The latest news
A Carers Strategy for Hertfordshire 2022-25
A new Carers Strategy for Hertfordshire has been published. This aims to support carers’ wellbeing to help them to balance caring with their own needs. For the first time a single Strategy for Adult Carers and Young Carers has been developed to ensure support continues smoothly as young people reach adulthood.
The four objectives, based on carers’ own priorities, embedded in this Strategy are: be informed; life beyond caring; maintaining health and wellbeing; and receiving consistent, joined up services.
Hertfordshire County Council, Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board (and previously Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group and East & North Herts Clinical Commissioning Group) worked with carers to develop this Strategy. This reaffirms their joint commitment to partnership working between carers, health and social care providers and other agencies.
We have a strong voluntary and community sector in Hertfordshire which works effectively in partnership with statutory organisations. By identifying carers earlier and ensuring they are put in touch with voluntary sector and community sources of support, we can prevent carers falling into crisis and ease the demand on statutory sector resources.
Different caring experiences have been considered when developing this Strategy to ensure that it is inclusive of the evolving needs of all carers who live in or provide care in Hertfordshire.
View the Carers Strategy at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/carersstrategy
Supporting with the Cost of Living - what professionals need to know
Webinar on 06 December, 12-1pm
Whether you interact with the public in your day job or as a volunteer, we understand how important it is that you can direct residents to trusted sources of help and advice in Hertfordshire when needed.
This webinar will help you identify when a resident may need support, be able to signpost them to a trusted source of advice, and know when and how to refer someone who may need more in-depth support from one of our specialist services in the County. You'll hear from services including Citizens Advice, the Money Advice Unit, Age UK and other professionals in Hertfordshire offering support to residents facing an increased cost of living.
Please note that this webinar will be recorded and published online so that other professionals that were unable to attend can still receive this information.
Please share this email through your networks so we can ensure all professionals will have access to this webinar. If you are interested in joining this webinar, please sign up using the link below.
Supporting with the Cost of Living - what professionals need to know
Key links to help manage the cost of living
We have continued to add to this article so that partners have a quick link through to the support being offered for families in Hertfordshire.
Hertfordshire County Council have set up a central webpage that offers advice and practical help to manage finances and make savings and contains many useful links to help you support families.
Hertfordshire has become one of the first regions in the UK to partner with Energy Saving Trust to provide an energy efficiency app to residents and help them make energy savings. The App can be downloaded via the central page:-
In addition, HertsHelp - trained friendly advisors are on hand to offer confidential assistance and can put you in touch with helpful services and support locally - call 0300 123 4044, email info@hertshelp.net or visit www.hertshelp.net
Child Poverty Action Group is pleased to announce that thanks to The Indigo Trust they have been able to make their Fuel Rights Handbook free to access for all on their digital platform, AskCPAG.
Ask CPAG | Fuel Rights Handbook 20th edition
Heating our homes is more expensive than ever, so we and our partners have developed a network of Warm Spaces, which people can use to stay warm this winter.
Warm Herts - Warm Spaces | Hertfordshire County Council
Broxbourne Council has produced a simple Cost of Living guide for residents - download here
The Citizens Advice East Herts have produced a Cost Saving tips booklet - download here
Hertfordshire’s Plan for Children and Young People - Update
Hertfordshire’s Plan for Children and Young People 2021-26 outlines our ambitions for children, young people and their families over a five-year period, contributing to Hertfordshire’s Corporate Plan. Our vision for Hertfordshire is to give every child, young person and their family the opportunity to live happy and fulfilling lives,
We have now refreshed the annual priorities for 2022-23 and published our first performance report showing how we are progressing in delivering our ambitions.
You can view the updated documents at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/planforcyp where you can also view a short animation of what the plan means for children and young people in Hertfordshire.
News from Services for Young People, November 2022
Young people receive awards for their determination, resilience, compassion, confidence and motivation
Services for Young People (SfYP) celebrated the outstanding achievements of 146 young people from across Hertfordshire at their Young People’s Awards events during National Youth Work Week 2022.
The awards events take place every year during National Youth Work Week and are an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements of some of the young people who have been supported by SfYP over the year. The events highlight the positive impact that SfYP Youth Workers and Advisers have in enabling young people to overcome barriers and fulfil their potential.
