The latest news
Working Together in Early Help : SEND Themed Events
Our Families First "Working Together in Early Help" events are a great opportunity to meet up and network with other local professionals and at the same time learn from new services across Hertfordshire. They are held twice yearly across the county and our summer events will be focused on SEND support.
More information will follow, but in the meantime, you can book your place here:- www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/earlyhelpevent
Easter Happy Programme
Hertfordshire County Council is once again launching its free Easter activity camps for children and young people in Hertfordshire.
Fully funded holiday activity camps return for the Easter break, providing eligible children and young people with the chance to meet friends, learn new skills and enjoy nutritious food.
The HAPpy programme is funded by Hertfordshire County Council and the Department of Education (DfE) via the government’s Holiday Activity and Food programme and coordinated by Herts Sport and Activity Partnership and the Hertfordshire Community Foundation.
Bookings are now open via the Herts Sport and Physical Activity Partnership’s website: https://bit.ly/HBL1BookHAPpy
Hertfordshire schools are now giving out booking codes to families of eligible children. Parents/carers who have not received the code should contact their school office or email haf@herts.ac.uk.
Healthier Together Spring 2024 – newsletter
We thought we would share a very informative spring newsletter from the Hertfordshire and West Essex (HWE) Healthier Together website which can be accessed on the following link: HWE Healthier together spring newsletter.
The HWE Healthier Together website provides parents and professionals information on a range of childhood illnesses, all in one place. It is developed by trusted health experts. The newsletter is designed to keep professionals up to date on changes and improvements to the website, including new pages and seasonal health topics, to help with signposting the healthier together website to families.
Our Spring edition includes information on:
- Pharmacy First
- Measles
- Managing allergies and hay fever
- Asthma friendly schools
- Eating well
- Exercise and physical activity.
- Childhood vaccination
- Health for young people
- Mental wellbeing
- Exam stress
The last page is a spring poster that can be printed and displayed in receptions and waiting rooms. This can also be sent to you separately if you email hweicbenh.cypteam@nhs.net.
We hope you find it useful. Please share amongst your teams. We would love to hear your feedback on our newsletter. Please email us at hweicbenh.cypteam@nhs.net with any comments or suggestions.
It’s Not Just “Fussy” Eating: Raising Awareness of ARFID
The 4.5% of children and teenagers* labelled as “persistent picky eaters” could have an undiagnosed eating disorder, according to NHS experts.
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is an eating disorder unlike Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia because individuals are not concerned about their body image or trying to lose weight. There is currently no solid data for how many people in the UK have ARFID as it is very often conflated with “fussy” eating. However, in a systematic review** of 30 studies, the estimated prevalence of ARFID in child and adolescent samples ranged between 0.3% and 15.5%.
ARFID is characterised by a limited range of food intake by eating only “safe” foods and avoiding entire food types, leading to difficulty meeting nutritional and energy needs, weight loss and health problems. This can be for reasons including sensory sensitivity, fear of negative consequences from eating, and/or a low interest in eating.
With Eating Disorder Awareness Week currently underway, the NHS-backed psychoeducational website, Be Body Positive, is urging parents, carers and health professionals to find out more about ARFID, listen to people’s stories with empathy, to offer support and avoid judgement. Be Body Positive, which is in partnership with Barnardo’s, also encourages people who have concerns to seek support from their GP should they have any concerns about diet and nutrition.
NHS specialist eating disorder dietitian, Paola Falcoskihas developed self-guided modules on ARFID for Be Body Positive. These include evidence-based resources from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Exposure Therapy, as well as resources for parents, carers, schools, and health professionals.
Paola said: "ARFID is a complex eating disorder that requires a multifaceted approach to treatment, but recovery is possible. People deserve the right support in navigating their journey towards recovery."
Tahlia David, who had eating difficulties since childhood, was finally diagnosed with ARFID when she was 20 years old. Tahlia's experience with ARFID began at a very young age, but like many others, she was initially dismissed as a “fussy” eater before eventually being misdiagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa as a teenager due to significant weight loss.
