Welcome to the latest bumper edition of the Early Help Newsletter. In this edition you will find out about holiday clubs and things to do during the school summer holidays, together with information on support for families who might need some help over the school summer holidays, such as the Early Help Drop Ins, which are now in Oswestry, Market Drayton and Shrewsbury, the parenting support line and where to access emergency or low cost food. There’s also dates for new parenting courses and learnings from SSCP following rapid reviews of safeguarding cases.
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.
‘By treating our children and young people with respect, love and trust and with the right amount of encouragement we can inspire them to dream big, build relationships and connections that matter and together with kindness and a sense of belonging we can do great things.’
Children and Young People’s vision statement
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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.
There’s another school holiday just around the corner, and we know that the holidays can be a struggle for many families – trying to balance life and keep the children occupied and entertained can be a challenge.
Thankfully information on holiday clubs and things to do during the school holidays can be found on the online Family Information Service Directory.
You can click this link for holiday clubs and then filter by area or postcode. And keep checking this link for school holiday activities, which are being added all the time.
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Actio is responsible for commissioning, promoting, and monitoring Shropshire Councils 'All In Short Breaks' activities for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The Actio website has listings of activities for All In Short Breaks members and for its Actio members over the summer.
The activities include cricket, forest schools, horse riding, Dance and plenty of other fun events too.
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Shropshire Youth are holding a pop-up space throughout the summer school holidays with a variety of activities, including outdoor activities, creative arts, music, football. Food and drinks available.
To find out more please visit the Family Information Service Directory.
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Beam are holding a range of workshops over the school summer holidays at Shropshire Beam. These include:
- Understanding emotions
- Creative writing
- Arts and crafts
- Mindfulness moments
- Emotions Skill Builders
Beam workshops are run on a drop-in basis and are held at their Wellington base. Their workshops are first-come, first-serve; therefore, please arrive promptly if you wish to join as they have limited spaces available.
Information is available on the Family Information Service Directory
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We know that the cost of so many everyday essentials are increasing all the time and having the children home for the summer holidays can see an increase in household food bills.
There is support for anyone who might need this, either for those eligible through the Holiday Activities and Food programme, or local support if you are worried about food costs, or the places listed here where children can eat free or for £1.
Is your family struggling? Would you like some support but don't know where to start? Why not come along to an Early Help Family Drop In. You can chat to a range of services who will help you to access the support you need.
The Early Help Team support families with children aged 0-19 years (up to 25 years for young people with special educational needs and disabilities)
They aim to make it easier for you to get help and support when you need it.
You may meet:
- Early Help Family Workers (who can work with your family to provide support tailored to your needs)
- Parenting Support (for support around child development, behaviour, sleep, relationships)
- Shropshire Domestic Abuse Service
- Employment Advisor
- SEND Local Offer (support for families with children who have special education needs and/or disabilities)
- The Family Information Service (FIS) and others.
Although some services may differ week on week there will always be someone to help.
Drop ins take place at:-
- The Centre, Oak Street, Oswestry SY11 1LW every Monday morning from 9:30am – 12:30pm
- Raven House, Cheshire Street, Market Drayton, TF9 3AH every Tuesday afternoon from 1pm – 4pm
- Sunflower House, Shrewsbury, Kendal Road, Shrewsbury, SY1 4ES every Tuesday morning from 9:30am – 12:30pm
- Harlescott Grange Community Hub, Shrewsbury, Kynaston Road, Shrewsbury, SY1 3JR every Thursday from 10am to 12 noon.
To find out more about the Early Help Drop Ins visit the Family Information Service online directory.
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Our parenting helpline has changed name!
Following feedback from parents and carers and some consultation with parents and carers we have decided to change the name to Parenting Support Line.
It still has the same number and works in the same way but will hopefully enable parents and carers to understand better what this service is about and who it is for.
As we know, parenthood can be extremely rewarding and enjoyable. It can also be demanding, frustrating and exhausting. Shropshire Council’s Parenting Team is here to support parents and carers to raise healthy, well-rounded children in a loving and stable environment.
Our Parenting Practitioners are on hand and ready to listen, so if you know of any parent carers who might need some additional support, they can call the Parenting Support Line on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9.00am to 12.30pm including during the school holidays.
Call the support line on 01743 250950
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Shropshire Beam are pleased to provide Virtual workshops for parents throughout the summer.
There are four Workshops which will be rolled out at 4pm to enable more people to attend:-
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Managing Anxiety – aims & Objectives are to pass over psycho - education within the topic followed by practical suggestions of methods & techniques to help support the youth experience issues with anxiety.
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Understanding & Responding to Self-Harm - – aims & Objectives are to pass over psycho - education within the topic followed by practical suggestions of methods & techniques to help support the youth experiencing issues with self-harm.
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Wellbeing Planning – a workshop which explains & provides a tool for Children & Young people to support their general Emotional Health & Wellbeing, it recognises triggers and promotes self-awareness, his can also be used as a relapse tool to support resilience.
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Sleep Support - aims to pass over psycho - education within the topic followed by practical suggestions & advise of methods & techniques to help support the children & young people having difficulties with getting to sleep and staying a sleep. This workshop will be rolled out twice over the four weeks, due to popular demand.