Bishop’s Stortford Young People’s Centre reopens after major renovation
An event to celebrate the refurbishment and reopening of Bishop’s Stortford Young People’s Centre took place on Wednesday 2nd November.
Throughout the refurbishment SfYP maintained and enhanced the building’s unique historical features, while creating a modern venue that can now fully support the needs of local young people today and for generations to come. Following in depth consultations with young people and several years of planning, the interior has been substantially remodelled and is now light and airy with purpose-built spaces.
Services for Young People increases its support for care experienced young people across Hertfordshire
This autumn sees the launch of SfYP’s new Care Experienced Young People’s Hubs, monthly drop-in sessions for care experienced young people where they can get support from Advisers and Youth Workers at one of SfYP’s young people’s centres.
SfYP helps care experienced young people aged 16 to 24 to become more independent and confident in all areas of their life, helping them identify their goals and, with support, focus on how to achieve them. Care Experienced Young People's Hubs are relaxed environments where care experienced young people can get impartial one-to-one support from qualified Advisers and Youth Workers to help them progress successfully into adulthood.
Announcement from For Baby’s Sake Hertfordshire
You will all know Hertfordshire is very special to The For Baby’s Sake Trust as our longest and biggest initiative with £3.1m of investment and over 200 families provided with intensive support. However, the Trust has made the strategic decision to not sustain the countywide For Baby’s Sake team after April 2023, due to the absence of any financial support continuing from Hertfordshire County Council or their partner agencies.
Our current caseloads are full and due to the need to reduce pressure after current funding ceases at the end of March 2023, sadly we will not be able to accept any new referrals.
We will seek to complete the programme with the 60 families who are engaging with us currently, with the continued support of our team and local partners.
We will be mobilising our current Hertfordshire team to deliver a national For Baby’s Sake CONNECT model as capacity in the team becomes available due to Hertfordshire families completing the programme.
We recognise HCC’s need to make tough decisions in an extraordinary economic environment and the door will always be open for discussion with HCC and partner agencies about accepting new Hertfordshire referrals into For Baby’s Sake through the CONNECT model with funding under a shared cost model with local public sector funding.
Amanda McIntyre
CEO, The For Baby’s Sake Trust
amandamcintyre@forbabyssake.org.uk
15 November 2022
Importance of the 2 year development review
Hertfordshire Community Trust along with Public Health Nursing and Community Paediatricians have put together this promotional video clip to highlight the importance of the 2-2.5 year health review.
Where possible we would ask professionals to promote this to their families and on their social media channels.
The video can be played below and this link can be used for promotion : https://youtu.be/nCgpFvk57Yg
Winter HAPpy camps are back!
Hertfordshire County Council has joined forces with the Herts Sports Partnership and the Hertfordshire Community Foundation, to organise the Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme for the school holidays every Easter, Summer and Christmas until 2024.
In Hertfordshire the programme is called HAPpy - Holiday Activity Programme - and aims to counter the triple inequalities facing Hertfordshire’s most disadvantaged young people – holiday hunger, physical inactivity and social isolation. This holiday provision is for school aged children from Reception to year 11 (inclusive) who receive benefits-related free school meals.
Booking codes for Winter HAPpy camps will be shared with schools from Monday 2nd November, with camp registration going live on Monday 21st November. HSP’s Holiday Gap Team are working with camp providers to create approximately 9,000 places this winter.
Find out more here: HAPpy Activity Camps - Herts Sports Partnership (sportinherts.org.uk)
January programme for HENRY
The HENRY Healthy Families Programme (0-5 years service) in partnership with Beezee Bodies (5-15 service) run the following programme:-
The HENRY Healthy Families: Right from the Start programme is running locally. Join the thousands of families across the country who have benefited from the support and tips it provides for young families.
Research shows that the key ingredients to ensuring babies and young children have a healthy start in life are:
- Parenting confidence
- Physical activity for little ones
- What children and families eat
- Family lifestyle habits
- Enjoying life as a family
The programme covers these 5 themes across 8 weeks and provides everything you need to help get your little one off to a great start.
You can download the January calendar here and view the HENRY leaflet - these can be shared shared with any family you think may benefit for a free 8 week programme with us.
You can make a quick referral for a client via the Beezee Bodies website and there's also the email address for general enquiries info@beezeebodies.co.uk