For Tahlia, the impact of ARFID extends far beyond the dinner table to emotional, psychological and physical symptoms which make day-to-day life difficult. Tahlia has an above-average sense of smell and taste; she finds certain textures fear-provoking; she can’t eat different foods if they are together on her plate and she has an intense fear of food poisoning which causes distress and nausea long after mealtimes. This has impacted on Tahila’s social life and, as she was misdiagnosed as a teenager, she missed out on vital treatment earlier, when her symptoms were less severe and her physical and mental health were less impacted.
Tahlia said: "Growing up, I felt misunderstood and isolated because of my eating habits. It wasn't until I was properly diagnosed at 20 that I understood why I struggled with eating. Knowing that ARFID exists has been a validating experience, connecting me with a community of people who share similar challenges."
Tahlia's story highlights the importance of ARFID awareness, particularly in educational and medical settings where early intervention can make a significant difference in treatment outcomes.
Tahila added: "Schools and GPs should be more aware of ARFID and other eating disorders that develop early. Words and attitudes matter.”
For further information and resources, connect with Be Body Positive on Instagram, TikTok (@bebodypositive_nhs), or X, previously Twitter (@BBP_NHS), or visit the official website www.bebodypositive.org.uk.
Follow Tahlia's journey @tahliapaiged on X and stay tuned for her upcoming blog on www.bebodypositive.org.uk
References
*Cardona Cano S, Tiemeier H, Van Hoeken D, et al. Trajectories of picky eating during childhood: a general population study. The International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2015;48(6):570–579.
**Sanchez-Cerezo, J., Nagularaj, L., Gledhill, J., & Nicholls, D. (2023). Whatdo we know about the epidemiology of avoidant/restrictive foodintake disorder in children and adolescents? A systematic review ofthe literature. European Eating Disorders Review, 31(2), 226–246.
News from Services for Young People, March 2023
Access to All STEM event inspires young people and connects them with local employers
A successful ‘careers challenge’ event was held at the Hertfordshire Development Centre in Stevenage on Monday 5 February 2024 as part of the Services for Young People (SfYP) Access to All programme. The event gave Stevenage students an opportunity to learn more about careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and connect with local employers. The feedback from the students was positive, with 93% rating the event with 4 or 5 stars.
Celebrating young people’s achievements during National Apprenticeship Week 2024
Inspiring success stories demonstrate the impact of the support provided by SfYP in helping young people into apprenticeships.
An apprenticeship is an excellent opportunity for young people aged 16 and over to get practical work experience combined with education. They achieve nationally recognised qualifications while also earning a salary.
“I feel happier… less anxious and more confident”
SfYP recently played a crucial role in helping Aaliyah (not her real name) after she was referred to us by her school because of low self-esteem and confidence. Joining our ‘Supporting You’ programme enabled her to make a big difference to her mental health, improving her resilience, self-care skills and sense of belonging.
Read the case study
Become a Safe Space volunteer mentor
Would you like to become a Safe Space volunteer mentor for young people in Hertfordshire and support them to overcome challenges, achieve their goals and reach their potential?
ABOUT SAFE SPACE
Safe Space provides mentoring for young people aged 11-19 (25 if they are care leavers or have a learning disability) who live or go to school/college in Hertfordshire. Mentors are given training before being matched with a young person who would benefit from 1:1 mentoring support to help them reach their potential
See more opportunities by Safe Space
Role of the mentor
As a volunteer mentor you would meet with your young person once a week for up to an hour, at a time and place in the community convenient to you both. Usually the mentoring relationship is for 6 months but can be longer or shorter depending on the need.
Following an initial 2 day training programme and required checks, volunteer mentors are matched with young people based on personality and interests but also by location.
As a volunteer mentor you would gain trust from the young person you are working with and provide valuable support in being able to help them work towards goals, overcome challenges, give advice or just provide a listening ear. (Minimum age 21)
You will be supported by a Mentoring Co-ordinator and ongoing training and support groups are provided.
