Welcome to the latest edition of the Early Help newsletter.
In this edition you will find Poppy’s story - A glimpse into the life of a young carer and the support she receives from the Young Carers Project, there is also an updated Smarter Screening tool, and news on Funding available to Children and Families including support to extend the provision of free school meals into the Christmas holidays and a new warm clothes initiative directly through the schools and pre-schools.
If you have information on your service area you would like to share in the next early help newsletter, please email Kate.Bentham@shropshire.gov.uk or if you know of a colleague who would also like to receive this newsletter they can also email to be added to the distribution list.
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Whether you think a parent or family needs some support, or you are worried a child might be at risk of abuse or neglect, there is only one number you need – 0345 678 9021. From this number you will receive the support you need to get the right help at the right time to strengthen families and safeguard children. |
Meet Poppy, an amazing young carer supported by the Crossroads Together Young Carers Service. In this video, Poppy gives us a glimpse into her life as a young carer.
Do you know a young carer who would benefit from support from the Young Carers service? Then please get in touch with Crossroads Together to find out how their service can offer young carers the chance to have a break from their caring responsibilities, meet other young carers and have some fun.
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Please be aware that the Child Exploitation Intelligence Report Form is now obsolete and will no longer be accepted by either the HAU or Compass.
If you have an immediate concern about a child, please contact First Point of Contact (FPOC) on 03456 789021, or the Emergency Duty Team on 0345 678 9040 if out of hours.
If a child is at risk of immediate harm, please dial 999 and report to the police. Intelligence (nonspecific child/adult information which suggests possible crimes/offending) can also be submitted to the police by visiting the West Mercia Police website, calling 101, contacting local Safer Neighbourhood Teams, or via Crimestoppers if you wish to report anonymously.
To report concerns about a specific child(ren) to the local authority you can submit a MARF or Child Exploitation risk assessment, and then email to compass.referrals@shropshire.gov.uk
The Police Child Exploitation Team are also happy to receive direct contact from agencies, however please be mindful that their team inbox is only monitored 8.00am - 4.00pm Monday to Friday. CETEAMShropshire@westmercia.pnn.police.uk
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The latest edition of the quarterly newsletter, aimed at reducing and ending exploitation in Shropshire is now available. The TREES newsletter (Together Reducing and Ending Exploitation in Shropshire) provides updates on the latest information regarding exploitation in your local area – including useful links and resources. |
We Are With You Shropshire have listened to partners in relation to the Smarter Screening Tool and have added a "Request Meet and Greet" to assist professionals when a young person declines consent.
We hope this will really help professionals who have concerns in relation to the substance use of a young person and have completed Smarter only to find the young person has declined a service, the next step would be to tick the "Meet and Greet" section, this will then trigger a call to the professional from We Are With You to explore how we can proceed to meet the young person and arrange an informal chat about our service.
It's a very successful way of engaging a young person as they mostly agree to support once they meet one of the team"
The Smarter screening tool can be found on the Early Help website under Substance Misuse Tool
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Since the raising of the participation (school) age the Local Authority has a duty to ensure that all young people up to the age of 18 engage in education, training and employment. Employment should include an element of training.
Whilst they are in school, young people have access to impartial careers advice and guidance, to support their progression to a post 16 opportunity. When a young person leaves school and becomes NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), that role is carried out by an IAG NEETs team. The IAG team consists of two professionally qualified Careers Guidance Practitioners and three Transition Support Workers.
Young people who become NEET, often have multiple barriers preventing them moving into education or employment with training and it is the role of the Careers Guidance Practitioners to assess these barriers as well as the young person’s strengths and aspirations and draw up a plan to support them into appropriate provision.
Sometimes the young person is able to move on with minimum support from the Career Guidance Practitioners, sometimes the Transition Support Worker will provide additional support. For other young people who require longer term mentoring and support, we may refer onto our colleagues in Enable who are skilled at providing longer term mentoring support and have a long history of supporting people with a wide range of support needs.
So, if you are supporting a young person who is not in education training or employment, then please contact the IAG team on 01743 258850 to arrange an appointment.
We are still meeting young people on line, or talking to them over the phone, however if you feel they would benefit from a face to face appointment, that can also be arranged. So, whether the young person
- needs to boost their confidence,
- is interested in applying for an apprenticeship,
- is interested in exploring options for college
- could do with sorting out their CV and improving your interview skills
- needs to have another go at their maths and English
The IAG team will come up with a realistic plan to get things moving.
