To explore the kinds of families and communities that the organisation provides support for. • To explore how families are referred to Home Start Manchester South. • To find out who are the volunteers for Home Start Manchester South. • To evaluate the effectiveness of Home Start Manchester South in meeting the needs of the families it works with. The research is based on focus groups with volunteers, seven interviews with families, telephone interviews with HSMS board members, database evaluation, an online questionnaire with referrers from a range of service providers, and fieldwork at training events. One member of the research team attended a HSMS evaluation event held in Withington. The research team is located within the Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social Care at MMU