If you are interested, please download an application form and send to mentoringmailbox@hertfordshire.gov.uk
Also any questions should be sent to mentoringmailbox@hertfordshire.gov.uk
Updates from Step2Skills
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Step2Skills is delighted to unveil the 9th edition of Step2Skills News, featuring learners and participants from across their range of employment support and skills training services.
Hear about Andrew and Dune’s experiences on a hospitality course, Jonathan’s journey on the Prince’s Trust TEAM programme in Hertfordshire and Beverley’s alternative route into a new career; teaching.
Learn more from Step2Skills teacher, Maria on living with Autism and set your 2024 goals after reading about the importance of fitness and wellbeing from learner, Viviane.
The digital version of the Step2Skills News magazine can be accessed and read at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/step2skillsmagazine.
The printed copies are on their way so if you would like some A5 printed copies for your organisation, be it a library, doctor’s surgery, village hall, (the list goes on!) please email me and we’ll get this arranged.
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Are you ready to release your Number Ninja and improve your number skills?
Step2Skills has been busy promoting the Multiply project across Hertfordshire in the last month and you may have noticed posters on buses, in train station and possibly even had a flyer through your door in the last couple of weeks!
If you'd like to improve your number skills, then the Step2Skills FREE Multiply workshops can help! They offer a range of workshops to help with budgeting, supporting your child with their school work and saving money, so there's bound to be something that can help you 📝💻
Download the leaflet
Visit https://numberninja.org/ and Count Yourself In!
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Looking for support into work? The Road to Employment project can help.
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Places on all of these workshops and courses can be booked on the Step2Skills website at www.step2skills.org.uk/courses.
Sources of health and wellbeing evidence to support your work in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire's voluntary and community sector organisations can find it challenging to complete funding applications to deliver their work. Providing evidence of the need for local services to meet local priorities can be a daunting process if you don't know where to start.
This very useful webpage will help providers of local health and wellbeing services in Hertfordshire "evidence the need" for their work in grant funding application forms and in planning their services. There are links to five key sources of health and wellbeing data and evidence available on local priorities, and some tips on how to use them.
These sources are free and available to everyone.
You can use this guide to help you to:
- find and define local need for health and wellbeing services
- help show how your services have an impact on local health and wellbeing
- respond to the health and wellbeing funding landscape, including local authority grant programmes.
Play this short film to introduce the five sources of health and wellbeing evidence in Hertfordshire:-
Webpage: Evidencing the need: health and wellbeing evidence sources (arcgis.com)
Download the Families First Funding Guide
BeeZee Families are Choosing Healthier Snacks
We know lots of families can find it hard to encourage children to choose healthier snacks.
But we’re here to help! Our team of nutritionists deliver Beezee Families, a FREE heathy lifestyle programme to support families across Hertfordshire.
This is Parent Mail. It’s a FREE resource that we share with parents twice a term to tackle the biggest challenges face in making healthy choices. Please share the attachment with parents you work with via email / regular newsletters and on social media.
We also have FREE healthy lifestyle programmes beginning April 22nd to help families to build healthy habits around food and physical activity. Sign-ups are open NOW so families can secure their spot. Alternatively, they can start their journey with our online programmes too.
Visit our website for more details.
Learning & development
HSCP Learning & Development Programme
HSCP provide a wide variety of learning programmes and workshops across Hertfordshire to develop skills for safeguarding children, young people and adults.
We use this page to give you some quick links through to the HSCP learning programmes:-
Recent 7 Minute Briefings
OnePlusOne Healthy Relationship Training
Evidence shows that conflict between parents can affect multiple outcomes for children, including emotional, behavioural, social and academic development. Parents in poverty or under economic pressure are more likely to experience relationship conflict. According to the latest DWP estimates, 12% of all children and 21% of children in workless families have parents in a distressed relationship.
HCC are commissioning OnePlusOne who have over 50 years’ experience in creating evidence-based resources to support the development of healthy relationships.
OnePlusOne provide digital resources that raise awareness of the impact of stress and conflict on children, giving parents the skills to cope with stress together and manage their conflict more constructively. Allowing parents to develop positive communication skills, so that they can parent co-operatively and work out solutions together.
