Children & Young People

Category Archives

Children’s Winter Coat Exchange

October 19, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Children & Young People, Did you know...? tagged , ,

Do you have a child’s winter coat you no longer need, or could you do with a winter coat for your child? Winter coats exchanges will be taking place over October half-term, which will hopefully enable families and children in need to have a winter coat ahead of the colder weather.

It is a free service and the exchanges will take place at three locations, detailed below.

Simply drop off clean coats which are no longer needed, so that they may be of benefit to other children, or visit one of the locations to see if there is a coat which you could use.

Drop off on:
Monday 25th October: 10 am – 12 noon
Cradley Heath Community Link, 72 High Street, Cradley Heath, B64 5HA

Monday 25th October: 8.30 am – 10.30 am
Life Central Church, Dudhill Road, Rowley Regis, B65 8HS

Tuesday 26th October: 10 am – 12 noon
Oakham Evangelical Church, City Road, Tividale B69 1QZ

Collect on:
Thursday 28th October: 10 am 0 12 noon
Cradley Heath Community Link

Friday 29th October: 8.30 am – 10.30 am
Life Central Church

Friday 29th October: 10 am – 12 noon
Oakham Evangelical Church.

Please contact Matt Hill, Public Health Development Officer – Rowley Regis, on 07790 945111 or at matthew_hill@sandwell.gov.uk should you wish to know more.

 

Early Help Partnership Event: 19th November 2021

October 19, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Children & Young People, News and Events tagged , ,

The last 18 months have presented lots of additional concerns and worries for many of us working with children, young people and families, but this hasn’t stopped any of the great work that happens in Sandwell. There has been lots of enthusiasm, some great new developments and such positivity – everyone has done really well in continuing to offer the support needed to help achieve positive outcomes for the young people of Sandwell.

It’s taken much longer than any of us had envisaged, but we think it’s time to ‘engage, reconnect and discover new partnerships’. We hope this Early Help Partnership event will:

• encourage you to share and discuss the concerns/challenges you currently face in your role working with children, young people and families; and look at how we might respond to these together
• help increase awareness of local activities and support so that children and young people can be signposted to access early intervention activities to best meet their needs and grow their confidence and resilience
• offer you the opportunity to link in with others and make new connections to help support each other
• share information about new developments within the EHP

The session is on Friday, 19th November 2021 at  Brasshouse Community Centre, Brasshouse Lane, Smethwick B66 1BA or online through Zoom.

9.30 am: Arrivals and Networking.
10.00 am – 12.00 pm: Event
12.00 pm – 12.30 pm: Networking

Tickets for this event are free and we encourage you bring along colleagues. Booking is through Eventbrite via this link.

Any queries, or for further information, please email earlyhelp@scvo.info or call Angel on 0121 525 1127/07587 136072.

 

 

Girls – get on the ball!

October 12, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Children & Young People, Did you know...? tagged , , ,

Young women aged 11 to 16 are invited to join a five-day Basketball Camp, incorporating a Sports Leader’s Qualification.

The free course, for all abilities, is taking place at Tipton Sports Academy, October 25th – 29th, led by an all-female team of coaching staff.

For more information and to book a place call 07784 253859 or email info@justplayuk.com

 

New Inclusive Choir Launching in Sandwell

September 9, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Children & Young People, Did you know...? tagged , ,

A choir without barriers, accessible to all young people, including those with severe and profound learning disabilities, launches this month in Sandwell.

Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) and national music education charity, Soundabout, will launch the new inclusive choir for children and young people of all abilities at Cradley Heath Community Centre. The choir is free to join and rehearsals are designed to help young people of all abilities share their voice.

The Sandwell group will be part of a wider musical community called the West Midlands Inclusive Choir, open to young people of all abilities up to the age of 25 and their families and carers. The choir will meet and sing together once a month at Cradley Heath Community Centre, and join the rest of the West Midlands Inclusive Choir online once a month.

There will be lots of opportunities to help choose songs, create your own music, and make new friends. You can also apply to be a volunteer at LetsGoSandwell and help run rehearsals with the West Midlands Inclusive Choir team.

Parking is available at the Community Centre. There is a ramp access and an accessible toilet.

For more information and to sign up, see here.

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Launch of VCSE Health and Wellbeing Fund

August 5, 2021by Libby Mahoney in Blog, Children & Young People, Funding tagged , ,

pound-850369_1280The Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Fund 2021/22 is now live with a focus on providing support to families and children’s services due to a predicted increase in paediatric respiratory viral infections during autumn and winter 2021.

Funding is available for both local and national VCSE organisations who are already delivering existing services that can be expanded to provide additional support for children, families and children’s respiratory and acute services during autumn/winter 2021 and raise awareness of management of respiratory infections within communities that experience the greatest health inequalities.

Grants are available between £75,000 – £300,000 with the closing deadline of noon on 27th August 2021. Further information can be found by clicking here. Applications and questions regarding the fund must be submitted through our online portal by clicking here.

