Thursday 24 February 2022
 Free webinars to help parents and carers of teenagers or pre-teens
An online series of free webinars starting next month aim to help parents and carers understand and support their teenagers to navigate the challenges they might face as they grow up in today’s world.
‘Let’s Talk Teenagers’ is a three part webinar for parents and carers of teenagers or pre-teens. The sessions cover different subject areas starting with communities and family life (Tuesday 8 March) and followed by respectful relationships (Tuesday 15 March) and building stronger families (Tuesday 22 March), all at 7.00pm.
It’s the result of a Devon partnership of professionals and local networks that work together to keep children and young people safe, support parents who are struggling and reduce crime and antisocial behaviour.
The 90 minutes sessions will be delivered on Teams, and a free booklet will accompany the webinar, which will be sent out to delegates after the event.
To find out more or sign up for the webinar, please visit our website.
 New free baby self-weigh service in libraries
We’ve teamed up with Libraries Unlimited so parents and carers will be able to weigh their babies in local libraries across Devon.
Free self-weigh facilities are now available in private areas of 16 libraries during the popular free baby and toddler Bounce & Rhyme sessions.
Each of the self-weigh stations is equipped with guidance on how to use the scales safely together with when and how to access further support.
Emma Doran, Infant Feeding Lead for Devon Public Health Nursing, said:
“Our new partnership with Libraries Unlimited will enable all parents to make use of scales to weigh their babies in libraries near where they live. They will be given safe guidance around the weighing and plotting of babies and children’s growth, in an environment that will help their little ones with speech, language and communication. Of course these facilities shouldn’t replace parents being in contact with a Health Visitor if they have concerns around any aspect of their baby’s growth or feeding.”
For more information, and to find out where and when the sessions are, please visit our website.
 Holiday food support continues for February half-term
Families of nearly 19,000 children in Devon have been sent supermarket vouchers this February half-term thanks to one-off government funding, that we’ve used to continue our drive to combat holiday hunger the county.
The financial challenges faced by some families due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can be intensified during the school holiday because of increased costs such as food and reduced incomes due to childcare.
Over the past year, we have invested over £4.7 million worth of government funding on providing nearly 140,000 supermarket vouchers for families who qualify for free school meals; so their children don’t go hungry over the school holidays.
Securing additional one-off funding means the scheme is able to operate again over the upcoming February half term break and Easter holiday, with vouchers worth £15 per child per week automatically sent to families of children currently receiving free school meals to help them buy food.
If you didn’t previously qualify for free school meals but your income has recently reduced or stopped, please apply online through our website to check if you are eligible for support as soon as possible. Alternatively, contact our education helpline on 0345 155 1019.
To read the full story, please visit the news page of our website.
 Voting in the Youth Parliament elections gets underway
Young people across Devon are being asked what matters most to them and who they want to represent those views on their behalf as elections for the Devon Youth Parliament get underway.
Young people aged 11-18 years old are voting for their preferred candidate in each of four constituencies across the county. You can learn more about all the candidates by checking out their campaign videos.
Young people can vote at participating schools and youth centres. And if their school or local youth centre isn’t registered as a polling station, they can email ukyouthparliament@devon.gov.uk to get a code that will allow them to vote online.
Voting will close on Thursday 3 March, with the new Youth Parliament team set to be announced by mid-March.
To read the full story, please visit the news page of our website.
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