January 2021

Front page - Welcome

Welcome Message

Dear partners and colleagues,

We are delighted to start this edition with the exciting news that the nomination process has now begun for our Families First Awards 2020/21. This will be a great opportunity to recognise and celebrate all the good work that has taken place to help families and children across the Families First partnership. Read more about our awards and make your nomination here.

We also wanted to take this opportunity to give a big thank you to the local supermarkets of Welwyn Garden City & Hatfield as well as Busy Bee Nursery and the Salvation Army for all the generosity that was shown over the festive period with donations for vulnerable families. These donations went towards creating a ‘’party in a sack’’ which was hand delivered to each family by their Intensive Family Support worker. These donations really made a difference to many families.

It is always nice to receive good feedback, and kind comments for the work we all do, this particular email received by our Watford and Three Rivers Intensive Family Support team put a smile on our face and we thought it was worth sharing...

Don't forget to visit our Learning and Development pages with dates for the HSCP Learning Hub and other informative training opportunities and remember our grants page and our practice guidance for our Families First Partners both are available on the Families First Portal

We hope you enjoy this edition of Families First News and please encourage your teams to sign up to receive their own copy!

As always, please do let us have your comments and suggestions for what you would included in future editions by emailing familiesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk.

Thank you for reading,

The Families First Development Team

The latest news

Families First Awards

Some good news!

As you will probably be aware we postponed our Families First Awards last year and although we were holding out in the hope that we would be able to celebrate these awards in person and enjoy time together, we have now made the decision to go ahead with these awards virtually on Friday 23^rd April at 2pm.

The last year has really highlighted the importance of partnership working and all the good work that takes place across Hertfordshire. These awards will be an opportunity to celebrate your commitment and achievements in helping families in need and to recognise and say thank you to those that have gone above and beyond. There are 6 Team awards and 7 Individual awards, which includes one for the Unsung Hero, a new award that recognises the fantastic work undertaken by our very kind volunteers.

The nomination process has reopened from today and closes on 19^th March! Please make your nominations at the link below /or QR code below via our easy to complete nomination form.

https://surveys.hertfordshire.gov.uk/s/familiesfirst2020/

Or scan the QR code from your mobile phone:-

If you have previously made a nomination prior to postponement in 2020, we will be contacting you separately to check it is still valid (e.g person nominated is still in post).

Please send this email on to all your professional contacts to ensure as many people as possible get the opportunity to make a nomination.

(Due to data protection THIS SURVEY IS NOT OPEN TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC)

Early Help System Guide - Thank you for your help!

We wish to thank everyone who contributed to the survey for our self-assessment of early help in the county ‘Early Help System Guide’. We had over 200 responses in ten days and your responses gave us a real insight into the progress that has been made in providing early help support for families. People commented on many positives and also identified areas for improvement. The overall results were very supportive of the arrangements we have in place to respond to family needs.

As well as enabling us to provide a robust response to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, your evidence will help inform the refresh of the Early Help Strategy that will be undertaken this year. We are very grateful and appreciative of your support.’

Fit, Fed and Read is back!

Planning for the Fit, Fed & Read 2021 Easter programme has begun and Herts Sports Partnership are intending to deliver face to face over the two weeks of the Easter break.

Please note the dates below and spaces will be available for children aged 8-11 years and that are eligible for Free School Meals

29th March 2021 - 1st April 2021, 10am - 2pm
5th April 2021 - 8th April, 10am - 2pm

Referrals will be open in February, but in the meantime please email fitfedandread@herts.ac.uk if you have any questions about the programme.

Schools to get help with technology and free school meals

All secondary schools have been invited by the Government to order laptops and tablets through the ‘Get help with technology service’ to support remote education. The Department of Education (DfE) will invite primary schools to order over the coming weeks, starting with the most disadvantaged areas in England and will contact each school by email as soon as they can order. Most orders will be delivered within two working days of being placed, and DfE aim to deliver all orders within five working days. They are also providing internet connections where they are needed.

Education Secretary outlines plans to support young people

The Education Secretary, Rt Hon Gavin Williamson MP, has announced that pupils are to receive a set number of hours of remote education each day. He also confirmed that Ofsted will play an important role in holding schools to account for the quality of remote education. The full package of measures set out by the Education Secretary in Parliament yesterday includes:

