Welcome to the latest edition of the Early Help newsletter.
In this edition you will find reflections on 2021 from Fran Doyle, Head of Early Help, Partnerships and Commissioning, and her thoughts on 2022. There’s also Compass opening times over the Christmas holidays, and two new podcasts from the NSPCC on recognising and responding to child neglect. There’s also an important update to Shropshire's Child Exploitation Tools and Pathways.
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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Compass will continue to operate during usual working hours over Christmas and New Year, apart from the Bank Holidays and weekends. On these days The Emergency Social Work Team will operate as usual.
In between Christmas and New Year there will be reduced staff cover to take URGENT safeguarding concerns only. The phone number remains the same 0345 678 9021.
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The first thing I wanted to say was a huge well done to everyone for getting through the year. And yes, I am talking about the ongoing challenges with Covid, constant changes of course and the threats to the health of our workforces, children, young people and communities. And I have to say that for all the challenges that the pandemic keeps throwing at us, all of us that work on behalf of families have done an absolutely sterling job this year, without exception. I feel humbled that I am part of a strong Early Help system, that even though some parts of our system have been struggling under the sheer demand and complexity of some of the issues we face – no one has given up on our families. Agencies, partners and front line staff have found solutions to continue to work with each other to ensure that families are supported and able to cope.
Thank you to all those partners, providers and schools who have contributed to Shropshire’s Holiday and Food programme throughout the last year – which reached over 4500 children on free school meals or who were vulnerable. We have some phenomenal feedback from children, their parents and carers and from providers and partners. It is good to know that this does filter back to central government – who have committed to continue to fund this programme for the next three years from April 2022.
The recent spending review has provided some insight into the good news that there is funding coming through specifically for families – which includes Start for Life for our youngest children, more parenting programme support, Supporting Families programme for our most vulnerable children and families will continue for another three years. Family Hubs are back on the agenda with a focus on young children – bringing multi agency teams together bringing them closer to schools and working in local communities. Only time will tell over the next couple of months what this equates to in terms of hard cash, I have my finger well on the pulse of this one.
Next year we will consolidate our partnership working even more, with an absolute focus on supporting families where neglect may an issue and impacting on children. A great package of training and a simple range of useful tools have been developed to support practitioners in identifying neglect earlier. Dates of the training are available through the Shropshire Safeguarding Community Partnership. And also in the latter months of this year – we have been having ongoing conversations and consultation with schools in particular – and to really understand what life is like on daily basis – 5 days per week, and to see if we can make life easier, not just for this sector, but for all our Early Help sectors in simplifying some of our processes so that we can continue to meet the needs of families.
I am really hoping that next year we can get together and yes in one room, to discuss our collective ambitions and future aspirations for Early Help for all our children. The virtual world definitely has its advantages – but there is nothing like a good old Early Help conference to get ideas flowing, a reflection of where we are, where we want to get to, and an opportunity to make impactful plans.
Thanks again for the passion and commitment you show to families – here’s to the next 12 months.
All the very best for Christmas and the New Year and a well-earned break.
Regards Fran
Head of Early Help, Partnerships and Commissioning
NSPCC Learning has released a two-part podcast series about recognising and responding to child neglect. Over two episodes the NSPCC’s development lead for neglect talks to expert practitioners, including an Early Help Manager from Shropshire Council, who have worked with children and young people experiencing neglect.
The episodes cover: what neglect is; why it can be challenging to conduct assessments around neglect; why neglect happens; and what can be done to support parents or carers when there is neglect. To find out more about the podcasts you can visit the NSPCC website Recognising and responding to child neglect You can also listen via YouTube: Episode 46 and Episode 47. For further learning on neglect visit the NSPCC site Protecting children from neglect
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 The Shropshire Safeguarding Community Partnership have updated the Child Exploitation Tools and Pathways; available to view on the West Midlands Regional Child Protection Procedures pages for Shropshire here. These are to be implemented with immediate effect. Please ensure that you disseminate and embed the updated practice guidance and processes across and into your agencies and areas of service.
