Parents and Carers

You are well placed to determine whether your child is struggling or not. Signs that you can look out for include your child:

• doing or saying things that are out of character
• finding it difficult to sleep
• avoiding social situations
• gaining no pleasure from the things they used to enjoy.

Remember that everyone experiences changes in moods and might feel low or angry or nervous at times. Also bear in mind that throughout adolescence changes in moods and behaviours may be considered ‘normal’. If, however, the above behaviours / feelings are persistent and are preventing your child from living a happy and rewarding life then it might be time to seek help.

The Supporting Families Partnership aims to help families who would benefit from extra support. This support is carried out through existing family services, such as Early Help or social work. The approach is about working with the whole family. It looks at:

• the strengths of each family
• what each family finds challenging
• what changes can be put in place to improve family wellbeing.

If you are a parent or carer of a child who you feel would benefit from this kind of support, please ask your child’s school or other involved professional to make a referral to the early intervention hub, or you can make a referral of your own. Referral leaflets and forms can be found at: www.northumberland.gov.uk

Cygnus helps people in Northumberland to improve their mental health and wellbeing. Its self-help guidance and counselling services support people to manage their symptoms and prevent them from getting worse.

Cygnus Support is one of the voluntary sector partners in the Be You Northumberland programme and Amanda Sayers is the Co-ordinator at Cygnus working with parents and carers of children and young people offering a choice of emotional health and wellbeing support.

Amanda is supporting parents and carers to help them manage their own wellbeing whilst also empowering and upskilling them to support the emotional wellbeing of their children. If you, as a parent or carer, feel like you or your family are struggling emotionally and could do with some help, please reach out as a first step and contact Cygnus by telephoning, texting or emailing Amanda at Cygnus.

Contact Number: 07377 265 036

Email: admin@cygnussupport.com

Website: Welcome to Cygnus Support

Northumberland’s Children’s Centres (previously known as Sure Start) are relaunching as Family Hubs on 26 September 2022.

The Centres currently provide a wide range of support services for children aged 0-5 and their families. The Family Hubs will now be available to all young people extending the age range to 0-19 and to 25 for anyone with additional needs (SEND).

The Hubs will be in the heart of their communities, with midwives, health visitors, early years and mental health professionals, youth workers, and more - including relationship and parenting programmes, and financial advice – brought together in a friendly one-stop-shop.

Family Hubs will also offer online and virtual services and sessions, so that support can be as accessible as possible.

Anyone who cares for or is expecting a child can register to use our family hubs. You can register online below or visit your nearest family hub or if you are receiving visits from your Health Visitor they can assist with completing the Registration Form.

We'll ask for your contact details and your child's details. If you are pregnant, let us know so we can keep you informed of courses or sessions that may be of interest to you.

Click here to register online

To access the Prevention and Intervention offer a ‘Request for Services’ Form must be completed the following is required:

• Families will need to be registered with a family hub
• Families must consent to the referral
• Referrers, in consultation with the family, should select the most appropriate service to meet the families needs. Individual referrals are to be completed for each service when more than one service is needed.

Click here to request a service

Everyone working for the Early Help Team and family hubs service has a legal duty to keep and process information about you in accordance with the law.

We use information about children and families aged 0-19 years to enable us to carry out specific functions for which we are responsible and to provide you with a service.

We have a Privacy Notice which explains why we ask for your personal information, how that information will be used and how you can access your records.

Click here to view our family hub Centre Privacy Notice.

Northumberland Information, Advice and Support Service is a free, confidential and impartial service for children and young people (up to 25 years) with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and their parents and carers.

If you are a parent or carer of a child whose wellbeing if affected by a special educational need then you can contact NIASS for advice and support at: www.northumberlandiass.org.uk

This service offers Cygnet Training for parents of children who have received a diagnosis of ASD from either Northumberland Children and Young People's Service (CYPS) or Northumberland Early Communication Clinic. Parent/carers can request a place on the course by completing the form below.

Cygnet Training Request Form
Cygnet Training Information for Parents

The team offers advice and signposting to parents and carers in relation to school attendance, elective home education and children missing education: educationwelfare@northumberland.gov.uk.

These presentations are designed to address the following topic areas, with the following age groups in mind. Please read the document entitled ‘Psychoeducation blurbs’ to assess the suitability of each for your intended audience. You can find this document here.

To access the presentations, please click on the relevant links below. Once the powerpoint presentation appears some will have a speaker button on the right hand side of the slide, click this button and you will be able to access the voiceover.

A new framework has been developed to support transitions for children and young people and parents and carers across Northumberland. A padlet of resources has been created to share the new framework as well as resources to support transitions. To find out more, click here: Supporting Transitions Across Northumberland (padlet.com)

Acorns offer a range of holistic services to meet the needs of families affected by domestic abuse in North Tyneside and Northumberland. To find out more, click here.

Free, safe, anonymous mental wellbeing support for adults in the UK. Click here to find out more.