strengthened minimum standards of remote learning: schools will be expected to offer pupils online lessons and a set number of hours of remote education for pupils
next steps on exam alternatives arrangements: students will not be asked to sit GCSE, AS and A level exams this summer. The Education Secretary expects Ofqual to consider a teacher assessed system as a replacement for GCSEs, AS and A levels. A consultation will be launched next week and conclude swiftly to give certainty to schools, colleges and students, while also giving them the opportunity to have their say.
free school meals: extra funding will be provided to support schools to provide food parcels or meals to eligible students. The national voucher scheme will also re-open so that, in the event schools cannot offer food parcels or provide an alternative local solution, every child can access free school meals while they are learning at home.Increasing data allowances on mobile devices to support disadvantaged children
Councils, schools and academy trusts can now request help to increase mobile data allowances for children and young people who:
do not have fixed broadband at home
cannot afford additional data for their devices
are experiencing disruption to their face-to-face education. Revised guidance from the DFE on Children of critical workers and vulnerable children who can access schools or educational settings now includes within the definition of “Vulnerable children and young people” “those who may have difficulty engaging with remote education at home (for example due to a lack of devices or quiet space to study)”. Such children may now continue to attend school, despite the lockdown.Children with at least one parent or carer who is a critical worker can go to school or college if required. Critical workers is defined as “those whose work is critical to the coronavirus and the EU transition response, those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined in the guidance”.
Children lacking access to remote education classed as “vulnerable”
Mobile data increases can also be requested when schools report a closure or have pupils self-isolating, as well as for children who cannot attend school face-to-face because they are clinically extremely vulnerable. If increasing mobile data isn’t a suitable option for some children, schools can also request 4G wireless routers.

Census 2021 - Coming soon!

The census is a vital survey that helps people and organisations work out what the needs of the communities are and how to meet them. It's also a legal requirement for everyone to complete the census.

From previous experience we know that 70% of people will complete the census without any intervention and 30% will need more support.

Some facts:-

The census is a survey that happens every 10 years
It’s a legal obligation that everyone takes part
It gives the most detailed information we have about our society
It’s used by the government and Local Authority to Shape policy, Allocate resources, Plan services, Monitor equality
It’s also used by charities and businesses to help with decision making

The next census will take place on Sunday 21 March 2021

For the first time this will be a digital-first census, but paper will be available for those who need support
Three new questions: Gender identity, sexual orientation and Veterans - have you been in the armed forces.
We’ll focus on engaging with everyone, including under-represented and hard to reach groups
Help will be available for people who need support to take part online
National advertising campaign starts February

More information can be found here

We need your help to reach the 30% who may need extra support. Please contact the Census Engagement Manager for your area to discuss what support your group needs.

Dacorum and Three Rivers

Naomi Woodstock - 07452 938186 | naomi.woodstock07@field.census.gov.uk

Broxbourne, Welwyn Hatfield

Nasia Mohammad - 07452946023 nasia.mohammad88@field.census.gov.uk

Mid Hertfordshire Watford, St Albans, and Hertsmere

Lee Meyer - 07452919529 lee.meyer56@field.census.gov.uk

North East Hertfordshire Bishop Stortford, Hertford, Ware, Stevenage, Buntingford, Sawbridgeworth, Hitchin, Letchworth, Baldock and Royston

Matt Jenkins - 07452934835 matthew.jenkins33@field.census.gov.uk

Herts Youth Futures

The Herts Youth Futures project provides one-to-one mentoring support for individuals facing barriers to education, training and/or employment. This BBO (Building Better Opportunities) project is in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council and is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and European Social Fund whom have invested £1.1 million to aid young people into supported and sustained work and education.

Additionally, they run a Skype hangout every Friday for young people to meet and make friends.

What's different about this project?

The unique aspects of this project are that once referred, individuals will be allocated a Youth Mentor who will tailor their support solely based on the individuals' needs. Additionally, this support is based around flexibility, being dependent on individuals' circumstances and with the vision of long-term advice and guidance. With numerous partner organisations across the county, this is an extremely far-reaching project. It utilises a diverse range of expertise and therefore aims to ensure the needs of all individuals can be met in some form.

Hertfordshire Mind Network as a leading mental health services provider can thus offer tailored and focused support, contributing to the network of specialised mentoring delivered by Herts Youth Futures.

Who can join Herts Youth Futures?

A young person aged 15-19
An under-21 care leaver, or an under 25 young person with learning disabilities
Registered unemployed
At risks of NEET or NEET
Economically inactive
Have the right to work in the U.K. (proof required)

How to contact us

Professionals will need to complete this form to make a referral and please send the form to sarah.mcveigh@hertsmindnetwork.org or please contact the central team on 01992 556183.

New funding opportunities!

Please review the Grants Page on our Families First Portal which we are regularly updating and please see the information below about some new funding opportunities.

Please also use this link to access lots of information about support for local people and organisations who may need help with technology, employment, financial assistance, health, language, online safety, shopping, funding and loneliness, etc.

Hertfordshire Covid-19 Winter Grants Scheme

Grants of up to £5,000 are available to address food and fuel poverty.

This funding has been made available by Hertfordshire County Council as a part of the Government’s £170m National Covid-19 Winter Grants Scheme to support vulnerable people over the winter.

Applications from charities, groups and non-profit organisations supporting vulnerable adults that fall into any of the following categories are eligible to apply for funding:

Individuals in crisis (such as people facing poverty, experiencing or at risk of homelessness, poor mental health, domestic violence, drug and alcohol addiction etc) and their families, with or without children
Those facing food poverty
Those facing fuel poverty
Minority and marginalised groups who have been particularly impacted by Covid-19

Local Connections Fund

This is a new £4 million fund to help charities and community groups in England that are working to reduce loneliness by helping them build connections across their communities. This will be used to fund hundreds of ‘microgrants’ between £300 and £2,500, so small, local organisations (with an annual income of £50,000 or less) can bring people and communities together. Example projects include book clubs, walking groups and any other community interests that bring people together.