The resources are split in to 3 modules aimed at:
- New parents
- Parents that are together
- Parents that are separated
To date 163 practitioners across the Families First Partnership have been trained in OnePlusOne, if you would like to access this training please see the details below.
All training is delivered online and held from 9:30 to 12:30 | Each training has a capacity of 15 delegates
Follow the link below for your preferred training date to register your place and a link will be sent to access the training.
24th April 2024 9:30-12:30 register here
11th June 2024 9:30-12:30 register here
For further information please contact the project lead Nicola.Wilder1@hertfordshire.gov.uk
Free Mental Health First Aid Training
As part of the ongoing response to the cost-of-living crisis, Hertfordshire County Council are funding free Mental Health First Aid Training for volunteers and staff at foodbanks, community spaces, faith and community groups. We are working with Hertsmere Borough Council who are helping to co-ordinate this across Hertfordshire so please do promote to within your localities.
The Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses will be held across 4 days, with half a day on each of the allocated dates. The training will be on Zoom and you will need to attend all a full course to receive the MHFA accreditation.
COURSE 1: April-May 2024
Tuesday 30th April, 0930-1315
Wednesday 1st May, 0930-1315
Tuesday 7th April, 0930-1315
Wednesday 8th May, 0930-1315
COURSE 2: June 2024
Tuesday 4th June, 0930-1315
Thursday 6th June, 0930-1315
Tuesday 11th June, 0930-1315
Thursday 13th June, 0930-1315
COURSE 3: September 2024
Tuesday 10th September, 1300-1645
Friday 13th September, 1300-1645
Tuesday 17th September, 1300-1645
Friday 20th September, 1300-1645
COURSE 4: November 2024
Monday 4th November, 1300-1645
Thursday 7th November, 1300-1645
Monday 11th November, 1300-1645
Thursday 13th November, 1300-1645
To register for the course, please contact Viewpoint on info@hertsviewpoint.co.uk or 01707 386136.
Please note:
Places are limited, register as soon as possible!
Online course delivery across April, June, September and November
Course certificate sent via email once you complete the course and evaluation form.
Hertfordshire County Council know many people visiting community spaces and foodbanks require support and we will be offering a Resource Guide, marketing information, access to Togetherall and free Suicide Prevention Training as additional support to support those in need.
Download the leaflet here
Money Advice Unit Training Programme, Summer 2024
The Money Advice Unit Training Programme and booking form for SUMMER 2024 is now available.
All the courses are free of charge but please note we will only accept bookings from organisations in Hertfordshire. Due to demand, we only allow a maximum of two participants from each organisation per course.
If you want to book for more than one person, please complete a separate booking form for each person.
Once you return the completed booking form(s) to us, the attendees will receive a booking confirmation email within 5 working days. Please check your junk folder as sometimes our emails go to the junk folder straight away.
Workforce Shadowing
The vision for Families First training and development is to create a skilled, confident and resilient multi-agency workforce that supports whole family working.
Workforce shadowing provides a great opportunity to find out more about other services, what they do and how they might be able to support you in your work. It also enhances communication across agencies and helps strengthen and develop professional relationships, building local networks.
If you would like to organise a workforce shadowing placement for either yourself or a team member please complete the form on this page stating the service you would like to shadow and the preferred district and we will match you to a shadowing opportunity.
The following services have offered to host shadowing opportunities in either in person or virtually:-
- Citizens Advice (Broxbourne/St Albans/North Herts)
- Childcare provision
- CGL
- Domestic Abuse Support
- Families First Panels Team
- Family Support Service, Family Centre
- Herts Mind Network
- Herts Sports Partnership
- MIND in Mid Herts
- ASB Team, District Council, Three Rivers
- Housing Support, District Council
- Intensive Family Support Team (IFST)
- Local School Partnerships
- Police
- Public Health Nursing
- Schools Early Years Provsion
- Specialist Adolescent Services Hertfordshire (SASH)
- Services for Young People
- Supporting Families Practice Team
Additionally, if you would like to add your service to the above list, again please email us with your contact details, service and district.
Familesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk
Please take a look at the page, bookmark and share with teams, where appropriate.
Workforce development (hertfordshire.gov.uk)
Suicide Prevention Training
The Suicide Prevention Network involves more than 20 organisations. Our vision is to make Hertfordshire a county where no-one ever gets to a point where they feel suicide is their only option.
Suicide Prevention Training Courses (suicidepreventionherts.org.uk)
Suicide Bereavement support
New upcoming dates for fully funded CDP suicide bereavement training, delivered by Harmless.
Those attending will benefit from the following learning outcomes:
- The magnitude of suicide bereavement
- Suicide loss as a unique form of complex bereavement
- ‘Complicated grief’, trauma, and other individual responses to suicide
- The wider impact of bereavement on those exposed to or affected by suicide
- The stigma and shame associated with suicide and bereavement
- Bereavement by suicide as a unique risk factor for suicide
- Responding to those bereaved by suicide, and how we can help to support them
- Key UK strategic guidance and research on best practice in shaping services to incorporate suicide bereavement support
- Postvention: what is means and why it matters
- A local service perspective: CHUMS work supporting those affected
Click here for more information, dates and booking details
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 2022 - September 2023.
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.
Celebrating Workforce Achievements
We are delighted to celebrate the graduation of 13 Supporting Families staff, having completed their Working With Parents Level 4 qualification. All 13 completed their portfolios and have received amazing feedback from their tutor around their motivation, attitude and pride they showed for their organisation.
Additionally, six of the learners also achieved commendation awards, with the awarding body recognising their portfolio’s as going above and beyond the normal expectations. One of these, belonging to Senior Family Intervention Worker Lisa Lester, was described as exceptional, something the tutor had never seen before.
We are incredibly proud of all our learners and recognise the challenges of working full time, personal pressures and studying.
Money Advice Unit Project ‘highly commended’ in national awards
In April 2023, the Money Advice Unit commenced a pilot project providing benefits advice via the Enhanced Primary Care Mental Health Service. It was partly inspired by the survey work done by Healthwatch Hertfordshire on the mental health impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
As a result, Healthwatch submitted the initial results of the project to the National Healthwatch Awards, held in March this year. The Hertfordshire MAU project was a highly-commended runner-up. This is quite an achievement, as this award covered all Healthwatch teams in England for any of their work over the last 10 years.
As well as showing solid and impressive figures of ‘benefits gained’, a video co-produced by Healthwatch, HPFT and the MAU showed ‘Paul’s story’. This was especially well received, with feedback being that it was a powerful example of the impact of good benefits advice on an individual’s life.
Some of the compliments received from Healthwatch England were:
- Excellent work from Healthwatch Hertfordshire which also provided significant insight for nationally influencing work we have done on cost of living (Louise Ansari, Chief Executive, Healthwatch England)
- You have powerfully demonstrated the point that once someone such as Paul falls outside the system's comfort zone, it is just impossible for people, without the help of the Money Advice Unit, to stop the spiralling down of their health and wellbeing - such a vivid example! (Professor David Croisdale-Appleby, Chair of Healthwatch England)
Healthwatch Hertfordshire are showcasing the work in their annual report, which will be published at the end of June and it is also featured on Healthwatch England’s Annual Report to Parliament (page 39) which has just been published. 20240314 HWE Annual report & Accounts 2022_23 FINAL_0.pdf (healthwatch.co.uk).
Unfortunately, despite reaching 377 people in its first 11 months, and achieving benefit gains for them (so far – more results are expected) of £725,000, the project has now effectively ended as no further funding is available.
Young Carers Service Celebrates National Award Win
Carers in Herts are delighted that their Young Carers Service has been recognised with a national Children and Young People Now Award.
They were announced as the winners of the Young Carers Award at the awards event on Thursday 23rd November 2023 (Carers Rights Day). They beat four other shortlisted organisations and projects to win.
The awards, in their 18th year, were organised by Children and Young People Now, which provide a website and magazine for professionals that work to improve the life chances of children, young people and families in the UK.