 Shropshire Council has secured an additional £841,000 of funding to support children and young people from low income homes. This welcomed support has enabled them to extend the provision of free school meals into the Christmas holidays and set up a new warm clothes initiative directly through the schools and pre-schools. Providing the fuel and warmth they need to learn, focus and grow up healthy will benefit in the region of 8,000 Shropshire children. It is essential that we help those families in greatest need to alleviate some of the financial concerns and pressures which many are expected to experience after the closure of the furlough scheme and the Universal Credit uplift ending this autumn.
Please refer to the following recent news article regarding this: Thousands of Shropshire children to benefit from free school meals and new warm clothes fund - Shropshire Council Newsroom
Money to support Shropshire households with fuel costs has also been given to Shropshire Rural Communities Charity and Marches Energy Agency but we have also received extra money for local welfare provision which we will use for a number of things:
- Food
- Energy and water
- Essentials linked to energy and water (e.g. cookers, fridges, freezers, cooking equipment, sanitary products, soap, warm clothing, blankets, boiler service and repair)
- Wider essentials (eg phone bills, broadband, other clothing, school uniform, essential transport-related costs, other essential furniture - this list is not exhaustive)
- Housing costs “in exceptional circumstances.” DWP have placed a number of caveats on using this money for housing costs, including exhausting all other avenues of alternative local funding to the extent that we do not envisage using it in this way – but please remember that we still have money available in the welfare fund that can help with this.
Because we have more money, we can help more people and this will mean that for many people, the usual restrictions we have to put in place for the normal Local Support and Prevention Fund applications will not be applied to this new funding. If someone is struggling financially, please encourage them to contact us as we may be able to help.
To make things simple, we are classing all of the money available to us as Local Welfare Provision. This means that customers only need to make one application, we will help from whichever pots of money are appropriate.
Please do encourage anyone that you encounter who is in difficulty to call us on 0345 678 9078 (option 2), and we will take an application from them over the phone. If you are supporting the person, then with your customer’s consent, we would welcome any information that you feel would support them
Please complete the Children’s Services Early Help Partnership Survey, which has been designed to review local partnership working to support children, young people and their families in Shropshire. This survey aims to obtain feedback from all partners working with Early Help and Children’s Social Care to shape future partnerships.
We all know that the pandemic and pressures on public sector resources have put considerable strain on the workforce across all sectors. Organisations have worked to change the way they deliver services and internal responses have required focused attention. The longer-term impact of the pandemic is still unknown, and further changes within the environment we work in and socio-economic context seem likely. Partnership working will remain valuable in overcoming these challenges. Mutual support, sharing of information, ideas and best practice can ensure the needs of children, young people and families continue to be met.
It is important that any partnership working aligns the ambitions of partners, makes best use of time and resources and achieves against shared aims and objectives. Feedback can ensure future discussions are informed and reflective of a diverse range of views and opinions.
We would like your feedback on what has been working well, what could be done better, areas to focus on for action and any other feedback you would like to be considered within future planning.
The survey is short and should not take long to complete, so please click here and let us know what is going well and what may be more of a challenge.
The survey feedback will be independently analysed by the Feedback and Insight Team at Shropshire Council. If you would like the survey in an alternative format, have any questions about the way the information will be used, or if you would like to provide additional feedback please email TellUs@shropshire.gov.uk quoting ‘Partnership CS survey’ in the title.
We will be reviewing the responses from the survey and from Networking meetings and focus groups and will feedback to partners in the new year.
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The Steer Clear program is an anti-knife crime program targeted towards children aged 10 – 17 years who are most vulnerable to being involved in knife crime and the harm associated with it. The program stives to educate and support each young. The program is voluntary and there is no cost involved.
Referrals can be made from any practitioner who may have contact with young people, and also parents who may have concerns regarding a child, either their own or someone else’s. Please contact the team is you think a young person could benefit. Email steerclearshropshire@westmercia.pnn.police.uk
How Autistic People Process Information Webinar
Looking at:-
- What neurodiversity is
- The autistic brain
- How autistic people process information
- Top tips for supporting autistic people
Wednesday 15th December 10am-11am. This webinar is open to any parent, carer or professional in the West Midlands Region. For further information or register please click here.
WEEKLY Zoom Advice slots – every Tuesday and Wednesday
For those would like some face-to-face contact we are offering this virtually via video appointments. Zoom works well on mobile phones. To book a 45 min advice appointment with a specialist autism advisor please click here.
Virtual Support Group for Parents - Wednesday Mornings 10am-11am & Wednesday Evenings 8pm-9pm
We are running our weekly online support groups via the Zoom platform. This is an opportunity to talk with other parents, share ideas, and offer support.
