Welcome to the July edition of our Family Hubs and Start for Life newsletter!
The monthly theme for July is 'Transition'. Your little one might have already experienced a transition day at nursery or in Reception and so to support this change we will be providing lots of opportunities to talk about transition in our Stay and Play groups in the Family Hub.
Cheshire East Family Hubs
South Locality
North Locality
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Transitioning with additional needs
 If your child has emerging SEND, English as an additional language, medical needs, experiencing changes in home/family circumstances, or who has been known to have struggled during previous transitions then you may have additional worries about them starting Primary school.
Please reach out to your local Family Hub service to seek advice and support. It is also a good idea to contact your child’s new school and ask to speak with either the class teacher for reception, the SENDCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) or the Designated Safeguarding Lead. Explain to them your worries and ask them what they can offer to help you and your child prepare for school.
Most children with SEND will be educated in their local mainstream school with additional support put in place. Most children will begin their education journey in mainstream reception, and the school will use their delegated SEND funding to put in additional support. Please refer to the Cheshire East Toolkit for Inclusion Toolkit for inclusion (cheshireeast.gov.uk) for guidance on the additional support ordinarily available for your child in school. If your child requires a higher level of support than the school is able to provide from resources already available, the school can begin the EHCP needs assessment process. Education health and care needs assessments and plans (cheshireeast.gov.uk).
A small number of children who have an EHCP may require a place within a resourced base attached to a mainstream school, or a place in a specialist school. For more information about EHCPs, including how to make a parental request for assessment, please see Supporting SEND in education (cheshireeast.gov.uk).
There is also a wealth of resources online that can help you prepare your child for the start of school. Here are a few recommended sites.
Are you thinking of becoming a childminder?
 If you are unable to drop by in person, please use the link below to find out more about our free online briefing sessions.
Breastfeeding Support
Book of the Month
Go, Go Pirate Boat by Katrina Sharman and Nick Sherratt
 Sung to the tune of 'Row, row, row your boat' this charming rhyming story tells the tale of two pirates on their hunt for buried treasure. There are lots of opportunities to make up some actions to the song to involve your child. They will be singing along in no time!
Rhyme time - I Climbed Aboard a Pirate Ship
 When I was one, I sucked my thumb the day I went to sea,
I climbed aboard a pirate ship and the captain said to me.
We're going this way, that way, forwards and backwards over the Irish sea,
A bottle of rum to fill my tum and that's the life for me!
When I was two, I buckled my shoe
When I was three I climbed a tree
When I was four I knocked on the door
When I was five I learned to dive
When I was six I picked up sticks
When I was seven I went to Devon
When I was eight I found a mate
When I was nine I drank some wine
When I was ten I started again!
Sensory Play
 Children of all ages will love the bright colours and sensations to the touch of this easy to make activity. Fill a zip-lock food bag with water and their favourite small toys/ice. You could also add food colouring or jelly to enhance the experience. Let them explore the movement of the objects through the water by pushing and pressing to encourage fine motor skills.
Preschool Together
School readiness
 There are lots of fun way to support your child with some of the challenges they may encounter as they transition to school. One of the main things you can do is to encourage their independence around everyday tasks such as putting on their shoes and coat and using a knife and fork. To help children put their shoes on the right feet, you can add stickers to the inside of their shoes and get easy to fit shoes with velcro or elastic.
 The Cheshire East Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) enables children and young people who are in receipt of income/benefits-related free school meals who live in Cheshire East or attend a Cheshire East school, to attend free activities during the main school holidays, where nutritional food is also provided.
Booking an activity session is easy! All families need to do is visit the Cheshire East HAF programme booking platform.
 There are so many of our 50 Things that can be enjoyed outside. Here is one of our favourites –
Cheshire East Council Library Service
 If your little ones are doing a transition day soon to 'Big School' ready for September, why not borrow some of our 'Let's Get Ready for School' book bags? Each one contains four specially selected books for sharing with young children as well as some helpful information about starting school. They are free to borrow and you can find them on our catalogue at the button below.
International Friendship Day - 30th July
 The main aim of the International Day of Friendship is to show your friends that you care about them and that you value their friendship. You could make a card or write a note telling them why they're such a great friend. You could make them a small present, such as a friendship bracelet, or bake a cake for them.
Healthy Start
 If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk.
If you’re eligible, you’ll be sent a Healthy Start card with money on it that you can use in some UK shops. We’ll add your benefit onto this card every 4 weeks.
You can use your card to buy:
- plain liquid cow’s milk
- fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables
- fresh, dried, and tinned pulses
- infant formula milk based on cow’s milk
You can also use your card to collect:
- Healthy Start vitamins – these support you during pregnancy and breastfeeding
- vitamin drops for babies and young children – these are suitable from birth to 4 years old
Common Approach to Children's Health
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