Local News

Updates from the local districts

Please use this page to promote any local events or webinars. Please send an email with the subject: FF News - Local News page with a link to your event and short description to familiesfirst.support@hertfordshire.gov.uk

Broxbourne & East Herts

• Volunteering Fair: Broxbourne Council, working with Communities 1^st and the Broxbourne Alliance Primary Care Network, are organising a Volunteering Fair which will be held at The Spotlight in Hoddesdon on Monday 13 October from 7pm to 9pm. This event gives local organisations the opportunity to showcase the work they do in the Broxbourne community as well as promote their current volunteering opportunities.

  Organisations must pre-register to have a stall at https://www.communities1st.org.uk/VolunteersFair/Broxbourne

• Active Local Waltham Cross Steering Group : We had a successful first Steering Group in July with 26 people around the table with some really positive discussions. Please find the link below to the website with some relevant documents that we discussed at the meeting. We are still analysing the data captured from organisations at the group and will share that in due course. If you couldn't make the meeting and would like to add your suggestions and feedback then please see the attached discussion form (WX Steering Group Handout), complete and send back to me. We'd welcome everyone's input to build the project further. 

  Test & Learn Governance Flowchart 

  Active Local Supported Places Test & Learn Application Form 

  Active Local Supported Places - Briefing

  Click here to access these documents

  
  
  
• Mens group: "Mens Collective" A talking group for men focusing on communication with families and at work but also a safe space for men to talk freely and be heard. 6.30-8pm 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at the Community Alliance Building, Fore Street, Hertford. Download the poster
  
  Broxbourne Council has produced a simple Cost of Living guide for residents - Download the latest Cost of Living Directory
• Lots of really useful links for information on support for the cost of living is available on the Citizens  Advice East Herts website https://citizensadviceeastherts.org.uk/ from Energy saving tips, Cost of Living payments, and Fuel bills. Also download the Citizens Advice leaflet which gives times/dates of their drop-in 
  
  
• Services for Young People (SfYP) youth work projects enable young people to develop their personal and social skills and increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Get details of SfYP projects and information, advice and support services in your area here:

SfYP East Herts Team projects
SfYP Broxbourne Team projects

• The ParkPlay in Cedars Park, Cheshunt on Saturday morning offers a fantastic opportunity for families to engage in two hours of free community play, while remaining active and spending quality time with their loved ones. Additionally, it provides an excellent opportunity to connect with the local community.
   

St Albans & Dacorum

• Mens Group Drop In - In Person:

• Our Intensive Family Support Team (IFST) for Dacorum and St. Albans are facilitating a group for dads and male carers. This men’s group is a space for male role models in children’s lives to come together and have a positive outlet for concerns and to share their thoughts with other men.

  It will run on the first Monday of each month from 6.00 – 7.30pm at the IFST office, Dacorum & St. Albans, Greenhill Site, Tenzing Road, Hemel Hempstead HP2 4HS (email: Kingsley.Davis@hertfordshire.gov.uk)

  • This group is a drop in and is not a course that way anyone can pop in on a monthly basis
  • We are tapping into staff resources and will have a topic to discuss every month including support with challenging behaviour, Internet safety, parenting challenges and the Parenting when Separated Programme, domestic abuse from a male perspective including male and female perpetrators and understanding the LGBTQ+ community
  • This is a safe space for men to come together in a positive and supportive way

  Dates for 2025

   October  6, November 3, December 1

• Book your place here:- MRProgramme Referral
  
  
• You can read the latest DSPL8 newsletter here
  
  
• Services for Young People (SfYP) youth work projects enable young people to develop their personal and social skills and increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Get details of SfYP projects and information, advice and support services in your area here:

SfYP St Albans Team projects

SfYP Dacorum Team projects

North Herts & Stevenage

• Family Centre Service are running Parent Cafes, where local families can meet the team and other local families and find out about workshops, play activities and get information, advice and guidance.  Sessions for North Herts are at Woolmer Green Village Hall 10:00 - 11:30 on 23/9/2025.
  
  
• The ParkPlay in Jackmans Park, Letchworth on Saturday morning offers a fantastic opportunity for families to engage in two hours of free community play, while remaining active and spending quality time with their loved ones. Additionally, it provides an excellent opportunity to connect with the local community 

• No More Service is a youth service in Stevenage and North Herts, which offers support to young people aged 11-21 across Hertfordshire to address the impact alcohol, substance misuse and/or offending have on all areas of a client’s life and help them develop practical solutions to address these. Clients have to fulfil at least three of the relevant criteria to be accepted onto the Service, find out more here and download the referral form here.

• Services for Young People (SfYP) youth work projects enable young people to develop their personal and social skills and increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Get details of SfYP projects and information, advice and support services in your area here:
  • SfYP North Herts Team projects
  • SfYP Stevenage Team projects 

• One of Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue's many community and youth engagement activities is their established Fire Cadet Programme aimed at young people aged 14-17 years and is free of charge to join.

  Fire Cadets participate in practical and theoretical fire and rescue service activities, including hose drills, breathing apparatus procedures and fire safety awareness sessions. The scheme teaches young people essential life skills such as self-discipline, confidence and leadership.