If you would like to join either of the support groups, please email Gemma at gemmae@autismwestmidlands.org.uk
Advice and support
We continue to offer advice and support over the phone and via email. Parents and carers can contact our small team directly to arrange an appointment please call:
Mon, Wed, Fri - Wendy Cowton 07900784186
Weds, Thu, Fri - Emma Hegenbarth 07881109480
Tue, Wed, Thu - Dawn Lewis 07706309382
Email shropshire@autismwestmidlands.org.uk
Helpline 0121 450 7575
***Please note we no longer have our landline number of 01743 236193, for professional consultations/enquiries please contact shropshire@autismwestmidlands.org.uk to arrange a call back or call one of the mobile numbers above ***
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Between May and June 2021 South Shropshire Youth Network (SSYN) ran a consultation with young people aged 8 to 25 years. The final report Your next generation are talking, are you listening? is meant to help voice young people’s ideas about what they feel they need in their locality. The results echo the outcomes of the Big Ask survey by the Children’s Commissioner for England.
You can download our local report and the executive summary from here or watch the 10 minute results video on their new Youtube channel
This graphic recording sums it all up
 It is hoped the results will inform both youth work and youth activities. Organisations, Town and Parish Councils are welcome to contact SSYN to request details for their specific catchment area.
If you’re ready to look for solutions and not barriers, contact Marinke Fontein, Infrastructure Support Officer at South Shropshire Youth Network hosted by South Shropshire Youth Forum, marinke.ssyf@outlook.com
SSYN is a peer network for organisations and individuals (paid / unpaid) who work with young people aged 8 - 25 years old. Membership is free as we are Shropshire Council funded. Follow us on Twitter @SouthShropYF
‘The Big 6’ initiative is here to help parents and carers tackle the most common childhood illnesses.
A set of easy-to-understand advice sheets on ‘The Big 6’ illnesses have been created for parents and carers, to give guidance on what action to take if a child is ill.
Below are the advice sheets, which feature the most common illnesses in children aged 0-16 and cover:
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A Healthwatch Shropshire report highlights the experiences of people in South West Shropshire who are living with food insecurity. As part of a pilot project, funded by Shaping Places for Healthier Lives programme, they worked with Shropshire Council Public Health, Citizens Advice Shropshire and the Shropshire Food Poverty Alliance members to hear from individuals and families with lived experience of food insecurity and those who work to support them.
Following the pilot project, a detailed plan was submitted to the Shaping Places for Healthier Lives programme, supported by the Health Foundation in partnership with the Local Government Association. Following a rigorous process, Shropshire Council have been awarded £300,000, over 3 years, to tackle food insecurity in South-west Shropshire.
The key recommendations in the report include:
- The public and voluntary sector need to work in partnership to create services which are accessible and easy to navigate.
- Improved communication to support more joined up working across the community and public sector,
- Referral pathways to be streamlined to make sure people are able to access the right support at the right time
- Develop ‘wrap around’ support for people who are in financial need to prevent them reaching crisis
The full report can be found here.
Arts Alive, in partnership with Peut-Etre dance company, Spot on Lancashire and the Rural Touring Dance Initiative want to share some exciting new resources with you.
Audiomoves is a new podcast from our friends at Peut-Être Theatre for little ones (and big ones) to dance and move around to. These short accessible podcasts are designed to encourage children to move, dance and use their imagination with a screen-free activity. Join in as we bounce, jump and float!
Listen here: https://bit.ly/Audiomoves
Recommended ages 4+
Running time: approx 10 minutes
More details and new podcasts being posted soon here.
We all have a responsibility to help keep children safe. Organisations working with children and young people must have safeguarding policies and procedures in place and be able to respond to child protection concerns. But we understand that it's not always easy to know exactly what you need to do. That's why the NSPCC have produced a range of resources for voluntary and community groups. Whether you're just starting out or reviewing existing processes, the NSPCC are here to help.
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The Shropshire SEND Local Offer is a single place for information, services, and resources for children and young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs and / or disabilities, their families, and the practitioners who support them. It's been designed with a family’s needs at the heart of the process. We'd be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to complete an online survey to provide us with feedback on the SEND Local Offer.
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The survey results will help us to understand if the information is accessible, what you like/dislike, and if there are any gaps that need addressing. We value all comments and will share with you feedback we have received, and how we have responded to the comments made to improve your Local Offer. Click here to complete the survey Thank you for your time.
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