Our history

1940

• Conference and formation of the Scottish Committee For The Unmarried Mother And Her Child
• Baby homes had closed during WW2 and many foster parents were becoming increasingly unwilling to take responsibility for other people’s children.
• A conference for social workers and other professionals, arranged by the ‘Scottish Advisory Committee of the National Council of Social Services’ (now SCVO), was called to discuss the urgent need for accommodation.
• The conference deemed that it would be valuable for voluntary organisations and professionals to continue to co-operate, and formed the Scottish Committee for the Unmarried Mother and her Child. The Committee gradually became a federation of organisations and individuals concerned with this branch of social work in Scotland.

1942

• The Scottish Committee made an approach to join with the National Council for the Unmarried Mother & her Child (NCUMC) in England, who had been working with unmarried mothers and their children since the First World War.
• The Scottish Committee then became ‘The Scottish Committee of the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child’, headquartered in London.

1945

• A pamphlet called “Another Man’s Child”, written by committee member Anne Ashley, was published.
• Although the close relationship was initially valuable, since Scots law and administration were so different, it was decided it would be better for the Committee to formally separate.
• With the National Council’s agreement, at a meeting that was held in the City Chambers in Edinburgh on 28 May 1945, with the Under Secretary of State for Scotland present, the independent organisation held its first annual meeting.
• The Scottish Committee became the Scottish Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child.

1946

• Election Of Statutory Bodies To The Council
• At its formation, no statutory agencies were invited to join the Council. However in 1946, this decision was reversed and five Medical Officers of Health were elected onto the Council.

1952

• The Council moved into its first office, renting space from the National Council for Women at 22 Stafford Street, Edinburgh.
• They also purchased a typewriter and filing cabinet.

1953

• Appeal For The SCUMC On The BBC
• Edinburgh born actor Alastair Sim presents an edition of the BBCs “Week’s Good Cause” appeal on behalf of SCUMC.

1956

• In late 1956, the treasurer’s report stated that the Council’s balance sat at just over £30, and permission was given to apply for an overdraft of up to £100.

1957

• An Extraordinary Council meeting was called in January 1957 to review the work of the Council and to consider its future “in view of the financial position, which was disturbing”.
• With extra funds and a slight increase in ‘affiliation fees’, the financial situation improved and the work continued.

1958

• In 1950 the Council received 33 requests for help from unmarried mothers.
• By 1952 the number of requests had increased to 98, and in 1958 it reached 176.
• To cope with this increase, the secretary took a 50% pay cut, which allowed the Council to hire an assistant.

1965

• Two of the Council’s recommendations concerning the registration of “illegitimate births” were incorporated into the new Birth, Marriage & Death Registration Act.

1967

• Julie-Ann Macqueen was appointed as the first Director of the Council.
• Julie-Ann Macqueen Awarded an OBE

1970

• The first tenant moved in to accommodation provided by the Council. Using the legacy left by former Chair of the Council Dr Dorothea Walpole, a housing Association was established, named in her honour.
• The Walpole Housing Association consisted of a house at 6 Craigpark, Glasgow, which had seven self-contained furnished ‘flatlets’.
• Each one had its own cooking facilities and sink as well as a separate metered electricity supply, bathrooms were shared. The house also contained a flat with its own kitchenette and bathroom for a Warden and offered support to the families as well as being responsible for the house.

1972

• The annual report stated that the Capital Reserves had “greatly benefited from the activities of St. Andrew’s”.
• The university’s Students’ Union had donated £130 in profits from their ‘contraceptive vending machine’.

1973

• The term ‘unmarried mother’ had become out-dated, the number of separated and divorced parents was growing, and there was increasing stigma around the figure of the single mother.
• The decision was made to change the name of the Council and the SCUMC became the Scottish Council for Single Parents (SCSP).
• This also coincided with the change of name of the National Council to the National Council for One Parent Families.

1984

• The Edinburgh Sitters project, now known as Firsthand Lothian, was established.
• Expansion in Glasgow and Dundee followed.
• Work in Glasgow expanded with The Play Project, which provided crèche services throughout Glasgow, as well as parent evenings.
• The Tayside Project (later the 101 Project) was established in Dundee with a drop-in centre on the City’s Whitfield estate, an area where 1 in 3 households with children was headed by a single parent.
• Expansion of Staff Numbers

1985

• Having had only seven members of staff in 1980, the SCSP employed over forty staff in 1985.

1986

• On 1 April 1986, the organisation became a registered company limited by guarantee, and a new constitution was adopted.
• Strathclyde Project Separates from SCSP

1987

• The Strathclyde Project separated from SCSP and became “OnePlus: One Parent Families Strathclyde”.

1988

• SCSP set up a Family Centre in Maddiston, near Falkirk (now Braes Children & Family Centre), with funding from Urban Aid.
• Julie-Ann Macqueen retired and her successor, former Training Officer Sue Robertson, was appointed Director.

1991

• SCSP unveiled a new logo which would “combat the stereotype of single parents as single mothers” and “give us a more approachable image”.

1995

• Stigma towards single parents remained a challenge for the organisation. Reflecting the climate of the time, the organisation changed its name to One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS).