All virtual workshops will take around an hour, and done via M S Teams Video call. The workshops are delivered to be informative and engaging sessions.
Information on the workshop dates, and the links to join the sessions, are on the Family Information Service Directory
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The Parenting Team will be delivering free Understanding Your Child and Understanding Your Child SEND groups from September 2023
These 10 week groups aim to:
- Promote understanding of children’s behaviour within the context of developmental issues
- Promote the development of parent/child relationship
- Increase confidence and self-esteem in both parents and children
- Give parents a strategy for repair when things go wrong
- Promote reflective, sensitive and effective parenting
Understanding Your Child SEND starts on Monday 25th September from 9.30am to 11.30am Virtually via MS Teams
Understanding Your Child SEND starts Friday 29th September 2023 from 9.30am to 11.30am at Sunflower House, Kendal Road, Shrewsbury
To book a place or for further information please contact the parenting team via email parenting.team@shropshire.gov.uk or give them a call on 01743 250950
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Would you like to know more about why sleep is important for our health and emotional well- being?
Does your child struggle with their sleep?
Would you like to access support to help improve sleep and bedtime routines?
Would you like to meet other parents/carers to share and discuss experiences?
The parenting team will be offering a free SLEEP TIGHT workshop from September.
These 5 week workshops cover:
- Recognising the role of sleep hygiene to improve sleep
- Identifying causes of sleep issues and appropriate practical strategies to try
- Completing sleep diaries and identifying potential sleep issues
Starts on Monday 25th September 2023 from 12.30pm to 2.30pm virtually Via Teams
Starts on Thursday 28th September 2023 from 12.30pm to 2.30pm at Sunflower House, Kendal Road, Shrewsbury
Starts on Monday 13th November 2023 from 12.30pm to 2.30pm virtually via Ms Teams
Starts on Thursday 16th November 2023 from 12.30pm to 2.30pm at Sunflower House, Kendal Road, Shrewsbury
Please do not hesitate to contact us directly if you have any questions: parenting.team@shropshire.gov.uk or give us a call on 01743 250950
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The Shropshire Family Information Service (FIS) is a brilliant universal service, which your families (and possibly you) may not know about. The FIS brings together loads of useful, local information for families, to help take the stress out of things like finding:
- Childcare or baby and toddler groups
- Holiday clubs, events and things to do as a family
- Parenting, relationships, and emotional health and wellbeing support
- Cost of Living info and advice
We use our social media channels to bring families news, events and handy information, which links through to our Family Information Directory. Families are welcome to contact us directly for help with anything to do with family life.
We would love you to:
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Relationships can be difficult, complicated, fun, satisfying, exciting, annoying bring out the best in us and bring out the worst in us. We are often in one, but we don’t often spend much time on them. So here is your chance to make the time and come to one of our workshops.
- Do you feel your relationship needs some attention?
- Do you feel you are drifting a bit lately or things have been difficult?
- Would you like to meet with others and share ideas and thoughts?
- Are you looking for a way forward?
Why not join us for our 4-week workshop with 2 hours session each week. There are 2 different workshops on offer this Autumn:
Starts on Thursday 28th September 2023 from 10.00am to 12.00pm at Helena Lane Community Centre, 20 Hamlet Rd, Ludlow SY8 2NP
or
Starts on Thursday 16th November 2023 from 10.00am to 12.00pm at The Centre, Oak Street, Oswestry, SY11 1LW
To book a place on one of our workshops or for further information on the workshops we run please contact the Parenting Team by: Emailing Parenting.team@shropshire.gov.uk or call us on 01743 250950
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The latest edition of the Shropshire SEND newsletter is now available on the SEND Local Offer - Issue 23 of Shropshire's SEND Newsletter, (July 2023). This 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 and is co-produced by Shropshire Council, Shropshire Integrated Care Board and PACC.
Please share this newsletter with parent carers. If you would like to be added to the mailing list to receive the newsletter direct, please email Kate.bentham@shropshire.gov.uk
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We are delighted to announce that bookings for the Shropshire Summer HAF (Holiday Activities & Food) Programme are now open.
Shropshire Council is working with local schools, voluntary and community organisations, and childcare providers to run an exciting holiday programme this summer, Shropshire HAF (Holiday Activities and Food).
From 25th July to 1st September 2023, eligible children and young people are invited to take part in a range of fun activities, happening at 57 holiday clubs from across the county.
There is something on offer for everyone including sports, arts, cooking, forest schools and other exciting opportunities. Free nutritious meals will be provided at each session, as well as information to benefit the whole family.
Watch the Summer HAF promo film to find out more: https://youtu.be/EmnoL11uFMU
There is lots of information about the summer programme, including holiday clubs listing and what’s on guide on the HAF webpages - www.shropshire.gov.uk/HAF and email: HAF.programme@shropshire.gov.uk
Children and young people who meet the core eligibility criteria are receiving a code, information leaflet, what’s on guide and details of how to book onto clubs direct from their school.
