One aim: To make it possible for more mothers to care at home.
We promote a better understanding of children’s developmental need for loving and consistent care.
We campaign for an economic level playing field for parents who stay at home, representing their voice in policy debates.
We aim to support mothers in their journey as they raise their children and deal with the challenges of being at home, enhancing the status and esteem of mothers at home.
Who are we?
We are ordinary mothers with enquiring minds who are firmly grounded in the 21st century.
We expect to rejoin the workforce when this becomes compatible with the needs and the size of our families. But whilst we are needed at home, we want government to recognise the social and economic value of our work and reflect this in a fairer family taxation system.
Surveys show consistently that many “working” families share our views, but feel that the financial obstacles and societal pressures are too great.
All our committee members are volunteers, with many of us fitting campaigning work around our main task of raising children.
Meet the committee.
Mothers At Home Matter is run by a core of passionate volunteers who fit their MAHM activities around family life, other voluntary work and sometimes part-time paid work — depending on their children’s ages and needs.
As a campaigning organisation, MAHM has no political affiliations and represents a diverse group of mothers and fathers across the UK who all bring different perspectives to the mix.
We are supported by Patrons and Advisers and are grateful to all those who give their time and expertise to support MAHM and our campaigns.
Anne Fennell, Chair
Anne joined MAHM in 2010, becoming our current Chair in 2016. She is passionate that the role of ‘care’ at home is valued and keen to see a fairer tax system that recognises the family and the role of care to allow families a choice as to how they raise their children. Anne is also President of FEFAF, representing mothers around the world.
Anne gave up full-time work in publishing after getting married to her husband to be able to contribute more fully to society. She is hugely involved in her local community, runs a political discussion group, while juggling her busy household of six boys and appearing on media outlets, such as Woman’s Hour, representing MAHM.
Catherine Kenny, Committee Secretary
After seeing a page of the MAHM newsletter shared on Instagram in 2020, Catherine knew she just had to get herself a copy so she could read more. A couple of minutes later, she was a member. She often wishes she'd found MAHM sooner.
Catherine lives in Yorkshire where she home educates her daughter. She is passionate about many things, including children's rights, volunteering, feminism, and pineapple on pizza.
Becca Woollgar, Group and Conference Co-ordinator
Becca both became a mother and joined our team in 2019. She has been key in setting up our local support groups during the Covid pandemic. She’s passionate about bringing mothers together to support and encourage each other, especially when it involves tea and cake!
With a background in the charity sector, Becca has also taken on the mantle of organising our annual conference.
Philippa Nicholson, Website Editor and Comms
Philippa joined MAHM in 2013 having seen a friend mention us on Facebook. After going to her first AGM in November 2018, she became much more involved by joining the committee. She oversees our website and comms.
Philippa left full-time employment when she married her husband and started a family. The majority of her time is filled with home-educating their four children.
Sine Pickles, Membership Secretary
Sine joined Mothers at Home Matter later in life than many in 2003 when her two sons had already left home. She had heard a news bulletin about expanding nurseries for young children and wondered why no one was considering that home might be best.
A primary school teacher by profession, Sine always wanted to have children and be at home with them.
Maria Lyons, Policy and Research
One of Maria’s earliest memories was someone asking her what she wanted to be when she grew up. ‘A mum,’ she replied. As she grew, education and socialisation steered her toward what were considered more appropriate aspirations. She put off having children year after year but eventually she rediscovered the desire to be a mother.
Maria volunteers for MAHM because she believes every mother should have a genuine choice when it comes to the provision of care for her children. The lives of children, families and whole communities would be improved and enriched by a greater political, economic and society-wide understanding of the importance of motherhood.
Lauren Lewis, Local Support Groups
Lauren first became a mother in 2019 and now has two daughters. She has a background in Human Resources and brings these skills to MAHM as our Strategy & People Lead, responsible for leading the development of strategy and structure, to support MAHMs aims.
Lauren is passionate about ensuring mothers have a ‘village’ whilst they are at home and she works alongside Becca setting up new local support groups.
Pat Dudley, Treasurer
Pat joined Full Time Mothers, as we were called then, in 1993 and became Treasurer in 1997. She studied Maths at university and is a Chartered Accountant with experience of working in the Head Office of a major multinational in London.
Having given up paid work when her son was born, Pat has been involved in the community as a school governor for twenty-five years and a volunteer for Homestart as well as supporting her parents as they got older and, of course, her husband, children and grandchildren.
