The latest news
Check out Hertfordshire's Spring 25 Parenting and Relationship Courses
Please download the latest Parenting and Relationship Support Offer Newsletter which will provide you with information and details on Parenting Courses and Relationship Support offer. Please can you ensure you cascade to your teams. If you have any questions please email CSStrategic.Partnerships@hertfordshire.gov.uk .
We have listed a few of the current courses below, but please visit the Hertfordshire Directory for the full listing.
In addition, you can find out further information below:-
Family Lives offer a variety of on-line workshops, courses and advice articles such as Understanding Children's Behaviour (online workshop), Understanding the importance of communicating with teens (article), parenting courses (online), Bullying on social media (article), and online forums for parents and carers to connect and share experiences. Download the Summer programme here.
Supporting Links
NEW course dates added for our popular Talking Families Course.
Online on Zoom, Thursdays, 9.45 to 11.15am, 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th June, 3rd & 10th July 2025
This course is FREE to parents with children 0-11years old, who live or go to school in Hertfordshire
The course covers:
- Manage challenging behaviour with consistency
• Encourage positive behaviour
• Build your child's self-esteem
• Set and maintain boundaries
• Respond to tantrums and difficult feelings in children
• Develop a strong parent/child relationship now and for the future
Parents can book by calling 07512 709 556 or email bookings@supportinglinks.co.uk (we will need to speak to you to confirm your booking) Please quote Course ID: 757
Professionals can refer parents through the same routes.
Still spaces available: Who's In Charge
The Intensive Family Support Team in North Herts and Stevenage are preparing to run the next Who’s In Charge group.
Please see this flyer and this link for more information Whos In Charge - Working with : Child to Parent Violence & Abuse
Group details
Location: The Pod at Northfields Infants and Nursery school, Burley, Letchworth, SG6 4PT
Duration: Weekly on Wednesdays (not during half terms) for 8 weeks
Meet and Greet: Wednesday 14th May 2025 (for one hour 10-11am)
Session dates: Wednesday 21st May - Wednesday 9th July 2025
Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm
Please can you go through the outline of the group with parents/ carers and submit this referral form by Friday the 2nd of May 2025 at midday to allow us time to collate the referrals and make contact before the group starts.
Please feel free to ask myself or Beth if you would like to know anything more.
We look forward to receiving your referrals.
Denise & Beth
Bethan.robertson@hertfordshire.gov.uk Denise.Masawi@hertfordshire.gov.uk
Who’s In Charge facilitators.
Capacity for new referrals - For Baby's Sake
For Babys Sake is Whole-family response to domestic abuse working individually with parents committed to co-parenting their unborn baby.
A Therapeutic programme delivered by highly skilled practitioners underpinned by a range of therapeutic models and in-depth, ongoing training.
Meaningful, trusting relationships consistently guarantee engagement and crucially, provide the framework for the deeper, therapeutic exploration that allows parents to understand the impact of their own parenting & childhood experiences
The quality of the relationship is the single most important factor for achieving successful outcomes and the Trauma-informed approach – encouraging unresolved trauma to be explored & processed to make sense of the emotions/feelings connected to the events within a ‘recovery framework’
Criteria
- Pregnancy, ideally 28 weeks or earlier
- Both parents willing to engage, although parents do NOT have to be together or in a relationship.
- There is DA in the relationship
- The mother resides in Hertfordshire.
For Baby's Sake currently has capacity for referrals in Hertfordshire and referral is by an online link,
Direct link to refer
Or any questions please contact Steve Gibbs 07702 537074
Referral can be self-referral or any professional working with the family.
Free and confidential Gambling Support
Health in Herts are running a campaign to help anyone affected by gambling, either if you are struggling personally or affected by someone else's gambling. They offer confidential support and useful resources available here:-
There is information on the support services in Hertfordshire, national support services and self help options.
Webinar: Safeguarding Students from Gambling Harm
Children and Young People Now have teamed up with Ygam to bring you a webinar designed for educators, school leaders, and professionals in the education sector about the latest insights into young people and gambling, the growing risk posed by online influences and highlight the blurred lines between gaming and gambling.
Young People and Gambling: What Schools Can Do to Improve Safeguards
Gambling is becoming an increasingly hidden risk for young people – often blurred through gaming, social media, and peer pressure.
Join us for a free, expert-led webinar for educators and school leaders exploring how schools can play a vital role in protecting students from gambling-related harm.