The Local Connections Fund will be split into two equal rounds of funding. DCMS will provide the first £2 million round of funding - which will be distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund. This first round will be open for applications on 5 January 2021 and close on 26 January 2021.

Successful applicants for this round of funding must have spent the money and finished their project by 31 March 2021.

Hertfordshire Community Foundation

This organisation provides a range of grants to support the county's community and voluntary groups. Please review their website for further information.

Please contact us at FamiliesFirst.Support@hertfordshire.gov.uk if you hear of any grants that you feel could be of benefit to the Families First Partnership.

Hertfordshire Family Centres are still open

Did you know that our family centre service is still open during this time, for any families you may work with?

Following the government announcement on new national restrictions from Wednesday 6 January, we can confirm that all our family centres are open and will continue to run bookable appointments only in our centres across the county. Eventbrite is the booking platform for such things as collecting vitamins, accessing our self-weigh stations as well as several other groups and courses. You can find the link to all Eventbrite sessions on the family centre service website www.hertsfamilycentres.org

By providing services by appointment only they are able to reduce your contact with people you do not live with, minimising your risk to exposure of Covid-19 and the length of time you need to spend outside your home. If you are clinically extremely vulnerable/clinically vulnerable, please adhere to the government guidance and remain at home.

In addition to bookable appointments there are a range of recorded sessions for children and virtual information and guidance for parents via Zoom, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams.

Where it would benefit families to receive 1:1 support, this can be provided within a centre, out in the local community, or by phone, email, or video conferencing depending on what’s most helpful to the family.

The Public Health Nursing Service will continue to run their appointment only clinics and health and development reviews during this period. If you would like to speak to a member of the Health Visiting team you can call 0300 123 7572 Monday-Friday 9am-5pm (except bank holidays).

If you are visiting one of our centres, we still require you to wear a mask, to remain two metres apart and to keep washing your hands regularly.

If you have anything that you would like to discuss, please ring our main phone line on 0300 123 7572, our friendly team are ready and waiting to take your call. You can also visit our website www.hertsfamilycentres.org for further information.

Mental Health and Wellbeing continues to be a hot topic!

Every Mind Matters campaign

On 18 January, Public Health England launched their Better Health – Every Mind Matters campaign to support the nation’s mental wellbeing with the message that “When things aren’t so good out there, make inside feel better”.

Aimed at adults the campaign will encourage people to create a free NHS-approved ’Mind Plan’.

Take the short quiz to create your ‘Mind Plan’ at https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/your-mind-plan-quiz/

MIND - Hertfordshire Network

Please see the new services timetable for 2021 showing MiND's continued support services that they are offering either by telephone, Skype and online provision. Although the Wellbeing Centres are closed until further notice but they are still offering a huge range of support and all the teams are working remotely.

They continue to offer the following :-

One to One Peer Support Services – 8 Weekly Sessions
Counselling
Peer Mentoring
Carers Support
HAFLS Training Courses
Young People’s Service/Helpline- 01923 256391
Dementia Support
Crisis Service – Evenings & Weekends – 01923 256391

In addition our wellbeing through learning courses are all continuing via webinar for the next term. The courses that are running Jan-March are all now on our website for online enrolment. https://www.hertsmindnetwork.org/spring2021timetable

Please share with you wider network. People do not have to be clients of HMN to access this courses, they are open for all.

Please also visit our previous editions of Families First News to view a list of very useful links and resources for mental health support and wellbeing links

Learning & development

HSCP - Training and Resources

Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership provide a wide variety of learning programmes and workshops across Hertfordshire to develop skills for safeguarding children, young people and adults.

The majority of the training offer is now available via live webinar sessions. Please visit our new webpage to access our monthly L&D Programme, where you can see what courses are on offer and how you can book onto them.

View the Winter 2020/21 Newsletter here

View the Learning & Development Newsletter (February 2021) here

HSCP/HSAB have also produced some helpful resources for difficult conversations that can be viewed here. Please share this with your teams and use it during your team meetings.

Motivational Interviewing - Free training

Following on from the success of the previous release of dates for Motivational Interview training, we are pleased to announce that we have been able to secure some additional FREE training sessions for our Families First partners.

The target audience for these sessions are practitioners from all agencies working with children, young people and their families and the aim is to gain an overview of a motivational skills approach.

The Objectives are:

To gain a practical understanding of Motivational Interviewing as a strengths-based approach
To understand the cycle of behaviour change, and how it can help make conversations more productive
To explore situations where there is resistance and ambivalence to change

The half days sessions will be run on the following dates:-

Weds 21^st April 2021, 1:30pm to 4pm
Thurs 20^th May 2021, 1:30pm to 4pm
Weds 22^nd Sept, 9:30am to 12noon
Mon 15^th Nov, 1:30pm to 4pm

Spaces are limited, so please book early by emailing : hscpcourses@hertfordshire.gov.uk quoting FF Partnership, and cascade to your teams where appropriate.

