Sure Start West Mansfield
Newsletter

Objectives
To embrace the ethos of the national Sure Start organisation for young families, through producing a quarterly newsletter that is both parent-led and parent read!

Strategy
Entitling the publication ‘Family Times’, recommending the adoption of a parents’ perspective to features and articles and a ‘plain English’ writing style were the natural starting points to this project. 

The first stage of each issue sees SHOUT!PR's Sarah Monsoon meeting with Sure Start’s Communications Manager and a team of local parents on its Parents’ Forum.

Considering Sure Start’s aims and objectives for the quarter, the content list is compiled by parents – with volunteers identified amongst parents and staff to contribute to articles. 

Evaluation
After the publication of each issue, SHOUT!PR seeks face- to-face feedback from the Parents’ Forum.  To date, all parents have been fully supportive of their newsletter. Its content is said to be ‘helpful, interesting – and a fun and enjoyable read’. 

Family Times is considered a key communications tool for passing on local and national information – including getting the best from new Government initiatives, de-mystifying legal and medical jargon and promoting Sure Start and local events.