Thank you to all of those partners (strategic leads, managers and practitioners) who have contributed to this review.
Frontline Practitioners and Operational Managers are encouraged to book onto the Shropshire Safeguarding Community Partnership Child Exploitation Briefing to familiarise themselves and increase their working knowledge of the updated guidance.
Briefing Dates/Times are as follows (currently delivered virtually through Microsoft Teams):
- Thursday 13th January 2022 from 1.30pm - 3.30pm
- Thursday 10th February 2022 from 10am – 12 noon
- Wednesday 9th March 2022 from 1.30pm - 3.30pm
Please visit the Shropshire Safeguarding Community Partnership Child Safeguarding Training webpage for further information and booking instructions.
Shropshire Beam are experiencing an extremely high demand on the service, and are currently fully booked until early 2022. For those of you who have recently made an appointment, you will be aware that our waiting times have been increasing and we want to thank you for your continued support and patience.
We apologise in advance, if you were hoping to request a virtual MS Teams session or an appointment led session, these will resume again from Tuesday 4th January 2022.
If you wish to book an appointment led session, go online from the 4th January and complete the forms, from where you will receive an email with full details of the appointment.
Our service is still available and can be accessed through our drop in sessions every Thursday from our Wellington office. At the drop in no appointment is needed, you can just come along and be seen by an Emotional Health and Well-being Practitioner.
Our Address is: Shropshire Beam - 9 Market Square, Wellington, Telford, TF1 1BP
We are open for ‘drop ins’ on Thursdays from 10am – 5pm on Thursday 16/12/21 and Thursday 23/12/21.
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The beginning of December (2nd to 8th December) marked National Grief Awareness Week. The week aimed to raise awareness of grieving, to recognise it is natural and not time limited. For many grief is continual and on-going, many people, children and young people in particular find it helpful to talk about their experiences and feelings. We want to share with you some of the support available on bereavement and grief.
All Shropshire Libraries have book resources that can help when processing grief, dying or loss, such as Reading Well collections. The Book Guide – Reading to help you cope with grief and bereavement highlights selected titles from the collections. If you are looking for help and support during a difficult time, libraries are full of local information about these topics with compassionate and helpful staff. Many titles are available through the School Library Service. Contact them for details of the extensive titles which are available to request as part of their subscription service.
Any school wishing to share, review or develop their policy and practise in relation to bereavement as part of whole school trauma informed approach, including lessons, assemblies, pastoral support, staff training and parental guidance should contact alice.crutttwell@shropshire.gov.uk
We also want to draw your attention to the Shropshire bereavement pathway and highlight that it is available for anyone; staff, pupils, family, friends, and colleagues who may be affected by bereavement and loss. Ringing 0345 6789028 enables people to access counselling or bereavement support provided by a range of providers, up to six free sessions can be provided. Please note the bereavement does not have to be COVID related or recent, the definition recognises bereavement and loss related to issues such as miscarriage and dementia.
A number of pupils are receiving help and support. Some schools are providing a suitable room, in a familiar setting and links to a pastoral lead. This ensures pupils receive co-ordinated support and are able to access the service with minimum upheaval and disruption to school attendance. Schools are encouraged to adopt a trauma informed approach in the event of bereavement for both staff and pupils. In the event of suicide in the school community the Samaritans will support schools with the Step by Step programme, Ring 0808 168 2528 (24/7) or visit their website. Shropshire has a specialist bereavement suicide (and unexplained death) support worker.
Early Help Network Meetings are held every term in each network area. These meetings are free of charge to attend and are an opportunity for professionals from all agencies working with children, young people, or their families to share information about services available or issues affecting families within the network area.
Ideally professionals should have Microsoft Teams enabled on their laptops. Dial in to the meetings will be possible but will not provide such a great experience as connecting in through Microsoft Teams. If you have not received an invite, please email your name – agency – job title – to the Early Help training and network meeting administrator and we will add you to our database and send you the invite.