In addition we also felt you may find the following of interest:-

MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING

‘You lot don’t care! You’re going to take our kids away and you get a bonus for that’

‘Why aren’t you going to the neighbours down the road, they’re much worse than us!’

‘What do you know? Do you have kids of your own?’

Are these kinds of ‘heart-sink’ phrases familiar? Do you or your staff frequently find themselves on the defensive as practitioners or as managers? In an environment of diminishing resources and increasing demand on services, we need a fresh and imaginative approach.

Motivational Interviewing is a framework of intervention, brought together in the 1990s by William Miller and Stephen Rollnick. It is an approach that is designed to work with those most resistant to change or stuck in entrenched behaviours. The premise of Motivational Interviewing is that motivation is not a ‘fixed state’ that a person does, or does not have. Rather, motivation ebbs and flows depending on many factors such as circumstances, mood and so forth. The skilled practitioner (or manager) will harness whatever very little motivation there might be, and help it move in the right direction. The Motivational Interviewing approach borrows in from other sources such as Carl Rogers’ person-centred counselling; Socratic thinking and Prochaska & DiClemente’s Cycle of Behaviour change.

The key principles are:

Engagement with the client, rather than doing something to them – i.e. change cannot be forced or pushed on to someone. It has to be internal for the client to be meaningful and long term.

Rolling with resistance (NB this is not rolling over or being passive)

Express empathy

Avoid conflict

Developing discrepancy in client’s thinking

Support self-responsibility

Clients are often stuck or ambivalent about making changes for themselves. Practitioners can easily collude with this ‘stuckness’, or out of frustration try to push people to action, which only increases resistance. Motivational Interviewing helps to make the practitioner aware of these tendencies, and give them options to work more powerfully in ways that create more possibility of change for their clients.

The half-day interactive webinar will give a practical taster session into Motivational Interviewing, and its potential power to engage with people meaningfully, rather than do something to them. There will be opportunities for demonstration, discussion, and questions, conducted in ways that model the principles of a motivational skills approach. We will explore together how we can all nurture even the smallest steps of progress, with the emphasis on encouragement and trying to bring out the best in others as well as ourselves.

See below for diagram: The Cycle of Change

Herts for Learning - Early Years & Disadvantaged Conferences

Please see the information below about Herts for Learning's Early Years and Disadvantaged Conferences.

The unique child - focusing on what really matters

The Herts for Learning 2021 Early Years Conference is being delivered on Tuesday 2nd February, 9:00am – 1:00pm with keynote speakers Dr Stella Louis, Lydia Cuddy-Gibbs and Rachel Lewis. This year’s conference will explore the impact of relationships and unconscious bias in the EYFS and the need to provide a curriculum that is best matched to meet each child’s unique needs. Lydia and Rachel are practising leaders who bring their knowledge and understanding of the current impact of Covid-19.

Reach for the stars! Raising aspirations and expectations for our disadvantaged learners

The Herts for Learning 2021 Disadvantaged Conference is being delivered on Wednesday 3rd February, 9:00am - 1:00pm.

With the progression of Covid-19 and disruption to pupils’ education and its impact on their home lives and wellbeing, the disadvantage gap has inevitably widened. Hear from Marc Rowland, Dr Janet Goodall and Rachel Macfarlane who will identify the key strategies for addressing disadvantage and closing the gap in your school.

Please note: Given the current importance of this subject and our overriding purpose as a company, Herts for Learning have taken the decision to offer this cross-phase online conference to all schools / settings at a cost of only £71 per school/setting rather than per delegate

Herts Sport Partnership - Coach Education Week 2021

Whether you're a coach working in elite sport, or engaging people who are new to being active, Herts Sports Partnership (HSP) value your impact in Hertfordshire and want to support you with their wide range of workshops and talks. Now, more than ever, the sport and physical activity workforce needs our support to maintain people's activity levels and eventually, bring normality back to the sector.

With over 25 virtual and e-learning courses to choose from, there are opportunities to add to all areas of your coaching toolkit, while keeping safe.

HSP work with a variety of providers including UK Coaching, Performance Hertfordshire, the Football Association, the Activity Alliance and others, which means that many courses come with official accreditation, including CIMSPA (Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity) points.

Please take a look at the Coach Education Week 2021 courses and workshops.

Additionally, please promote and share HSP's Active Local Survey with your communities. HSP are using the information from this survey to understand local areas across Hertfordshire and shape local physical activity offers.

Reducing Parental Conflict training

Free online training for Hertfordshire frontline practitioners

Ongoing and unresolved conflict between parents has been proved to adversely affect the outcomes of children who are caught up within it.

There is some facilitated online training available to help you, as practitioners, to recognise when this may be happening and start conversations with parents about their relationship. For some families, if the relationship between the parents was better, many other aspects within the family unit would be too.

If you are interested in gaining some more skills to help the families you’re working with, please use this link here for more information and how to book.