Having caring responsibilities can lead to young carers feeling isolated, missing opportunities and poorer health, but they provide information, guidance, and practical support such as activities, to enable young carers to socialise with each other, have a break from caring, develop their skills or knowledge and enhance their wellbeing. They also listen to their challenges and help them share their views and experiences with health and other services that they, or the people they look after, use.
Carole Whittle, the Health and Wellbeing Manager, said: “We are proud of everyone involved with our Young Carers Service, including the young carers who help us design our activities and services, our fantastic staff team who deliver them and our funders – this is your award. It recognises everyone’s commitment and resilience!”
Currently, more than 2,800 young people aged up to 19 in Hertfordshire who provide unpaid care or help to someone close to them who is ill, elderly, disabled or has an addiction is registered with our charity. If you or someone you know is aged 18 or under and has a caring role, contact Carers in Herts to find out about the support they provide young carers and their families. Send an email to young.carers@carersinherts.org.uk or call 01992 58 69 69.
Families First Case Studies
Following on from a programme of Celebrating Excellence in Early Help sessions run in Children’s Services, which aimed to highlight the Families First approach and also included contributions from some of our partners, we are sharing some of the recent case below:
Case Study 1 - Intensive Family Support / Local Borough Council
Scene Setting
The Intensive Family Support team (IFST) began supporting this family of nine in Spring 2021.
As support got underway the third youngest child Tia* was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour and the family are struggling coming to terms with Tia’s diagnosis and her life expectancy of one year. Tia is 11 years old.
On learning of Tia’s prognosis and following discussion with Keech Hospice an Occupational Therapist (OT) appointment was arranged for the family’s home. This assessment identified that the three-bedroom home was not suitable for end-of-life care and was not suitable for adaptation as the access was too narrow and steep for a ramp.
The Family Intervention Worker (FIW) made contact with the local Borough Council’s Aids and Adaptions Team for support.
READ MORE
Case Study 2 - Families First Assessment
Scene Setting
This case study provides some insight into the journey of Fran* and her family. Fran is an eight year old girl who worries about her mum, she knows mum is different when she is with her drinking friends. Fran’s Mum has a diagnosis of unstable personality disorder and has previously used drugs and alcohol as coping strategies, she has been in a cycle of poor mental health and whilst their wider family network have been supporting Fran and her mother they sought out some external support via a Families First Assessment.
READ MORE
Case Study 3 - Employment Adviser/IFST
Scene Setting:
This case study provides some insight into the support provided to Sanz* from one of our Employment Advisers. Our Intensive Family Support Teams include Employment Advisers who provide tailored support in areas such as employability; taking time to understand skills and experiences, any barriers or challenges preventing employment, identification of any training to support employability, preparation of supporting statements and CVs and job search support, including mock interviews.
Our Advisers can also provide guidance on how to navigate the benefits system, including benefit entitlements and claims, as well as how changes in circumstances impact benefits.
They work in parallel with Family Intervention Workers. This case study summarises support given to Sanz, the mother, to support with employability and benefits.
READ MORE
Case Study 4 - Local Schools Partnership
Please share anonymised case studies highlighting how early help and partnership working has provided support to local families with us at familiesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk. Please ensure you have consent from the family.
Help us promote the Families First Website
Our Families First Website is a great central resource for early help support for families and young people, with links to many services such as mental health support, Services for Young People, SEND Local Offer, parenting courses etc along with a link to the Herts Directory and the Families First professionals area.
We would like to encourage all partner agencies to help us promote the Families First website to parents and carers in Hertfordshire.
Campaign Tools:
Please add the web address to your own website:- https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/microsites/families-first/families-first.aspx
Or use the QR Code for direct link to the Families First homepage:
Download a QR code
Download a Families First Logo
Social media
Please follow Families First on Facebook and X (Twitter)
Suggested post
Image to post on your own social media channels, with the suggested text:-
"All families need help and support at some point, please visit the Families First Website to find out about support available in your area". https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/.../families-first.aspx
Poster:-
Please download our poster and display in your public facing space.
Thank you in advance for your support with this campaign.