Children & Family Support

Children, young people, and families can now access more support, as the Telford Children’s Autism Hub is expanding their current offer of post diagnosis support, thanks to additional funding from NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

The extra funding means the hub is also able to offer information, advice and support for families at the pre-diagnosis stage and who are on the pathway awaiting an autism assessment.

Families can access the service if their child or young person is 0-18 years old and lives in Telford and Wrekin. The hub is funded by Telford & Wrekin Council and NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

The hub works in partnership with other services to ensure children who are on the pathway or have a diagnosis of autism receive the best support available, including the Adult’s Autism Hub to ensure transition from childhood to adult service provision is smooth and consistent.

An official launch event will take place in early February to promote the service to families living in Telford and Wrekin.

Launch of Community and Family Hubs webpages

Shropshire Council and its partners have launched new webpages to highlight the community and family support on offer in hubs all over the county.

The Community and Family Hubs are located in Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Bridgnorth, Market Drayton, Highley and Ludlow, with activities and guidance available to help families and residents stay healthy and connected.

There is a wide range of support on offer based on feedback from communities, from early help for families, domestic abuse support, help to stop smoking, information and housing and more, for all ages, which all links to NHS integrated neighbourhood teams.

Whilst much of the support is already ongoing, the new webpages bring the services together to one online space, so people can easily search and find what they need.

Please click the link here to access the resources.

SYA Youth Groups

SYA has announced three new youth groups are now meeting regularly at The Lodge in Shrewsbury for local young people aged 11 to 25.

Chatterbox Autumn 2024

Monday Meet Up is a drop-in for young people in school years 7-11. The group meets every Monday afternoon during term time from 3pm until 4:30pm and provides a space for young people to come together and enjoy games and make friends.

Tuesday Together is a social club for young people with SEND from 18 years of age to their 25th birthday. It provides a safe space for young adults to build friendships and seek support from their youth workers and meets each Tuesday evening at the Lodge, during term time from 6pm until 7.30pm.

Tuesday Time Out is a social club for young parents and their children to meet up with other young parents and youth workers. As well as a place to chill and enjoy a light lunch, members will have access to advice and signposting to help them and their families with any issues they may have. The group meets each Tuesday, during term time, at the Lodge, from 11am until 1pm.

For more information, please contact info@sya.org.uk.

NEW Healthier Together STW Initiative

Healthier Together is a UK-wide programme which aims to improve outcomes for children and their families, and is a free website full of resources and materials including information leaflets, self-care advice and guidance on when and how to access healthcare services.

The resources also include physical and mental health support and advice, helping support parents, carers and professionals to keep children in their care safe and healthy.

The website is available by clicking on the link HERE and brings together all local help available. It also signposts where to seek further assistance from health and social care professionals.

Childhood Immunisations Campaign

The UK's childhood vaccination programme prevents around 5,000 deaths, and over 100,000 hospital admissions, each year in England.

Vaccinations have ensured the UK has been declared free of diseases such as polio, with others, like diphtheria, almost fully controlled. However, in recent years we have seen a trend of lower vaccine uptake, and this has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

We have already begun to see increased cases of measles and whooping cough, with outbreaks around the country, so there is an urgent need to ensure children are vaccinated and protected against these serious illnesses.

Weaning Advice

"Weaning need'nt be a stressful time for parents, as there's lots of support available" is part of the reassuring message being shared by Health Visitors across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

Local healthcare professionals are offering advice to parents on introducing solid food to their baby's diet. A national NHS campaign has re-launched this week to reassure parents and provide advice on what is a significant milestone in their baby's life.

For more information, please click HERE

New 'Open Up' Campaign to Tackle Loneliness in Children

NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin has unveiled a new initiative aimed at addressing the issue of loneliness among children in the region.

The 'Open Up' campaign, launched to co-inside with Loneliness Awareness Week (10-16 June), seeks to raise awareness about the signs of loneliness and provide practical guidance and support to parents, carers, and children on how to prevent and combat loneliness.

It comes at a time when loneliness is a growing concern, research from Sports England found that over 350,000 young people (years 7-11, aged 11-16) said they feel lonely, which the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates to be more than one in nine young people.

For more information about the Open Up campaign, visit: open-up.co.uk