The dates and spaces currently available are as follows:-

Dates	Spaces
Cohort 3 - 19th Jan & 3rd Feb - 9.30am – 1pm	1
Cohort 4 - 3rd Feb & 12th Feb - 1.30pm – 5pm	12
Cohort 5 - 12th Feb & 2nd March - 9.30am – 1pm	9
Cohort 6 - 2nd March & 4th March - 1.30pm – 5pm	14

My Teen Brain and My Baby Brain Training Dates

My Teen Brain focuses on a key stage of brain development and shows how changes in the adolescent brain, in conjunction with experience and environment, can affect emotions, relationships, behaviours, sleep and attitudes to risk.

The initiative aims to raise awareness and provide practical information and strategies to professionals. Through training and a range of resources, the initiative will enable them to support young people through this time of change.

Professionals working with either young adolescents (10-14) or their parents are invited to attend a free one-day multi-agency training which will look at changes to the adolescent brain, risks and behaviours and how the learning can help a strength based approach to practice.

THIS FULL DAY TRAINING HAS BEEN ADAPTED TO BE DELIVERD LIVE ONLINE

Dates available are:

Wednesday 10^th February, 10am – 3pm

Thursday 11^th March, 10am – 3pm

You can book onto the free one-day training here

More Information on the changes that take place in the teen brain is available on the dedicated website.

My Baby’s Brain Online Training Programme—Spring 2021

My Baby’s Brain has been running in Hertfordshire since 2011. In that time, the challenges that families face have evolved, particularly this last year as a result of the current pandemic. To ensure parents continue to be supported at the earliest opportunity, Early Help Commissioning have worked with partners KCA to refresh My Baby’s Brain training to allow for a greater depth of learning for professionals working with young families with additional focus on resilience and managing toxic stress.

Now online, training is a 3 stage learning programme combining webinars, e-learning and small group tutorials.

To register please choose your learning strand A or B Use the link to book your choice of step 2 tutorial dates

 Complete your 2 webinars either live or access the recordings and e-learning before attending your live tutorial

SPACE - Spring Workshops

SPACE is a Hertfordshire based charity supporting parent/carers of children and young people on the Autistic Spectrum, with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or a Neurodiverse Condition.

Please see the links below for information about the online workshops that SPACE are delivering in the Spring term. Please also share this information with your parents and carers.

Sleep Workshop: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/.../sleep-workshop-tickets...
Understanding Autism and ADHD: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/.../understanding-autism-and...
Understanding Autism: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/.../understanding-autism...
Navigating the SEND world: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/.../navigating-the-send...
Autistic Girls: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/.../autistic-girls-workshop...
Anxiety Workshop: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/.../anxiety-workshop-tickets...
Anger and Conflict: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/.../anger-and-conflict...
Understanding ADHC: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/.../understanding-adhd...

Difference we're making

Families First - Performance Data Report

You may be interested to view our Families First Performance Data report for the period October 2019-September 2020.

The report looks at Families First Assessments that took place within the period and highlights the presenting needs and outcomes broken down by district along with information about other support for families.

HABS Family Support Team - Hertfordshire Children Services Partner of the Year 2020

What a year for HABS (Hoddesdon and Broxbourne Settings)! We have secured an award that meant so much to the team. We have successfully created a new counselling provision alongside HABS called 'Strength in Mind CIC' which will continue to help our vulnerable Children, Adolescents in schools, and Adults in the local community with funded or affordable counselling to support with their mental health and emotional wellbeing. We welcomed 2 new members of staff to our team which will enable us to offer so much more over the next 2 years; even Covid-19 couldn't stop us getting out there, working face to face with our families.

The HABS team have also had another successful year with our Christmas appeal that supported families all over the Borough of Broxbourne. We are happy to say we were able to support over 240+ children with presents, supplied vouchers for food to over 60 families, and offered money towards gas and electricity for the festive season to over 50 families.

The feedback from parents has been fantastic with one local family saying

"I must admit I burst into tears when I opened everything, absolutely everything is so gratefully received. Between the cash for heating,
food vouchers and the lovely gifts. I am struggling to find the words to express how grateful I am and how much every single item is appreciated. This has been a godsend not just to help us when we are struggling to get back on our feet, but also with the pandemic unable to get out. Please pass on our thanks to every person or group that contributed to the donations, and to everyone on the HABS team, who since the first contact has really been an invaluable source of support at our lowest times, you work tirelessly and are so important not just for us but for everyone you help. Thank you so very very much."

We would like to thank the local companies, the schools and staff that came together, and the local community for all their support. You have all touched the hearts of so many families this Christmas.

If any families in Hoddesdon, Turnford, Broxbourne, and Wormley need any support please call our consultation number on 01992 303 331 (opt 5). Also, check out our Facebook page and Instagram page for up to date information and support.

Local area news

St Albans & Dacorum News Bulletin

January 2021

We are collating the updates we receive for the services into district bulletins. If you would like to include your service update/news for this area please email familiesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk and please put "Newsletter update" in the subject box, thank you.

