Theme | Sub-theme | Illustrative quotes |
Factors influencing enrolment and continued engagement in the programme | Pre-engagement work enhanced recruitment | “I went to a Halloween one at [centre], but I knew about that through the health visitor.” [FG1 P1] “Mine was through me family worker.” [FG3 P2] “Someone came knocking on me door… Asking us if I wanted to go.” [FG4 P2] |
Participation in the programme led to reduced social isolation |
“When I had a baby, none of my friends were there as soon as she got to a certain age they weren’t bothered anymore and they weren’t interested. As soon as I started going to like these groups it was like people to talk to. You feel like a normal person.” [FG1 P5] “I say [name removed], I’m bored in the house, I’m coming for a coffee or do you fancy coming.” [FG3 P3] “No, I live in [place removed]… And it’s in the middle of nowhere… So it’s like, there’s one children’s centre, but they don’t have anything on." [R - Do they not, so are you back to being stuck?] "Aye.” [FG4 P1] | |
Free transport and childcare facilitate engagement | “But then it changed to volunteer drivers. And that’s when we had the problem. They were not showing up, and saying that they had shown up.” [FG 4 P5] "Mine’s only like a bus away so it wasn’t too bad for me.” [FG1 P4] “Like, for me, my mam and dad work fulltime, so I’ve got no one. Only my, like, he’s got godparents and that. He’s got my friends. But none of them will watch him.” [FG3 P1] “It’s like, one day after Christmas I was like please, please say you’s [sic] are going to be doing crèche when I come back.” [FG4 P4] | |
Teenage parent support programme leading to personal development for mother and child | Skill development can lead to future engagement in education and employment | “I do that on a Thursday, I’m doing me level, NVQ2 now. But if I wasn’t, if I didn’t go there [group], I would have had the, I don’t know a big word for that." [R - Opportunity?] … "That’s the one.” [FG2 P2] “Would like it if we did more stuff [to put] on our CV and more like working experience and stuff, do you know what I mean?” [FG3 P1] “If it wasn’t for [name] and [name] I don’t think I would have started college just yet.” [FG4 P2] “We signed up for the volunteering service… Well, I did. But, and then that… We do all the level one in cake decorating, starting January, through the college.” [FG3 P2] |
Programme helps children develop social skills | "[Name] came on loads more, his confidence." [P3] " [Name] has as well." [P4] [ P3&4 FG4] “I was scared to do [leave them] but then I was like yeah, go in, go on. When you see how much of a good time they have with having that time as well with that little bit of freedom away from us.” [ FG3 P2] “It’s had an excellent impact on me and my little boy because we were quite bad until we came here and then, we got friends.” [FG1 P3] | |
Service staff encourage participant development | “[They] put courses in your head and that. But to be fair, half of us didn’t have a choice with [name], like [laughter]." [R – Is that because she saw something in you and actually believed in you…] "Yeah.” [FG4 P3] “So I did put a complaint in about that [crèche]. But obviously, if it wasn’t for [name] saying, you know, you can put a complaint in, I wouldn’t have been confident to do it.” [FG3 P4] |
FG, focus group; P, participant; R, researcher.