Book here
Date: 7th May 2025
Time: 4:30 pm BST (1 hour)
This session will cover:
- The latest research on youth gambling trends
- Online influences: loot boxes, microtransactions & advertising
- How to integrate gambling harm awareness into PSHE & safeguarding
- Practical strategies to support at-risk students
- Working with parents & communities for a whole-school approach
Hear from expert panellists and gain the tools, confidence, and knowledge to tackle this rising issue head-on.
Support for revision and exam related stress:
April's Stress Awareness month is now over, but stress can affect people all year around, especially at this time of year for young people with exams looming. Revision and exam time can feel overwhelming, but there are things young people can do before, during and after exams to help manage their worries. Find advice and signposting from Just Talk Herts at: Exam and Revision Stress
In addition and in partnership with HCC, Togetherall can support people aged 16+ with clinically moderated, peer-to-peer support, 24/7 and provides a safe space to share concerns and learn coping strategies. Togetherall work in partnership with universities across the UK to provide students with Free Togetherall access. Through their website, Togetherall offer the opportunity for people to explore the community, either sharing thoughts or reading thoughts of others, access to resources such as self-help courses to expert articles, anonymous engagement where open conversations can be shared as much or as little as wanted and 27/7 support. Best of all, it's free to join! Watch a short YouTube video for more information.
Suicide Prevention and Postvention readiness pack
HCC Mental Health and Children and Young People Team are excited to launch a new resource to provide our Hertfordshire Community settings with mental health, suicide prevention and postvention information and support.
On Suicide Prevention day 2024 we launched the Suicide Prevention and Postvention Readiness pack for Education settings in Hertfordshire. A resource to help ensure that all education settings have the timely information needed, developed in collaboration with system professionals to support and fill the gaps, to aid education settings support the wellbeing of their school community, staff and pupils. Providing details on the available services, information and guidance for mental health, suicide prevention, and postvention in one place to access. This pack is hosted on the Hertfordshire GRID for Learning.
Following this, we have become aware of the need to develop a community version of this pack, to support the wellbeing of extracurricular and enrichment activity organisations working with young people, for example youth groups, grass root clubs and sporting establishments with information and signposting.
Incidents of suicide attempts and deaths are not something we have to deal with often, but unfortunately are a reality that have a profound impact on those close to individuals, as well as the wider community. Finding the correct information for support in the midst of an incident can be difficult as it is often spread across multiple websites, emails, and leaflets, making it more challenging for group leads to access. The community pack has been put in place to improve the support available to individuals to support their wellbeing when they need it.
Download the community version of this pack here.
Find out about the new body image group from First Steps ED for boys and men.
First Steps ED have introduced a brand-new four-week group workshop for 12–17-year-olds to help address the distinctive challenges that males face with body image.
Developed by staff and volunteers with first hand experience, each week will look at a specific topic: masculinity and expectations; social media, gym culture and diet culture. Find out more: Workshops & Support Groups for Eating Disorders | First Steps ED:
Don't wait - find self-help or early help now!
First Steps ED offer various free early help support options for 5–18-year-olds in Hertfordshire with eating disorders/disordered eating. This includes group workshops, one-to-one sessions, and easy-to-access self-help guided resources. Children and young people don’t need to be physically unwell due to their eating behaviours to ask for support – it’s always best to ask for help as soon as possible. Eating disorders can happen to anyone at any time. First Steps ED support is on hand for anyone regardless of ability, background or identity.
Find out more on their website: Services & Support | First Steps ED
Important service update: Herts Haven Cafes
Please see the message below from Hertfordshire Mind Network regarding the Herts Haven Cafes for children and young people, ages 10-18:
There are planned changes within our provision of Herts Haven Cafés that provide open-access drop-in spaces for children and young people across Hertfordshire to access support for their emotional wellbeing.
We want to let you know that the Stevenage Herts Haven Café will be closed from Saturday 29 March 2025 with no further cafes planned for the area from that date. However, our cafes in Hemel Hempstead, Watford, and Ware remain open, with our Hemel Hempstead Café opening for an extra day each week on Wednesdays as well as Thursdays and Saturdays.
We are reaching out to those children and young people affected, to explain the situation and signpost them to suitable alternative support services.
If you have any concerns or questions please do not hesitate to contact us: You can call us on 0208 189 8400, email cyp@hertsmindnetwork.org, or visit www.withyouth.org