Ânia Bonança, Bulletin Editor
Ania always knew she wanted to be a stay at home mother, and she feels very grateful and privileged to be able to do it now. Watching her children grow up and guiding them every step of the way is a dream come true. She is extremely passionate about all things motherhood and parenting.
Volunteering has proven to be part of who she is, being involved in supporting her community gives her back a lot of joy and some sanity after spending most of her time with the children.
Media Contacts & Representatives.
Claire Paye, Media Contact
Claire joined Mothers at Home Matter in 2007 and has been heavily involved representing us in the media and by being a past Vice Chair and Newsletter Editor.
After a high-flying career, Claire has been active on various community groups since being at home full time, including with her local NCT, PTA and popping up on the airwaves to point out the flaws in the Government’s latest ‘family friendly’ policy, usually designed to get both parents into work and penalise families with a parent at home. She now heads a charity and runs the growing podcast, Mothers Matter.
Lynne Burnham, Media Contact
Lynne joined the group about 2004 when she went to the wrong toddler group with her son and met an ex-committee member who handed her a newsletter.
Lynne has taken part in many radio and television debates standing up for the importance of motherhood and children’s needs. She has represented MAHM both here in the United Kingdom and abroad in different roles as Vice Chair, Secretary and Media Representative.
Alex McVicar-Payling, Researcher
Originally from Alberta, Canada, Alex joined MAHM in 2013 as she felt it is a rarity for motherhood and care to be promoted as anything other than a burden. She went back to university to study International Relations and Politics at 31, had her second child mid way through and is now working towards a PhD.
Alex believes that caring should not equate to less economic security, empowerment or choice across the life-cycle.
Emily Tredget, Mental Health Representative
Mum of one, Emily is co-founder of Happity and a Maternal Mental Health campaigner. Becoming involved in campaigning after struggling with post-natal depression and anxiety, Emily has a passion to help mums create the support village around them that is so often lacking.
She is also founder of the annual #ShoutieSelfie to help break the stigma of mental health during motherhood and appears on local and national media to raise awareness of the PND that one in five mothers struggle with.
Marie Peacock, Honorary Vice-President
Marie Lewis has been involved with MAHM since 1998 and was our Chair from 2012- 2016. Mother of four children, her family lived in the Netherlands and France before settling in Wiltshire.
She studied French and Spanish, with Economics before moving to London to work in market research. Her volunteer work with Age Concern sparked an interest in the inter-generational bonds of family life.
Marie has also been Vice President of FEFAF and continues to represent the voice of mothers and other carers in a wide range of policy groups.
Sarah Douglas-Pennant, Honorary President
As one of our original members, Sarah has been actively involved with Mothers At Home Matter for decades, including time as Chair. She has run Montessori schools and is a personal and professional inspiration to many of us on the MAHM Team today.
Sarah unfailingly reminds us that, although we campaign on many issues, the central most important consideration is always to focus on children’s developmental needs. We are delighted that, in 2014, she accepted the position of Honorary President.
Patrons and Advisors.
Lady Griffiths of Fforestfach, Patron
We appreciate the unstinting support that Lady Griffiths has given to Mothers at Home Matter since it was first founded in 1990 as ‘Full Time Mothers’ to stand up for family life, motherhood and childhood developmental needs.
Fiona Castle OBE, Patron
Fiona Castle has been unstinting in her support for the work of Mothers at Home Matter. Fiona is the author of many books including Living Simply: Decluttering Your Heart and Home and writes from the perspective of a strong Christian faith. She spent many years campaigning and doing charity work for lung cancer, following the death in 1994 of her husband Roy Castle.
Dr Aric Sigman, Child Health Advisor
Dr Aric Sigman specialises in child health education, lecturing internationally at medical schools, to NHS doctors, and to schools and parents. He is a Chartered Biologist, Fellow of the Society of Biology, Chartered Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and a Chartered Scientist awarded by the Science Council. Telegraph article for further reading.
Professor Neil Gilbert, Advisor
Professor Neil Gilbert is a renowned international academic and author of many papers and books including A Mother’s Work: How Feminism, the Market and Policy Shape Family Life.
Imogen Thompson, Friend
Imogen Thompson has a background in marketing and has worked closely with MAHM to develop social media and communications, notably during the period 2013-2015.