Temporary changes to local Jobcentre services

To help keep customers and colleagues as safe as possible in the latest phase of the pandemic, the Department has decided jobcentre opening hours will be 10am to 2pm beginning on Monday the 18^th January 2021. This temporary change means we can continue providing safe, essential services for those who need to come into the Jobcentre and who are unable to interact with us on the phone or digitally. The opening hours of our phone lines remain as they were. In addition, the Relay UK service and the Video relay service are both still available.

Anyone entering a Jobcentre will be required to wear a face covering, unless they are in an exempt category. Please remind your audiences to follow the latest government guidance on meeting with others safely and lockdown restrictions and that if we need to make an appointment with a customer, this will be by the phone. We will leave a message in their journal before we call them. If you have any questions, then please contact your local Jobcentre.

Community Action Dacorum's (CAD) Creative Learning Courses

Creative Learning are offering Hertfordshire residents a variety of online courses to support the community. We are continuing to offer distance learning to deliver our courses, hopefully moving towards a blended learning programme later in the year. Please use this link to review our January newsletter, which includes information about our Digital Skills, Business, Craft, Mindfulness, and Pilates Courses.

Watford & Three Rivers News Bulletin

January 2021

Temporary changes to local Jobcentre services

Please also see the updated Escalation Route should you need it for the Watford and Borehamwood Jobcentres.

East Herts & Broxbourne News Bulletin

January 2021

DSPL4 Annual Conference - SEND and Mental Health

DSPL4 welcomes all parents, carers and professionals to join the 5^th Annual Conference; SEND & Mental Health on 29th January 2021. This conference will be held virtually via Zoom and is FREE to attend.

Please review the conference pack for everything you need to know about the day, including how to book. Please also share information about this conference on social media, with other families and professionals.

Job Smart Employability Programme

Please help us promote the Job Smart employability programme that is being delivered by the CVS across Broxbourne and East Herts. Face-to-face group sessions are recommencing in Waltham Cross and Wormley whilst there is also online support and e-learning videos.

Please promote this programme by whatever means you have; noticeboards, social media, newsletters as well as one-on-one with families you know who are in need of this support.

Please review this flyer for further information. More publicity for this programme is being devised and flyers are being printed for pick up in community locations.

Temporary changes to local Jobcentre services

HABS Family Support Team - Hertfordshire Children Services Partner of the Year 2020

The feedback from parents has been fantastic with one local family saying

"I must admit I burst into tears when I opened everything, absolutely everything is so gratefully received. Between the cash for heating, food vouchers and the lovely gifts. I am struggling to find the words to express how grateful I am and how much every single item is appreciated. This has been a godsend not just to help us when we are struggling to get back on our feet, but also with the pandemic unable to get out. Please pass on our thanks to every person or group that contributed to the donations, and to everyone on the HABS team, who since the first contact has really been an invaluable source of support at our lowest times, you work tirelessly and are so important not just for us but for everyone you help. Thank you so very very much."

YCH Services for Young People (Broxbourne, East Herts & Welwyn Hatfield)

YCH Services for Young People (YCH SfYP), previously YC Hertfordshire are pleased to present their offer of youth work projects, services and support for young people.

The best start to 2021

YCH SfYP are offering a range of online youth work projects for young people (aged 13 to 17) to help them get the best start in 2021. Please click on the following links to review some flyers providing information on the opportunities available this term across Broxbourne, East Herts and Welwyn Hatfield. Please also see some of the key projects below.

Key Projects

Emotional Wellbeing Project: This project is for young people experiencing low mood who would benefit from some support to improve their wellbeing by making simple lifestyle changes. Centred around the 5 Ways to Wellbeing, this project offers a safe environment for young people to explore how they can make a difference to the way they feel. With the support of qualified youth workers and their peers, young people can take part in new activities and learn new skills to help them feel better about their future.

East Herts: Online via Microsoft Teams, Mondays 6-7pm
Broxbourne: Waltham Cross Young People’s Centre and online via Microsoft Teams, Thursdays 6-7pm
Welwyn Hatfield: Hatfield Young People’s Centre and online via Microsoft Teams, Tuesday 3:15-5:15pm

Supporting You Project: This project introduces young people to a range of CBT techniques to overcome feelings of worry and anxiety. Delivered within a supportive group work setting, young people develop increased confidence and self-esteem and learn how to apply this to their everyday lives, as well as build resilience and take greater control of their circumstances.