 

Council’s iTrust Programme shortlisted for prestigious award

July 20, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Children & Young People, Did you know...? tagged , ,

Sandwell Council’s iTrust Programme, which supported families against youth crime, is a finalist in the prestigious MJ Achievement Awards 2021, where the early intervention programme to address knife crime and violence has been shortlisted in the Transforming Lives category.

This acknowledges programmes, initiatives or changes to service delivery that have demonstrably transformed the lives of groups or communities of people.

The judges looked for evidence of why programmes were started; how needs were assessed; what the priorities and success factors were; how innovative programmes were; and how feedback from participants was used to shape the initiative.

ITrust (Supporting Families Against Youth Crime Programme) was developed by Sandwell Council, Sandwell Children’s Trust, Sandwell Council for Voluntary Organisations and West Midlands Police Sandwell Partnership Team to meet the principles of the national Troubled Families Programme which included early identification of those children and families at greatest risk.

The programme worked with children in Years 6 and 7 in the Smethwick and West Bromwich police impact areas and, by taking an approach based on very early intervention, aimed to engage children at this key transition period in school life. This linked to other successful programmes delivered in Sandwell and contributed to Sandwell Council’s Vision 2030 ambitions and the Safer Sandwell Partnership priorities.

The winners will be announced at the MJ Achievement Awards event on Friday, 17 September.

For more information, read the iTrust Sandwell evaluation here.

Sandwell Children’s Trust consultation with parents and carers of children with disabilities

July 19, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Children & Young People, VCS Feature tagged , ,

Sandwell Children’s Trust would like to gain the views of parents and carers of children with disabilities to inform their Short Breaks Programme, commencing in April 2022.

If your organisation works with parents and carers of children with disabilities the Trust would like canvass their views via this short survey

A short break is part of a continuum of services which supports disabled children and their families. The Trust’s vision is that throughout the short break offer it will strive to enable disabled children and young people to lead ordinary lives. Disabled children will be able to choose from a full range of services, activities including specialist provision, accessible universal and targeted provision.

The consultation will close on 6 August 2021.

Sandwell Council providing food vouchers to help parents and children during summer holidays

July 19, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Children & Young People, Did you know...? tagged ,

Sandwell Council is providing food vouchers during the summer holidays to help families whose children would usually be eligible for free school meals during term time.

Schools are contacting parents and carers who will receive a £70 voucher per child to go towards the cost of food for the six-week break which runs from 22 July – 1 September.

Once verified, vouchers are being sent to parents electronically with an alternative being offered to those parents and carers without mobile phones or internet access.

Sandwell Council has budgeted £1.322 million to help around 17,300 children. Eligible families will receive a voucher for £70 for each child.

Families, communities and local organisations across Sandwell are also working together to provide eligible children and young people between the ages of 5-15 with fun activities as part of the ‘Holiday Activities and Food Programme #HAF2021’.

Parents and carers can check if they are eligible for the holiday activities scheme and register at www.sandwell.gov.uk/holidayactivitiesandfood

 

 

Free employability support programme for 18 – 25 year olds

July 12, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Children & Young People, Training Support and Resources

UpRising Leadership is calling young people to join its Stand Out programme. Stand Out is a free one-month online curriculum with up to twelve months of mentoring, from a trained mentor to help you stand out in a competitive job market. The programme will run for four weeks from Monday, 26 July 2021.

Stand Out is a collection of carefully curated online sessions all available to re-watch and catch up with whenever you like. From online socials to meeting with employers to resilience workshops, it has everything you need to help you find a job, develop your skills and make new friends.

To be eligible for the programme, young people must be:

● 18 – 25 years old
● Based anywhere in England but UpRising have a focus on the West Midlands, Bedford, Manchester and London.
● Unemployed, in part-time or precarious work, or in the final year of further or higher education, or leaving school, college or university.

More details available in the information pack.

If you would like to discuss the opportunity further or have any questions please get in touch with Lara Parry at lara.parry@uprising.org.uk or call Lara on 07852 717 753.

 

Princes Trust Smethwick recruiting for next 12-week Team Programme

July 8, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Children & Young People tagged , ,

Princes Trust Smethwick are now recruiting for the next 12 week team programme for 16 – 25 year olds. The new schedule is due to start on Monday, 9th August. The face to face timetable will run every day.

Upon completion, attendees gain a level 1 in employment, teamwork and community skills, as well as food safety awareness and first aid awareness certificates. Young people will have the opportunity to take part in outdoor team building activities and try fun pursuits such as rafting, zip wire and archery. They will also undertake fundraising, and engage in community projects, work experience and employability skills.

Jack Dytor, Prince’s Trust Team Leader, is happy to have a chat with potential attendees or receive referrals. Call Jack on 07787 245 832.

If your organisation is looking for a work experience placement volunteer, need assistance with a community project or would like the Prince’s Trust to attend your recruitment event, please contact Jack at dytorj@wolvcoll.ac.uk or call the above number.

 

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