Dame Sarah Cowley, Health Advisor
Dame Sarah Cowley retired in 2012 after a career which started in nursing in 1964 but which focussed on health visiting after 1980. Dame Sarah joined us as Health Advisor in 2014.
Dr Richard House, Child Development and Early Learning Advisor
Dr Richard House is a chartered psychologist (BPS), humanistic psychotherapist, university lecturer and Steiner Waldorf teacher. His eleven published books include editing Too Much, Too Soon? Early Learning and the Erosion of Childhood and Childhood, Well-being and a Therapeutic Ethos. Richard believes that young children’s early emotional experience and developmental needs must be given explicit priority over the ‘needs of the economy’.
Oliver James, Patron
Oliver James is a Chartered Clinical and Occupational Psychologist, author and broadcaster. He is best-selling author of several book including They F*** You Up – How to Survive Family Life. He is also Trustee of The Contented Dementia Trust. Oliver lives in Oxfordshire with his wife and two children.
Don Draper, Tax Adviser
Don Draper, along with Leonard Beighton, set up the charity Tax & the Family to advise on tax policy relating to how it affects families. They promote changes to make the tax system fairer for families.
Sue Palmer, Friend
Sue Palmer is an author and presenter, best known for her books including Toxic Childhood and 21st Century Boys. She is also one of the UK’s most well-established authorities on the teaching of literacy.
Patricia Morgan, Patron
Patricia Morgan is a sociologist specialising in criminology and family policy. She is the author and co-author of a number of books including The War Between the State and The Family and The Hidden Cost of Childcare, as well as articles for periodicals and national newspapers.
Anna Firth, Women in Politics Advisor
Anna Firth, a former barrister, lives in Kent with her husband and three children. A founder member of the Open Eye Campaign challenging the Government’s ‘toddler curriculum’ and the target driven approach of early education, she campaigns against the commercialisation of childhood and continues to challenge the ‘cultural childcare norm’.
Belinda Brown, Valuing Care Advisor
Belinda Brown is a sociologist, an author, Fellow of the Young Foundation, and Associate of UCL. Her particular interest is in finding ways of supporting the private realm of family and community to have a more visible, pivotal and influential role. She has conducted wide ranging research and written books, articles and blogs which directly or indirectly explore this subject further. With her late husband, Geoff Dench, she worked on a project which looked at the role of informal networks in the provision of care. The findings were published as Valuing Informal Care: What the mothers of young children want.
Naomi Stadlen, Friend
Naomi Stadlen is a psychotherapist and the best-selling author of What Mothers Do.
Associated groups.
FEFAF.
Established in 1983, FEFAF - ‘European Federation of Parents and Carers at home’, represents 19 different national organisations from various countries throughout Europe. They campaign so that opinion formers, academics, national governments, decision-making bodies, including policy makers at the UN and the EU properly recognise the importance of unpaid carers.
HARO.
Haro is the Swedish equivalent of Mothers At Home Matter. Haro aims to put the child in focus so that family policies respect the individual needs and demands of each family.
Big Ocean Women.
Maternal feminism is at the heart of Big Ocean Women. They gather and train women to be deliberate thinkers and to engage as powerful forces for good in their homes, communities, and world.haro
Centre for Social Justice.
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) was established as an independent think-tank in 2004 to put social justice at the heart of British politics and make policy recommendations to tackle the root causes of poverty.
Happity.
Created by parents, for parents, Happity is the place to find out what's happening in your local baby and toddler community - fast. Happity is the only platform dedicated exclusively to baby & toddler classes and parent playdates.
Home Renaissance.
Home Renaissance Foundation promotes a greater recognition of the work that goes into creating healthy and congenial home environments. Individuals grow and develop at home, so it is in society’s best interests to look after it.
What About The Children.
The charity What About The Children? was established in 1993 to promote better public understanding about the importance of the emotional needs of children in their first three years.
Make Mothers Matter.
The “Mouvement Mondial des Mères” (MMM) was created in 1947 to raise awareness of society, policy makers and public opinion on the vital role of mothers for promoting peace and on their contribution to social and economic progress. MMM is an international, apolitical and non-denominational NGO.
Home-Start.
Home-Start is a local community network of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with young children through their challenging times. They are there for parents when they need help the most because childhood can’t wait.
Tax & the Family.
Tax and the Family was set up by Don Draper and Leonard Beighton, both with many years of experience advising on tax policy, in order to advance an understanding of the way the tax system works for families and to promote changes which would make the tax system fairer for families.