East Herts: Online via Microsoft Teams, Wednesdays 6-7pm
Broxbourne: Waltham Cross Young People’s Centre and online via Microsoft Teams, Mondays 6-7pm
Welwyn Hatfield: Online via Microsoft Teams, Thursdays 6-7pm

Keeping young people safe from online exploitation

The YCH SfYP Healthy Relationships Project enables young people in East Herts to be more confident and happier in their relationships. In 2019, Ofcom found that 79% of 12-15-year olds had a potentially harmful experience online and with young people spending more time online throughout the pandemic, this project equips young people with the knowledge and skills to keep themselves safe. Through interactive and engaging activities, young people can:

Develop an understanding of consent within relationships
Learn how to stay safe online and understand the risks of sharing personal information and images
Learn how sexualised images can affect body image and confidence
Recognise and understand the impact of Child Sexual Exploitation and abuse
Know where and how to access support

Online via Microsoft Teams, Wednesdays 6-7pm

Supporting young people with finding education, employment or training

YCH SfYP can support any young person under 19 who is looking for work, training or education. Although the usual challenges that young people face when considering their future opportunities have been impacted by COVID-19, we can support young people to their next destination with the help of our qualified Careers Guidance Practitioners and a thorough knowledge of employability support. However, the majority of schools also purchase a comprehensive package of professional Careers Advice and Guidance, Work Experience and Work-related Learning from YCH SfYP.

In addition, the Pathways to Success programme is specifically designed to support young people in Year 11 who are NEET (not in employment, education or training), or are at risk of becoming so. Through individual tailored support and a range of interactive workshops young people can develop their CVs, hone their interview skills and enhance their employability.

YCH SfYP Access Points

Young people are welcome to make an appointment at any YCH SfYP Access Point throughout lockdown, which have all been risk assessed and had measures put in place to ensure they are Covid Secure:

Bishop’s Stortford Access Point (Bishop’s Stortford Young People’s Centre, 14 Northgate End, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 2EU): Thursdays 2-5pm.
Cheshunt Access Point (Cheshunt Young People’s Centre, The Drill Hall, 178 Crossbrook Street, Cheshunt, EN8 8JY): Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays 2-5pm.
Hatfield Access Point (Hatfield Young People’s Centre, Breaks Manor Youth Centre, Link Drive, Hatfield, AL10 8TP): Mondays and Wednesdays 2-5pm.
Welwyn Garden City Access Point (Welwyn Garden City Young People’s Centre, Block A, Oaklands College, The Campus, College Way, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6AH): Tuesdays and Thursdays 2-5pm.

Any young person aged 13-19 can attend Access Points (13-21 for care leavers or 13-24 for young people with learning disabilities), but during lockdown this is by appointment only. Access Points provide young people with individual support on a range of topics, including:

Finding a job and career planning
Accessing Sexual Health services, including free condoms, chlamydia and gonorrhoea screening, pregnancy tests and confidential advice
Support with substance misuse, including referrals for more specialist support
Managing finances and housing support
Developing independent living skills
Accessing YCH SfYP youth work projects and programmes

How to refer a young person to YCH Services for Young People?

You can use this link to refer a young person to a project or programme. Please help us circulate this information to colleagues who you think may find it useful.

Update on service support from Citizens Advice East Herts

Who and how are we helping?

We continue to operate a remote advice service which has enabled us to help over 6,500 people (as of end December) since the first lockdown in March, up 31% on 2019.

We are seeing demand for support increase, with issues becoming more complex. Benefits and Housing are the biggest areas of need and we are fundraising to be able to offer more specialist casework support in these areas.

As an advice service our focus is on making sure clients are able to access all the support they need, including financial. As part of this we are able to issue food and fuel vouchers where needed and to help clients access some grants, including the new (time limited) Winter Grant.

How can you can contact us?

Partners and clients can contact us for advice and support in a number of ways:

Advice by email
Advice by phone: Call Message Line any time on 01920 459944 (local rate) and one of our advisers will call back as soon as they're able to (Mon-Thus). Or if you're happy to wait call Adviceline on freephone 0800 144 8848 (Mon-Fri)
Advice by Facebook Messenger
Webchat with us

We have recently introduced a pilot online referral tool (Frontline - used in Harlow and Uttlesford) to streamline the referrals process between partners and simplify the process for clients.

Useful resources

We have a range of resources on our website which partner organisations and clients can make use of, including:

Online benefits calculator - to check eligibility for benefits. You can also see how changes in household budget can affect income.
Online self-help - for information on housing, benefits, finances, relationships, consumer rights etc.
Bite Size Video advice - for short guides to topics such as budgeting, redundancy and scams.

We can also help people apply for Universal Credit via our Help to Claim service.

What's coming up?

In the next few weeks, we will be launching video advice appointments (please see our website for latest details). We are also keen to work with partners to pilot freephones in various locations, making our service accessible to those who may not otherwise be able to contact us.

Please get in touch if you any questions and please follow us on social media for the latest updates.

North Herts & Stevenage News Bulletin

January 2021

News from Hitchin Partnership CIO

Hitchin Partnership are working as part of the Hitchin Food Provision Team. The team is a group of local organisations and charities that usually come together at Christmas to provide vulnerable families in our area with a Christmas Hamper each year. We came together at the start of the Covid-19 Crisis with the idea of providing a weekly hamper to families who suddenly found themselves in financial difficulty due to the situation; loss of employment, significantly reduced hours, furloughed, awaiting Universal Credits, etc. Very quickly we realised that a weekly hamper was going to be too difficult logistically and may not meet the different needs of individual families so we changed our plan to provide supermarket vouchers. We have now been providing supermarket vouchers since March 2020. We also provided 158 families with supermarket vouchers and gift bags for Christmas. We are aiming to continue to support families until the end of the school summer holidays 2021, we currently have funds to April/May 2021.