  We are currently recruiting for the new academic year (September 2025 intake) at our Royston Cadet unit based at the Royston Fire Station, Baldock Streeton, Royston, SG8 5BD, Wednesday evenings from 6.30pm – 8.30pm.

  I have attached an information leaflet for any of your students who maybe interested in joining. There is an online application form on our service webpage which interested parents or children can complete Children and young people | Hertfordshire County Council

Welwyn Hatfield

• Herts Summer Parks

• GALLERIA PROUD TO SUPPORT DRIVING AID TO UKRAINE

  The Galleria, Hatfield is honoured to be partnering with Driving Aid to Ukraine, a not-for-profit organisation that helps deliver UK aid directly to Ukraine's borders.

   Established charities often find it challenging to deliver and operate within conflict zones, so the organisation helps fill that gap, and The Galleria is proudly supplying storage for the donations they have received.

   44 pallets are currently being stored at The Galleria. These predominantly contain children's clothing which will be distributed to orphanages, IDP individual families, children's hospitals, and care centres.

  There is also 5 tons of disinfectant which will be distributed to hospitals, rehab units and IDP centres, with further medical equipment on its way.

  13 million Ukrainians (30% of the population) are displaced; many have lost everything, including loved ones. There is an increase in single-parent families and orphans, so raising funds to pay for fuel to transport aid is a priority.

  There are number of ways that support can be provided to Driving Aid to Ukraine. To donate to directly cover transport costs please visit https://drivingaidtoukraine.org/donate-now.

  The organisation is also currently requiring volunteers with experience in gaining corporate donations, grant writing and general fundraising. If interested, please contact Michael at m.p.byrne1@icloud.com.

   Anthony Greener, Retail Manager at The Galleria said “We are delighted that we are able to support Driving Aid to Ukraine by providing them with the storage they require. The work they are doing to coordinate donations being delivered to Ukraine is invaluable.”

   For more information about the organisation and how you can help, please visit https://drivingaidtoukraine.org/ 

• Services for Young People (SfYP) youth work projects enable young people to develop their personal and social skills and increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Get details of SfYP projects and information, advice and support services in your area here:

  • SfYP Welwyn Hatfield Team projects

• Caudwell Youth Referrals : Caudwell Youth mentors at-risk young people aged 11-24 years into new futures.  They have openings for referrals in Welwyn/Hatfield areas.  Parents and young people, as well as professionals can refer/self-refer if required.

  Caudwell Youth -  Please complete the online form. Application Form - Caudwell Youth 

  • Please remember to create a unique username for each young person you refer
  • Add the young person's details not your own (it will feel like it’s asking for yours)
  • Add as much risk information as possible 
  • Please complete all relevant questions

   Each new referral will be triaged and placed on a short waiting list, before being assigned to a member of the team, if we require more information, the Area manager will contact you before we accept the referral. 

  If you have any questions, please get in touch. 

Watford, Three Rivers Hertsmere

• Mission Impossible : Our employability training programme is for young people age 18-25 with learning disabilities. We run a Supported Internship programme in Chorleywood and are currently recruiting for September 2025.

  Our mission is to provide the training and support that young, learning disabled people need, to gain paid employment and work with employers to help them create an inclusive workplace in which our graduates can thrive.   Together with our employment partners & local community, we are changing the lives of those with learning disabilities, one person at a time, creating a more inclusive workforce for all.  To date over 90% of our graduates have secured paid employment after completing their years employability training course at Mission EmployAble’s training centre at Cafe on The Common.  

• Find out more about Home-Start in Watford, Three Rivers & Hertsmere -

• Services for Young People (SfYP) youth work projects enable young people to develop their personal and social skills and increase their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. Get details of SfYP projects and information, advice and support services in your area here: 

  • SfYP Watford Team projects

  • SfYP Three Rivers Team projects

  • SfYP Hertsmere Team projects
• The ParkPlay in Aycliffe Park, Borehamwood on Saturday morning offers a fantastic opportunity for families to engage in two hours of free community play, while remaining active and spending quality time with their loved ones. Additionally, it provides an excellent opportunity to connect with the local community

• The Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service runs many community and youth engagement activities, one of which is an established Fire Cadet Programme, aimed at young people aged 14-17 years, and is free of charge to join.

  Fire Cadets participate in practical and theoretical fire and rescue service activities, including hose drills, breathing apparatus procedures and fire safety awareness sessions. The scheme teaches young people essential life skills such as self-discipline, confidence and leadership.

  We are currently recruiting for the new academic year (September 2025 intake) at our Watford Cadet Unit, which is based at our Watford Fire Station, WD17 2AG and at our Royston Cadet unit based at Royston Fire Station, SG8 5BD. Both units run on a Wednesday evening from 6.30pm – 8.30pm, term time only.

  There is an online application form on our service webpage which interested parents or children can complete Children and young people | Hertfordshire County Council

  If you have any enquiries about the Cadet Programme or any of the youth engagement activities, please do not hesitate to contact HFRS.youth@hertfordshire.gov.uk