Family Hubs and Start for Life - August 2023 newsletter

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August 2023

Welcome to our August newsletter!

However you've spent August, we hope you've had a good summer.

This month's newsletter includes news of a new sleep support service to help families where a child aged 2 to 11 has difficulty sleeping. 

There is a fun drawing and writing competition for kids aged 5 to 11 - which also helps remind us of how important it is for school-aged children to get their flu vaccine. 

There is a link to the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme overview, to provide colleagues across the district with detailed information about our programme. 

As always there are links to the next month's Family Hub timetables at the end of this newsletter.

And finally - we work hard to make this newsletter as interesting as possible - but we need your help to make it even more relevant! This month please fill in our short, anonymous survey so we can find out a bit more about our readers and what matters most to you.

Do you want to make this newsletter more interesting? 

Thank you for reading the Family Hubs and Start for Life newsletter. You’re in good company – our July newsletter was read by 1,591 people!

This August edition is our third newsletter. As we plan to send newsletters regularly, we’d like to get to know our readers and what's important to you, to help make this newsletter as interesting and helpful as possible.

We’d therefore be grateful if you would answer a few questions – anonymously and in complete confidence.

This should take no more than 2 minutes. 

You can take part in our anonymous survey here: Family Hubs and Start for Life - reader survey

Thank you in advance for your time!

New ‘Sleep Tight’ service to help children aged 2 to 11 who have difficulty sleeping

A good night's sleep helps children in so many ways - benefiting their mood, health, behaviour, learning, growth - and more! But children sometimes have difficulty sleeping for all kinds of reasons.

If this applies to your family, a new sleep service in the Bradford and Craven area may be able to help.

‘Sleep Tight Bradford and Craven’ will provide specialist one-to-one sessions for parents and carers of children aged 2-11 years old who are experiencing sleep difficulties.

Sessions are held online or on the phone with parents/carers. At the session, a sleep practitioner will work with your family to create a personalised sleep plan for children - so that everyone can get a good night’s sleep. 

The sessions are run by the Together Trust, a charity highly experienced in providing sleep services.

If you’re a parent, carer, or practitioner supporting a family, with a child aged 2-11 in the Bradford or Craven area and would like to find out more, including how to make a referral into the service, head to Sleep Tight Bradford District and Craven | Together Trust

You can also find this information, as well as other help and resources, on FYI website: Sleep Support | Bradford Families and Young Persons

Baby wellbeing event - Keighley - 21 September

Come along to Airedale Shopping Centre in Keighley, on Thursday, 21 September, for a baby wellbeing event organised to help families in the area.

There will be range of support and information including:

• Baby weighing station
• Immunisations advice and information
• Health and wellbeing advice and information
• Family hubs stall
• FYI (Families and Young Person's Information)
• Local services
• Refreshments
• Freebies

All of this will be at Airedale Shopping Centre (next to Costa), on Thursday, 21 September from 10am to 2pm.

Families - there is no need to book - just turn up.

Any practitioners in the district who would like to know more - please contact abbie.wild@nhs.net. 

Hope 4 U - support for new parents across the district

The Hope 4 U service is available to expectant and new parents across Bradford District and Craven.

Support is provided by telephone with interpreting if required, to enable families to access a range of financial advice to those in need.

Any professional can refer, or families can refer themselves. Hope 4 U will continue to provide support to the family for as long as needed, throughout pregnancy and the first year following birth.

Find out more here: Expectant & New Mothers | HOPE 4U

Practitioners making new referrals - please send the name, contact number and support required to ngn@hope4u.co.uk.

More information is also available on the FYI website: Hope4U financial advice

Programme overview for partners, practitioners and colleagues

The Family Hubs and Start for Life programme exists to help our district’s children have the best start in life possible.

The programme is delivered in partnership by colleagues from many organisations across the Bradford District.

We have produced a programme overview for colleagues in any organisation who support families, are involved in delivering the programme, or wish to find out more.

The overview includes information about:

• The programme’s background and aims
• Our partnership vision
• Family Hubs
• Funded strands and what the funding will cover
• Programme governance and partners
• How you can get involved and keep in touch

The PDF document is enabled for accessibility.

You can download it here: Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme Overview | Bradford Families and Young Persons

Ready to Relate - free training for practitioners to support the parent-infant relationship

Do you work in the Bradford District and/or Airedale with babies and/or families who are pregnant? If so, this free training is for you. 

Research shows that babies are born ‘Ready to Relate’, seeking companionship and with much more ability to communicate than many people realise.

This free training course, with free Ready to Relate cards, plus access to a digital resource, helps unlock the code of what babies are trying to tell us, and through this, helps you facilitate important conversations with families about their baby.

Course information:

• The course is available two ways - online or in person.
• Multiple dates are available from September 2023 onwards.
• Please book at least two weeks before your chosen date to allow time for mailing you your free resource pack.
• Book online using Evolve (Bradford Council and BCFT colleagues) or Learn and Develop Bradford (all other organisations).

Please click on the links to find out more - including a list of dates - and book your place:

• Link for Bradford Council and BCFT colleagues
• Link for all other organisations

This free course for practitioners is funded by the district’s Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. 

Parents

We’re busy training all the practioners who may support you and your family when you have a baby. Watch this space in the coming months about how you can access the amazing resources that Ready to Relate provides.

Kids - design your own 'flu fighter' to win a prize!

Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership has launched a story and art competition with a flu fighting theme. Great prizes are up for grabs for the winners!

This competition is open to anyone aged 5 to 11 years old living in Bradford District and Craven.

Children can draw or paint a picture, or write a story of up to 500 words or less, based around the theme ‘flu fighter’.

Children are encouraged to be as creative as they want, so long as the story/picture is about fighting the flu, they can create anything their imagination drums up.

This template can be used for drawings or paintings. Or just use your own paper. Children who submit a drawing or painting are asked to include a short summary explaining the thoughts behind the flu fighter they created.

Full details of the competition are online at Bradford District and Craven flu fighter story and art competition.

Latest Family Hub timetables - September

Each month our four Family Hub areas around the district share their timetable for the coming month. 

Our Family Hubs around the district

Follow us on Facebook You can follow the FYI service and all the Family Hubs on Facebook: Bradford East  Bradford West Bradford South Shipley/Keighley FYI - Families and Young People's Information

Why have I received this email?

You have received this email from Family Hubs and Start for Life because you previously subscribed to receive Family Hub Information from one or more of our Family Hubs: Keighley and Shipley, Bradford East, Bradford South and Bradford West.

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