The team is made up of the following groups: Hitchin Partnership CIO, Hitchin Round Table, Hitchin Youth Trust, Rotary of Hitchin Tilehouse, Hitchin Volunteer Army, Zeo Church in collaboration with Hitchin Food Bank and Feed Up Warm Up.

Please also review the Hitchin Food Provision fundraising page.

Additionally, Hitchin Partnership CIO are continuing to provide support to families and schools in accordance with the current guidance.

If you would like any further information, please email: hpadmin@wilshere.herts.sch.uk.

Create Community Courses 2021

Please see the information below and this schedule for details about the courses being delivered in 2021.

From Feb to July, we will deliver the Health and Wellbeing (HW 1 & 2) and Moving towards Employment (MtE 1 & 2) courses every month and our new IT course for beginners ‘Living in a digital age’.
At the moment, we’re hoping to be able to offer face to face delivery over 2 days for HW and MtE, at either of our Hubs in Letchworth or Stevenage, according to demand, but recognise that not all participants are willing/able to travel, and that a further lockdown or tighter restrictions may prevent this altogether.
Either way, we will respond to the needs of those referred/enrolled and try to provide for as many people as possible - inevitably this will include a Zoom option as well.
IT courses will run every Wednesday morning from 3rd Feb, face to face at the Hub in Letchworth on a monthly rota, so again 5 x 2 hour sessions. (In a four week month it will be 4 x 2.5 hour sessions), unless shut down by Covid.

Therefore, we can help any of your clients who may feel they’d like support with confidence, managing anxiety and stress, developing CVs, interview practise and preparation or improving their IT skills. If you have any questions, please email: admin@createnetwork.community.

Temporary changes to local Jobcentre services

Welwyn Hatfield & Hertsmere News Bulletin

January 2021

Temporary changes to local Jobcentre services

Please also see the updated Escalation Route should you need it for the Watford and Borehamwood Jobcentres.

Welwyn Hatfield Healthy Hub

The Welwyn Hatfield Healthy Hub launched their new website on 11^th January 2021. Please help us to spread the word across the community. Please click on the following links to access some marketing, including an introductory paragraph about the website and an image to share with your contacts.

February's Healthy Hub Bulletin is also now live.

If you have any questions, please email: l.griffin@welhat.gov.uk.

YCH Services for Young People (Broxbourne, East Herts & Welwyn Hatfield)

YCH Services for Young People (YCH SfYP), previously YC Hertfordshire are pleased to present their offer of youth work projects, services and support for young people.

The best start to 2021

Key Projects

East Herts: Online via Microsoft Teams, Mondays 6-7pm
Broxbourne: Waltham Cross Young People’s Centre and online via Microsoft Teams, Thursdays 6-7pm
Welwyn Hatfield: Hatfield Young People’s Centre and online via Microsoft Teams, Tuesday 3:15-5:15pm

East Herts: Online via Microsoft Teams, Wednesdays 6-7pm
Broxbourne: Waltham Cross Young People’s Centre and online via Microsoft Teams, Mondays 6-7pm
Welwyn Hatfield: Online via Microsoft Teams, Thursdays 6-7pm

Keeping young people safe from online exploitation

Develop an understanding of consent within relationships
Learn how to stay safe online and understand the risks of sharing personal information and images
Learn how sexualised images can affect body image and confidence
Recognise and understand the impact of Child Sexual Exploitation and abuse
Know where and how to access support

Online via Microsoft Teams, Wednesdays 6-7pm

Supporting young people with finding education, employment or training

YCH SfYP Access Points

Young people are welcome to make an appointment at any YCH SfYP Access Point throughout lockdown, which have all been risk assessed and had measures put in place to ensure they are Covid Secure:

Bishop’s Stortford Access Point (Bishop’s Stortford Young People’s Centre, 14 Northgate End, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 2EU): Thursdays 2-5pm.
Cheshunt Access Point (Cheshunt Young People’s Centre, The Drill Hall, 178 Crossbrook Street, Cheshunt, EN8 8JY): Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays 2-5pm.
Hatfield Access Point (Hatfield Young People’s Centre, Breaks Manor Youth Centre, Link Drive, Hatfield, AL10 8TP): Mondays and Wednesdays 2-5pm.
Welwyn Garden City Access Point (Welwyn Garden City Young People’s Centre, Block A, Oaklands College, The Campus, College Way, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6AH): Tuesdays and Thursdays 2-5pm.

Finding a job and career planning
Accessing Sexual Health services, including free condoms, chlamydia and gonorrhoea screening, pregnancy tests and confidential advice
Support with substance misuse, including referrals for more specialist support
Managing finances and housing support
Developing independent living skills
Accessing YCH SfYP youth work projects and programmes

How to refer a young person to YCH Services for Young People?

You can use this link to refer a young person to a project or programme. Please help us circulate this information to colleagues who you think may find it useful.