Spring Term 2022 dates are:-
- Southeast - 24th Jan from 13.30-15.00
- Northeast - 25th Jan from 13.30-15.00
- Central 1 - 26th Jan from 15.30-17.00
- Southwest - 28th Feb from 15.30-17.00
- Northwest - 1st March from 15.30-17.00
- Central 2 - 7th March from 15.30-17.00
Central 1 and 2 will be the same presentation just available on two different dates.
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The NHS is encouraging pregnant women to get the Covid-19 vaccine as new data shows that nearly 20% of the most critically ill Covid patients are pregnant women who have not been vaccinated.
Since July, one in five Covid patients receiving treatment through a special lung-bypass machine were expectant mums who have not had their first jab.
Pregnant women have been treated with a therapy, called Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), used only when a patient’s lungs are so damaged by Covid that a ventilator cannot maintain oxygen levels.
Out of all women between the ages of 16 and 49 on ECMO in intensive care, pregnant women make up almost a third (32 percent) – up from just 6 per cent at the start of the pandemic, March 2020.
Covid vaccination in pregnancy is considered safe and is recommended by the Royal College of Obstetricians, Royal College of Midwives and the UK Tetralogy Service.
Advice for all women of childbearing age, pregnant or breastfeeding is here. If you are 40 or over, and are booking your Covid-19 vaccination on the National Booking Service you’ll be asked if you are pregnant. This is to help the NHS find the right appointments for you.
Health chiefs are now calling on all expectant mums to get vaccinated to protect them and their baby against coronavirus.
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 After much anticipation the Healthy Start scheme is finally going digital! It’s hoped that by replacing a paper application system and paper vouchers with an online application and a pre-paid Mastercard the scheme will be easier to use and uptake will increase.
Instead of families having to source a printer to print an application form they can simply apply online.
Instead of only being able to use vouchers in registered retailers, any outlet that accepts Mastercard and sells food should be able to accept the card without problems – including market stalls and community food projects.
These changes are important because just over 40% of eligible families are still missing out on the scheme. This new phase could mean that even more children are able to have the healthy start they deserve.
Healthy Start vouchers are worth £4.25 per week to help low-income families purchase fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables, pulses and cow’s milk or infant formula. They are available for all pregnant women under the age of 18 as well as pregnant women and children aged 1-4 years old in receipt of Universal Credit but with an income of less than £408 a month. Children under one year old can also get two £4.25 vouchers (£8.50) per week. Find out more about the scheme and the different ways you can ensure people benefit.
Research suggests that around a third of suicides take place outside the home, in a public location. This means that the impact of suicide can reach far beyond friends and family to those who may have been at, or first to, the location. First Hand is a free online resource for anyone affected by witnessing a suicide, when they did not know the person who has died. This may be because someone happened to be at a particular location, or because their job involves responding to these incidents. Dr Adrian James, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “The effect of a close experience of suicide is profound, traumatic and life changing, and can lead to a reduction in ability to function and work. Helping those affected is all our responsibility and First Hand gives effective, practical advice for anyone who has witnessed this distressing and disturbing event.”
Download from: www.supportaftersuicide.org.uk/resource/first-hand/
Visit: www.first-hand.org.uk
Shropshire Council, the Parent and Carer Council (PACC) and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have been issuing a SEND newsletter for parent carers since May 2020 and Issue 13 has just been released.
The newsletter aims to provide easy access to key information for SEND families, as well as an opportunity for parent carers to hear from each other about their experiences.
Please do continue to share the newsletters with parent carers of children and young people with SEND.
For more news, updates, and SEND clubs/events please like/follow the SEND Local Offer on their two social media platforms Facebook and/or Twitter
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The winter Holiday Activities and Food programme has been launched!
Children who are eligible for free school meals can get access to lots fun activities and meals over the Christmas break. There are more than 20 amazing providers who are putting on a range of activities, from boxing and dancing to bushcraft and cookery.
Guides and vouchers have been sent to schools who will be handing them out to eligible families. More information is available on the HAF website.
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