Home > Living > Health and social care > Support Groups

Support Groups

Lots of different people offer family support; it could be a grandparent, next door neighbour or a friend. Your health visitor, teacher or community group can also offer other forms of family support.

Bringing up children is exciting and enjoyable but it is also demanding, tiring and stressful. We all need help at times as none of us are trained to be parents. Social Services can offer support and services to your children and you as parents and carers and we will work alongside others offering you support in your community.

Family Support - Who is Eligible?

To receive family support, an assessment of your child and families needs will have taken place to ensure that Social Services are best placed to meet these needs. Your involvement in this assessment is important, as it is our aim to support you to safely parent your child.

Family Support - What help can we offer?

• Support to your family to enable you to live together better.
• Opportunities for you as parents and carers to learn new skills.
• Opportunities for young children to learn through play.
• To support you to cope with your children better.
• Opportunities for you to learn how to deal with problems and become more confident.
• Services that recognise that all children and adults have different needs, and to respond to those needs.
• Support and services that work with you to protect your children from harm.

Family Support - How we provide it

• By talking to you and your children to find out what services might be best for you.
• By offering a mixture of services to suit your particular family.
• Recognising that you and your children have multi-cultural, religious and linguistic needs.
• Working in partnership with you to recognise that as parents you have prime responsibility for your children.
• To signpost you to other community services.
• For those children who are not able to live together with you at home, we will work with you to assess how to safely return your children home.
• It is our priority to offer support to enable you and your family to live safely together.

Family Support - Teenagers

Having a teenager at home can be challenging for both you as a parent and the young person. It is a time when young people begin to want control over their lives and need to learn how to take responsibility for their actions. It can be a rollercoaster of emotions and make family life a time of conflict, stress and worry.

We can offer advice and support, including individual work with the young person.

The aim is to support you as a family and prevent any family breakdown.

Your Involvement

Social Services is committed to working in partnership to enable you to parent your children so that they reach their full potential. This includes:

• information: on assessments and services
• consultation: you and your families views are considered in the provision of services
• involvement in planning and decision making: active participation is encouraged in drawing up the plan for your child.

Information

You can get more information from:

Parentline Plus - free helpline offering help and information to anyone caring for children
Telephone: 0808 800 2222
Telephone: 0800 783 6783 for people with hearing or speech impairment

Childline - free helpline for children/young people to talk to someone about any problems
Telephone: 0800 1111

Sure Start - 023 9282 1816

Services for Children & Families - 023 9283 9111

---