2025 was a busy year – for both me and the organisation. After 12 years leading the organisation, including through our first year as a registered charity, I was blessed enough to be able to step away and go on maternity leave to enjoy my first baby! The picture is of my beautiful boy Orion enjoying his first birthday.
The impact summary below shows just *some* of the amazing work my team achieved whilst I was off in 2025 and makes some use of the data we collect from our clients, to really understand the inequalities that are happening across Greater Manchester. You can read more about each of the projects and the outcomes on the individual project pages.
2026 has already been busier than ever, with all our projects ongoing, supporting hundreds of families. If there’s one thing I’ve learned on maternity leave, it’s to appreciate the small moments and reflect on how far you’ve come, so we’ll be doing more of that going forward!
We have achieved our goal of opening 6 more Stork Support hubs across Manchester, giving more families the chance to engage with statutory and specialist services at the earliest opportunity. We also joined the GM Baby Bank Network and took part in the Safe Sleep project, giving 52 families so far a safe space for their children to sleep whilst in temporary accommodation.
This year has seen a number of collaborative photoshoots for our 10th Anniversary Breastfeeding Calendar project, which includes volunteer photographers and breastfeeding mothers and babies feeding in public spaces across Bury and Salford. This calendar is a true celebration of breastfeeding in Bury and Salford, and a celebration of everything we have achieved through BOOBS over the years.
Our newest project is our Healthy Start professional training programme, commissioned by Salford City Council. Designed for professionals who work with families in Salford, the course includes: understanding eligibility for Healthy Start; helping families apply for Healthy Start; troubleshooting challenges with the Healthy Start Scheme. Ours is one component of the Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in the Early Years (PHLEY) project. Being part of this project has afforded us to contribute to the Healthy Start Taskforce and participate in the PHLEY network meetings, which helps us influence overall systems change within Greater Manchester.
We support parents aged 20-44 with at least one child under 5 years of age and who live in Manchester, Salford or Bury. 70.6% of clients across our services live in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country.
Stork Support is an early intervention and crisis prevention service for the most vulnerable families in Salford and Manchester. We provide the essentials for children who would otherwise go without the basics of clean clothes, food to eat and a safe place to sleep.
Ongoing material deprivation and financial stress in a household are proven to elevate cortisol (stress levels) in infants and children, which can impair early brain development and architecture. Early intervention and ongoing support from our service alleviates parents anxieties and protects babies early cognitive and emotional development from being damaged.
In Manchester, our families pick up their items from their nearest Sure Start centre or Family Hub, where they can access other services. Studies show that children who have access to a Sure Start centre between the ages of 0-4 have better educational outcomes, have decreased hospitalisations, and improved school attendance. In Salford, we provide wraparound support for clients at our own hub at the Emmanuel centre in Langworthy, where we also run our Stay and Play sessions. We signpost or refer families to relevant partner services when needed.
In 2025 we joined the Greater Manchester Baby Bank network, to work together with other baby bank organisations to improve outcomes for the youngest children. We particularly focused on Safe Sleep in temporary accommodation, after the shocking statistics that were released in the APPG report that temporary accommodation contributed to the deaths of 104 children, with 76 of them being under the age of one.
In 2025, we distributed 52 sleep packs including Moses Baskets, cots, blankets, mattresses, hygiene packs and Lullaby Trust Safe Sleep information.
A designated, safe sleep space is critical for an infant’s neurological development, as deep sleep is when early brain maturation and memory consolidation occur.
Infants in temporary accommodation, hotels, or overcrowded spaces face a significantly higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) due to co-sleeping or unsafe bedding. Providing Moses baskets, cots, and clean bedding directly addresses physical safety.
We supported 691 families who between them have 1713 children, including 1000 children under 5 years old (direct beneficiaries)
1,000 children supported with nappies, toiletries, food (milk), clothing, equipment or a safe space to sleep.
Nappies and toiletries ensure children are clean and hygienic and not suffering from illness due to being dirty. Prams and other equipment mean families can leave the house safely.
We are the only baby bank in Greater Manchester to consistently provide Stage 1 formula milk support in line with UNICEF standards.
Our Stork Support data shows that the highest percentage of referrals are for Black African families, Pakistani families and then other ethnicities, as White British families make up only 15.6% of all referrals.
We have noticed a correlation between the ethnicity of a family and the reasons for referral to Stork Support;
Our referral data shows a high number of clients who are in North Manchester – Cheetham, Harpurhey, Moston. We saw an increase in North Manchester referrals as we opened up Stork Support collection hubs across the year in these areas and worked with Sure Start centres and the new Family Hubs to support more families.
These hubs are also in the most deprived neighbourhoods – Harpurhey for example has postcodes in the 1% most deprived neighbourhood in the country.
These areas also have a high number of temporary accommodation and private rented HMOs which are housing families unable to afford anywhere else.
8 in 10 families referred for help from Stork Support are living in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK.
In 2024 and 2025, our referral data persistently shows that families are struggling to manage on Universal Credit; with no room for manoeuvre when a crisis or emergency happens.