Children and young people who meet the wider eligibility criteria, can be referred onto the programme by a professional who is supporting the family. The professional will need to fill in and return a referral form.
More information is available below about the programme eligibility criteria.
 Programme Eligibility * please note change in eligibility from 2022:
There are free places available at HAF holiday clubs this summer for:
Core Criteria: Children and young people aged 4 (in reception class or equivalent) to 16, who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals.
Ukrainian guests staying in Shropshire
And
Wider Criteria: Children and young people living in areas of high deprivation and/or from low-income households who are not in receipt of benefits related free school meals. These children and young people can be referred onto the programme by a professional. More information about referrals is included in this email.
4 year Olds - Children who are aged 4, who attend a nursery or pre-school on your school site are unfortunately NOT eligible for the HAF programme. Eligible children aged 4+, who are in full time education in a Reception Class or equivalent, can attend the programme.
SEND (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities) - A number of providers are running activity, with places available for children and young people with SEND. These places are at settings offering mainstream programmes with a range of children and young people. These have been highlighted in the What’s On Guide and online holiday club listing.
Paid Places - Many of the HAF programmes also include paid places for children and young people who don’t meet the eligibility criteria. These spaces are generally very heavily subsidised and have been highlighted in the What’s On Guide.
Summer HAF What’s On Guide – which gives details of the organisations running activity and how to book - All bookings are being made via the organisations delivering the activity direct. This is also available online, along with a searchable holiday club listing at Shropshire HAF Summer Holiday Clubs Events Listing & Guide
If more opportunities become available, e.g. additional 12+ activity, this will be added to the holiday club listing online.
The What’s On Guide and Information Leaflet have been interpreted into; Arabic, Bulgarian, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian. These are available on the Shropshire HAF webpages.
Referral Form is available here
A suite of e-learning resources is now available to support professionals working with children and young people living with obesity.
To find out more and to access the training, please visit the Complications from Excess Weight in Children and Young People e-learning programme page.
Shropshire Domestic Abuse Service Drop In Service aims to ensure that information and advice about domestic abuse services in Shropshire is accessible to the community throughout the county. We want to focus particularly in rural areas where there are a lack of services and because we know that rurality is a factor in the length of time people experience domestic abuse for before seeking help.
Our drop-in service is held in a range of community-based venues attended by a specialist Domestic Abuse Support Officer. They are run on a monthly timetable which will evolve over time so people can access information on domestic abuse support and access a specialist domestic abuse service if they wish. No appointment is necessary to attend a drop in. The current timetable is attached and available on our website. We will contact you again with any alterations but if you don’t wish to be updated, please let us know so we can remove your email address.
The drop-ins are open to anyone over 16 who needs information, support or advice about domestic abuse so please circulate this information amongst your teams. We would however prefer professionals to call us for advice or guidance.
Anyone attending a drop in at a busy venue such as a food bank should ask for Sadie.
Thursday 20th July from 10:00-12:00
Mayfair Centre, Off Easthope Rd, Church Stretton, SY6 6BL
Friday 21st July from 9:30-11:30
Cleobury Mortimer Community Hub, 1 Lower St, Cleobury Mortimer, DY14 8BN
Monday 24th July from 10:00-12:00
Bridgnorth Food Bank, No 7, West Castle Street, WV16 4AB (next to Baptist Church)
Tuesday 25th July from 10:00-12:00
Early Help Community Hub, c/o Crowmere School, Crowmere Road, Shrewsbury, SY2 5JJ
Wednesday 26th July from 10:00-12:00
Charter Court ILS, Smithfield Road, Market Drayton, TF9 1RT
Thursday 27th July from 1:00-3:00
Ludlow Foyer, Martston Hub, Portcullis Lane, SY8 1PZ
Friday 28th July from 10:00-12:00
Shropshire Council Hub, Darwin Centre, Shrewsbury
A case review was undertaken on a 4-month-old baby who suffered a non-accidental head injury. The family dynamics were complex with their father having previously been involved in serious organised crime. As far as most agencies were aware, he was no longer in the family's lives since moving to a new area. Their Mother had a new partner who was living in the family home.
The case review highlighted the invisibility of fathers/partners, which is a recurring theme in case reviews and audits.
A recommendation was made to hold a learning event for practitioners on unseen men.
The findings of the case review and the videos from the learning event can be found here on the SSCP website.
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The Learning Briefing for Child F is now available for Partners following the recent Rapid Review.
The focus for this briefing is non-accidental injury and relates to a 9-month-old baby who resided in a caravan with her parents.
Both parents were known to be involved in drug use and related crime. Child F’s father had several associates who posed risk.
Safeguarding concerns were reported on two occasions within three days of each other to Children’s Social Care and following insufficient enquiries no further action was taken.
A few weeks later Police were called to the caravan and found it in an unhygienic and unsafe condition.
Learning Briefing Child F - SSCP
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Please book onto this online learning event on 4th October 2023, to understand the circumstances of the deaths of two adults who were living in Shropshire. Self-neglect was a feature and agencies struggled to engage with the adults.
The event is to ensure that learning is shared and can be acted on.
Learning resources and handouts will be provided.
SSCP Free Practitioner Learning Event
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