Action for Children

Location: Ashington, Northumberland

Central Children’s Centre’s are there to ensure all children get the best possible start in life. We are a focal point in our community where families with children under five can access all the services and information they need.

Children’s Centre’s:

• offer families with children under five a friendly place to go and get information and support on health, parenting, work and childcare.
• give help and advice on child and family health, parenting, money, training and employment
• provide learning together through play sessions for mums, dads, carers and their children, and there are lots of opportunities for families to develop new skills
• offer outreach and home visiting, and services for children and parents who need it through the 'early help' process for 0-19 years of age.
• provide early learning opportunities for pre-school children

Our Children's centres play an essential role in giving children and families the early support they need.

Location: Barrow, Cumbria

We are open to your whole community on a regular basis. We work in partnership with other agencies such as health visitors, midwives and local schools.

To help under-fives get ready for school our services include: child and family health services; parenting programmes and antenatal support; early year’s education services, such as ‘stay and play’ sessions; speech and language support and family learning.

In addition we offer support for parents with adult learning and employment support. This may include language, literacy and numeracy support, family learning, access to apprenticeships and volunteering opportunities as steps toward employment and links to Jobcentre Plus. This is supported by good quality, inclusive childcare.

Location: Bedlington Children Centre Northumberland

Our service enables to ensure all children get the best possible start in life .

Location: Derbyshire

Our Talk Time service in Derbyshire works with children aged 4-11 who are unhappy, anxious and at risk of developing a mental health issue. We help them to understand their feelings and relationships. To see that life really is worth living.

Location: Sandwell, West Midlands

In Sandwell we provide various activities and support to children and their families. We run one-to-one and group sessions and provide support with employment, parenting, debt support, school readiness  and many health initiatives. Sessions are run in our centres and at community venues in the area. We support children and their families to explore learning opportunities and raise their aspirations through fun and exciting activities. We also run specific targeted groups such as our Fathers group in order to support the harder to reach members of our community. We also offer a family support service offering support, advice and guidance to families within their own homes or in our centres.

Location: Tyne and Wear

When times are bad, families need extra support.

We use a system of whole-family support, providing an intensive relationship and support to contribute to the wellbeing of families we work with; this can stabalise families and enable them to overcome their difficulties and live happier lives together.

If families and relationships are strengthened, children who were previously on the edge of being placed in care are able to stay at home.

We work with each member of the family with all children in the household receive care and attention, and where necessary we work with other significant members of the household if we believe this will help.

Our work helps;

• Keep children out of care;
• Help parents towards employment;
• Reducing children's involvement in crime;
• Making more confident parents;
• Helping families to better mental health.

Junior Mentoring In Action

We work across Liverpool and Knowsley, focussing on children aged 5-11 years. They are experiencing difficulties which may be having a negative impact on their learning, confidence and social skills.

The programme provides a solution focused approach to support a child to develop their inner resources and strengths. Building their self-esteem, and finding positive alternatives to their challenging behaviour that could otherwise result in them not reaching their full potential.

Tailored Support

We provide a tailored one-to-one mentoring package with a carefully screened, trained and supervised adult volunteers from within the community.

Volunteers are trained in using a solution focused approach to working with children, they cover safeguarding children, lone working and solution focused approach to working with children, before they are matched to a child. Safeguarding is paramount throughout our work.

Proven Outcomes

• 96% OF THE CHILDREN ACHIEVE THEIR SET GOALS
• 98% SHOW AN IMPROVEMENT WITH ISSUES THEY WERE REFERRED FOR

The benefit of the mentoring service affects the individual child, their family life, their school academic life, the relationships with their friends and the life of the volunteer mentor.

Activities Assistant Newbiggin children's Centre.

Be rewarded and have new experiences, volunteer with us.

Action for children does what's right, does what's needed and it does work.