Dovecote Voluntary Parent Committee

Who we are

Weare a Voluntary Committee becoming a Charity Incorporated Organisation in March this year (2017 ) made up of local parents and a variety of other people who are as passionate and caring about children and families living in The Leys as we local parents are. Please see volunteer section to find out more.

Dovecote Voluntary Parent Committee is made up of local parent who came together as a constituted group in 1996 to help meet the needs of young children and families living in a new development known as Greater Leys.  We provide various services with the aim of improving outcomes and life chances for young children, children with impairments and families experiencing multi deprivations and social exclusion. We have in place a strong network of support and partnerships working with a variety of local voluntary and statutory organisations some of them we have worked closely with for the past 19 years. Our work has been recognised by a broad range of statutory, voluntary organisations and trusts, at local and national level.

Our culture and values

The guiding principle underlying all our work is consultation with, and involvement of children, young people and families. A key is to maximise the use of the Dovecote a valuable community resource. For the Dovecote centre to be vibrant, fun, local community resource owned by the community in which it seeks to serve – whose lives it enhances.

The focus of our project is providing young children including children with impairments access to affordable good quality, safe and secure play opportunities and experiences not normally accessible to them. When the new estate was established the Children & Families Services Manager consulted with local residents. The need for out of school play facilities was identified along with family social and parenting support groups. The outcome of the consultation was the creation of the Dovecote Voluntary Parent Management Committee who developed the Dovecote project, which has been successfully running for 20 years working with over 1000 families.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

The Dovecote Voluntary Parent Committee serves a multi-ethnic community, and recognises that certain groups and individuals are discriminated against as a result of their class, skin colour, belief or religion, culture, ethnic origin, disability or health status (including Aids & HIV), gender, sexuality, age or marital status.

The Dovecote Voluntary Parent Committee recognises that discrimination can be direct or indirect and takes place at the personal as well as the institutional level. We believe that such discrimination is wrong, and are committed to ensuring that our policies and practices provide equal treatment to all in the delivery of services and employment of staff.