1996

• OPFS launched its first website, in response to growing numbers of enquiries.

1999

• Dundee Sitters (now Flexible Childcare Services Scotland) established.

2001

• Edinburgh Lone Fathers Project Launched
• The Edinburgh Lone Fathers Project was launched, in partnership with Gilmerton Child & Family Centre.

2002

• The Lone Parent Helpline was launched as the Information service expanded.
• Expansion of Childcare@Home Service into North Lanarkshire.
  Family Support Project Launched

2003

• A new Family Support project was set up in Dundee, providing outreach work to families with little-to-no services.

2004

• OPFS was a founding member of Parenting Across Scotland (PAS), a partnership of charities offering support to children and families through the partners’ helplines.
• The Childcare@Home service was expanded into Aberdeenshire.

2005

• Lone Parent Helpline becomes Freephone
• The Lone Parent Helpline added a freephone number for the first time.
• OPFS Joins Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform

2006

• Alongside the Child Poverty Action Group, The Poverty Alliance and others, OPFS entered the Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform (SCoWR), a coalition of charities established to highlight concerns about the UK government’s welfare proposals.

2007

• Choices Service Established
• OPFS West of Scotland service was established in Glasgow.

2009

• OPFS Lanarkshire service established.

2011

• Sue Robertson retired, with Satwat Rehman succeeding her as Director.
• Awarded STV Appeal Funding
• STV Appeal funding helped develop family support work at Braes, the young lone parent pathway and peer mentoring in Lanarkshire. Over the next two years, the peer mentoring work was also introduced across other OPFS services.

2012

• Services in Dundee expanded with additional day-care provision and family support at Families House.
• Funding was lost for childcare services in Renfrewshire and later North Lanarkshire, but expanded and diversified in Dundee and Aberdeenshire – supporting out of school childcare services and providing specialist services for children with disabilities.

2013

• Expansion of Services for Single Fathers
• Funding from the Early Years Early Action Fund allowed OPFS to develop services for single and contact dads in Dundee and Falkirk. This was extended to Lanarkshire with support from the Third Sector Early Intervention Fund.

2014

• With annual revenue in excess of £2.8m, OPFS became an accredited Living Wage Employer. The organisation received 2,848 helpline enquiries and directly supported 2,062 families through group and individual support.
• Tackling Money Worries
• Tackling Money Worries – a partnership between OPFS and Shelter Scotland – was launched.
• STV grant enables re-structure of Falkirk services

2017

• In 2017, STV awarded us 2 years extra funding which enabled us to restructure our Falkirk Service to include benefits advice, serving healthy family meals and offering activities at Family, Food and Fun, setting up community groups, emergency store and clothing bank.

2018

• OPFS celebrated its 30th Anniversary of services in Falkirk.
• OPFS establish Mental Health and Wellbeing Service.
• OPFS established a mental health and wellbeing service for single parents.
• OPFS in collaboration with CPAG and Poverty Truth Commission successfully campaigned for the Scottish Government to set a minimum rate for school clothing grants across Scotland.
• First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visit to our Glasgow service
• The former FM Nicola Sturgeon visited the Glasgow service to meet with single parents.
• OPFS launched its new website. As part of its digital transformation the new website aims to deliver a more engaging and accurate service online by answering the questions single parents are asking.
• OPFS HQ moves to York Place.

2019

• To celebrate OPFS 75th Anniversary year we collaborated with photographer Amara Eno to create a body of work called
• The 25 Percent, which explores the lives of single parent families in Scotland.
• Flexible Childcare Services Scotland launched as social enterprise

2020

• Flexible Childcare Services Scotland was successfully launched as an SCIO after OPFS found that, due to due to the lack of flexible childcare provision, single parents were unable to engage in training, education or employment.

2020

• OPFS moved from Gayfleid Square to York Place where Malcolm Chisolm officially opened the office.

2021

• COVID-19 Pandemic
• OPFS pivoted its entire service to continue to support single parent families with the advent of the lockdowns to curtail the spread of COVID-19.
• This included new features on the website to advise parents on support, distributing grants, emergency support, launch of impact reports and more.
• Launch of a new website for single parents to provide a wide range of supportive information and advice for single parent families on topics including:
  Health and wellbeing
  Money
  Children
  Home
  Relationships
• OPFS campaigned successfully with partners for the Scottish Child Payment introduced in 2021 to support low income families

2022

• The ‘Living without a Lifeline’ report published, based on surveys and focus groups with 260 single parents and highlighting their experiences and priorities, including the cost of living, family finances, social security, childcare, employment, education, mental health, and the impact of COVID-19.

2023

• Single Parents Week gains traction across the UK and attracts cross party support from all leaders of Scottish Parliamentary parties.
• ‘Making the Difference’, an evaluation of OPFS Glasgow services is based on interviews with staff involved with delivering and managing OPFS Glasgow services, focus groups with single parents, meetings with Glasgow City Council staff and desk-based research.
• The report describes how OPFS Glasgow’s unique model of service delivery, which covers the entire Glasgow City Council area, is designed around the specific needs of single parent families and is supporting them to achieve faster and more sustainable improvements to their emotional and financial wellbeing.