Nearly 25% of referrals were also for families at risk of or are currently homeless; we’ve met families who have been sofa surfing, who’ve been sleeping in churches, who have been staying with family or friends because they cannot afford private rent. Many of these families also have No Recourse to Public Funds (no access to benefits) and are more likely to be in unstable or very low-paid work or are an international student.
Across both cities, families are struggling to manage through high rents and bills, with nearly 50% of referrals being for families living in private rented accommodation. This is followed by low-income families who are housed in social housing and struggling to budget on Universal credit, with a higher proportion of families unable to find work due to various circumstances.
We reached 223 children who are living in temporary accommodation, hostels or refuges, of which 64% were Black African, Pakistani or other ethnicities.
Our BOOBS (Be Open on Breastfeeding Support) service empowers women to breastfeed for longer through community-based and targeted home visit peer support. Mums are encouraged to self-refer to the peer support service, or can join one of our social events through booking a ticket for free through Eventbrite.
Although BOOBS reaches a different demographic of families, with the majority of families being white British, 33% of clients are living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods. This is because we work in Bury borough, which is (on paper) less deprived than Salford and Manchester, but it also has a large Jewish population. Although we are supporting less deprived families, we are still playing an important role in the cognitive development of the babies that benefit from having more breastmilk.
Of the mums we supported from Global majority ethnicities, we have noticed they are more likely to live in the deprived areas. For example, out of the 26 Asian/Asian British mums, 9 live in the most deprived 30%, while 7 live in the least deprived. Of the 9 Black/Black British mums, 3 are in the most deprived areas, and only 1 is in the least deprived.
BOOBS contributes to increased breastfeeding rates in Greater Manchester, ensuring that more children are physically healthy. 58% of BOOBS self-referrals for support in 2025 were for mums with babies under 1 month old – this crucial early intervention of peer support means more babies were able to have critical antibodies to strengthen their immune system. Resolving issues such as feeding pain and anxiety can reduce incidences of Post-Natal Depression (PND) and ensure mums are emotionally available to interact and respond to her baby.
In addition, early and successful peer support improves confidence and self-efficacy for mums, which is more likely to enable her to feed for longer.
BOOBS has been an invaluable resource for me since the birth of my daughter. I have accessed breastfeeding support multiple times through different avenues (phone and face to face), and have always felt really supported. The weekly walks were also amazing, they enabled me to be with other post partum mothers, and were excellent socialising for me and my girl. I’m so grateful to all involved.
Mum in Bury
It is with thanks to BOOBS that I’m still exclusively breastfeeding my now 7 month old baby boy. I had wince-inducing, toe-curling pain at every feed with bleeding and cut nipples. Breastfeeding was very important to me, but I couldn’t continue as it was. When BOOBS provided in-person support (at home, following C-section recovery), it really felt like a lifeline. My peer supporter took the time to carefully and sensitively understand our experience so far: what was working, what wasn’t and, ultimately, my goals for feeding. She was extremely kind, patient and made me feel seen. BOOBS’s guidance and support continued over later weeks via Whatsapp when I had questions, empowering me. It is an honour and a privilege that I get to do it for my baby and it wouldn’t have continued beyond a few weeks had it not been for support via BOOBS. I am incredibly grateful and feel so strongly that other women should receive this support too”.
Mum in Salford
Our weekly Stay and Play sessions attract a large range of families from across Salford.
73% of regular members live in the 20% most deprived areas in Salford and over 50% of regular members also use the foodbank on the same site. Our sessions are structured to create a familiar routine for attendees.
73% of our attendees have found Stay and Play through word of mouth recommendations from a friend or professional – and 80% of our original members stayed with us for up to 2 years. We are trusted by the local community to be friendly, approachable and always willing to help. Our sessions give children the opportunity to develop their first skills ready for nursery and school. We have had a high number of children with low levels of development since covid attend – and have adapted our sessions to the needs of these children and their families.
“Attending VFTS play sessions has helped my children develop important social, communication, physical, and emotional skills through play and interaction with others. It has also helped to build confidence, independence, and contributed towards their next steps for nursery and school.
The ladies are always friendly and full of good advice and support, the children enjoy attending the sessions.”
Jen,
Mum of 2 and Childminder
“I’ve only been coming more recently but my little one Freya has really enjoyed the social aspect and watching/ learning from other children. She can find some situations overwhelming like the first session we sang happy birthday and cheered and she was so sad about it. Since then and I keep bringing her she’s started to join in and enjoys the loud songs/ happy birthday no longer gets sad. Big bonus. Helping her get used to different situations, especially loudness. We love the change of toys/ areas every week and something new to explore. Following the routine has helped Freya understand what’s happening now and next. We love that. The personal, social and emotional aspect is a big one for Freya and she’s definitely progressed with this lately. So so happy!”
Rachael,
Mum of Freya
“I came to the group with my first two children and it definitely gave them a chance to learn, to interact with other children and build their social skills. Lots of the activities you put on helped them develop their gross and fine motor skills which helped as they have both moved on to nursery and are learning to write. The songs were great at building their language and teaching simple rhyming. I was a first time mum so I had no idea what to do with the kids but play group showed me different ways to enrich their development both in and out of the home.”
Elizabeth,
attended with two children 2023-2025