Update on the Household Support Fund administered by Warwickshire’s Local Welfare Scheme
Through the Household Support Fund, the Local Welfare Scheme will once again be distributing automatic support towards fuel and food costs to parents/carers of children in Warwickshire schools/settings who are eligible for benefits related FSM
They will be receiving the following in the form of automatic voucher payments:
- From Friday 25th March, an automatic PayPoint cash voucher will be issued to each eligible household to the value of £60 to be used towards energy costs.
- For the Easter school holiday, an automatic Huggg supermarket voucher will be issued to parents/carers to the value of £42 per eligible child for 14 days inclusive of the weekend (11th to 22nd April)
- We will follow the same process as previously and will send out letters to you next week to share with parents/carers.
- We can confirm that we will not need schools to send in updated pupil data. If you do have any queries, please email the Local Welfare Scheme Mailbox at localwelfarescheme@warwickshire.gov.uk
Call for Host Schools and Community Groups Arts on Referral Programme 2021-23
Arts Connect are seeking several host schools or community groups that would be interested in hosting 6-week Arts on Referral Course (or 5 weeks if a short half term) in the Summer and Autumn terms of 2022.
Each course lasts up to 6 weeks ( 6x 1-2 hour session per week ) and can be attended by up to 15 children or young people aged between 7-17 years, who are referred to the course as they are experiencing mild to moderate mental health challenges and would benefit from taking part in creative arts activities to help them build their confidence and improve their self-esteem.
As part of the course delivery, we ask participants to take part in research with Coventry University to record any changes in their wellbeing. The courses are currently provided free of charge to host organisations.
If you are interested becoming a host organisation or would like to find out more about the programme, please contact:
Clare Mitchell - LCEP Manager (Coventry, Warwickshire and Birmingham) - Arts on Referral Programmes Coordinator
E: Clare.Mitchell@wlv.ac.uk M:07581018581
Find here more information.
Tell us what help you need with environmental activities
The County Council are seeking information on environmental activities taking place in Warwickshire Schools.
We will share tips and best practice when collated, as well as consider what further help schools need to support environmental, sustainability and climate change work.
Heads or Eco-coordinators are asked to complete the easy, short survey to share with us:
- What activities are already taking place in your school - what are your successes
- What association and thoughts you have regarding Eco-Schools or similar schemes
- What support you envisage needing as you develop your environmental work - curriculum, extracurricular and buildings / grounds
Deadline for completion is 3rd April.
Could you spot child exploitation?
Hanging out with older people, skipping school, being secretive? These are just some of the signs of child exploitation, and we all have a responsibility to spot them.
Hundreds of children and young people in Warwickshire are exploited every year, so alongside our partners we are joining the national fight against child exploitation for Child Exploitation Awareness Day which takes place today, 18 March.
Child exploitation can manifest itself in different ways, including child abuse, sexual exploitation, county lines drug dealing, coerced criminal activity, human trafficking and online grooming. It is a crime that can affect any child; anywhere, anytime and regardless of their social or ethnic background or gender.
Child Exploitation Awareness Day encourages everyone to think about it so they can understand, spot and speak out against exploitation and adopt a zero tolerance to adults developing inappropriate relationships with children.
Earlier this week at Full Council on Tuesday 15 March, Warwickshire councillors and employees supported the powerful campaign, holding up pledges to learn how to recognise the signs of exploitation and report it if they see something that’s not right.
Support for the awareness day amplifies our Something’s Not Right campaign, a partnership between WCC, Warwickshire Police, Barnardo’s and the Police and Crime Commissioner. Over the last year the campaign has raised awareness amongst Warwickshire residents of all forms of child exploitation to encourage all of us, not just parents, carers and professionals working with children, to tackle the issues of the exploitation of our children.
The aim of the widely publicised campaign is to encourage residents to learn how to spot the signs of exploitation and throughout 2021 the advertising achieved 3.6 million impressions (the number of times one of the adverts was seen by residents in Warwickshire) and over 22,000 website visits from parents and carers, young people, professionals and members of the community across the county.
We need to continue with this terrific momentum to ensure that Warwickshire is a safe place for our young people to live, learn and grow.
We all have a responsibility to protect children and young people, and there are things we can all do to help tackle exploitation:
- Learn what the signs of child exploitation are so it is easier to recognise
- Know where to go to report anything that’s not right
- Build trusting relationships with young people
- Support the Helping Hands campaign and write a message of support for victims of exploitation and share it on social media using the hashtags #CEADay22 #HelpingHands #WarwickshireCE
- Share social media messages from WCC and partners across social media to spread awareness
- Wear something red today on Child Exploitation Awareness Day (18 March) to show support
Supporting Child Exploitation Awareness Day today is another step in the process of spreading the word and reducing the abuse of our children. However, we all have a responsibility to spot the signs of child exploitation and report it every day.
If you would like to raise awareness of child exploitation in Warwickshire on social media, make sure to use #WarwickshireCE and #CEADay22.
To learn more about child exploitation, how to spot the signs, and the support available, visit www.somethingsnotright.co.uk.
University of Birmingham - Brain Awareness Week
Brain Awareness Week – discover the brain with hands-on activities for curious people of all ages.
Unlock the secrets of the brain with neuroscientists, neurosurgeons, clinicians, clinical trialists, allied health professionals from the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trusts.
Find out what the fruit fly can teach us about brain function and disease, how memories are formed in the brain, how the brain controls emotions, and how medical science is tackling brain diseases including brain tumours, dementia and concussion.
Our experts will be available to answer your neuro questions, and offer insights into neuroscience research, neurosurgery, brain-related medicines and trials. In addition, our students will be on hand to help school children learn about the STEM-related degree courses available at the University of Birmingham.
Who: Visitors can meet with
-Neuroscience researchers and students from the University of Birmingham
-Neurosurgeons from University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust
-Brain tumour nurses and allied health professionals from University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trus
-Clinical Trialists from the University of Birmingham,
When and Where:
Sat 19th Midlands Art Centre: 10:00-17:00
Sun 20th Think Tank: 10:30-16:30
For more information:
Saturday 19th:
Sunday 20th:
Help us understand your views
Researchers from Coventry University, together with Warwickshire County Council and Connect for Health, want to hear from parents and carers about their views on local family health programmes and the National Child Measurement Programme.
Parents and carers in Nuneaton & Bedworth with children in reception through to year 6 are invited to complete this short survey at tinyurl.com/ConnectForHealth
The researchers would also like to talk directly with parents and carers (online or via telephone) to better understand their views about local family health programmes. If you are interested, please email Lauren.Bell2@coventry.ac.uk for more information.
