Making connections is this year's theme for Children's Mental Health Week

This week (6-12 February) is Children's Mental Health Week which is run by children’s mental health charity Place2Be. The week aims to shine a light on the importance of children and young people’s mental health.

This year’s theme is #LetsConnect

Human beings are intrinsically connected to each other, and human connection is vital for the wellbeing and survival of all individuals. People with positive connections to family, friends and others often experience better mental health than those who are less well connected. Let’s Connect is all about forming positive connections with others.

Making healthy, rewarding and meaningful connections

For Children’s Mental Health Week 2023, Place2Be is encouraging children (and adults) to connect with others in healthy, rewarding and meaningful ways. As a parent or carer, you can play an important role in supporting your child with social interactions and establishing healthy friendships. Place2Be’s Programme Leader for Family Work, Judah Racham, has shared some tips in blog: 'Five ways to support your child to make friends'.

The Early Help System

The Early Help System is a way for all families, children and young people to engage in early conversations about what help and support they may need in every aspect of their lives.

As everyone’s journey is different, Birmingham Children's Partnership has created a directory which provides information about local organisations that can support with health, out of school activities, physical and mental wellbeing, social care, leisure activities, domestic abuse and education, to name a few. It may help to enable all citizens to move towards making positive changes at a time that is right for you.

Search for local services and activities

Barnardo's Early Help Mentoring and Befriending Service

Barnardo's offers mentoring and befriending support to Birmingham residents aged 11-19 (and up to 25 with additional needs) who are struggling with a particular issue in their life or want to work toward goals on one or more of the following areas:

Health and Wellbeing inc. recreation and sport
Education and Training
Family and Relationships
Coping Strategies
Aspirations and Interests

Download a leaflet (pdf) to find out more.

Kooth: online service to help young people's mental health

Kooth is a new FREE, safe and anonymous service to support young people’s emotional and mental health in Birmingham. Children and young people can gain access to Kooth by completing a quick and easy online self-referral at www.kooth.com.

Examples from the VCSFE early help offer

Compass Support...

In early January a community connector met with pastoral team at school to discuss a number of families and what support was available to them. A common theme was anxiety, this was starting to have an impact on their school attendance, with a number of children having been identified as school refusers. Community connector recommended that the school team request a STICK consultation for the families, allowing the staff to get input from a mental health professional who could advise on how best on support the young people. At a follow up session with the school three weeks later the school stated “following on from our previous meeting we have made lots of STICK referrals and found these very useful. We have seen positive outcomes for several families.”

Sparkbrook Children's Zone...

At Sparkbrook Children’s Zone, we are lucky to work very closely to Pause (Children’s Society) who run their drop-in sessions on Thursday from 10:30 – 15:30. Our team have supported Pause staff during their sessions with young people, through completing Family Connect Forms (FCFs) once they have spoken with the Pause staff.

On the flipside, if a family have come in to see the GPs, and the GPs have then brought the families into our Early Help room to speak with our team, we can then walk with the family or young person to Pause’s drop-in room downstairs, and within an hour, that family have benefitted from both health, EH and mental health supported, all from a 10 minute GP appointment.

We have supported families as a result of FCF being completing during a Pause drop-in, helping signpost to SEND organisations, housing consultations and parenting support.

Latest

Geese Theatre Company - Board of Trustees

Geese Theatre Company works at the intersection of arts and criminal justice. We are looking to expand our Board of Trustees and are keen to hear from anyone interested in the way in which these two sectors combine.
Volunteer Lead - Full time

SIFA Fireside, Closing date: 3 May 2024
A day of better leadership: helping your team to be great

A training day to explore and improve your leadership skills. With an individual coaching session to ensure new skills work in your specific work context. Thursday 11th July Central Birmingham Fee £245.00.
Volunteer at New Hall Mill Sutton Coldfield

The Friends of New Hall Mill are holding volunteer opens days to recruit new volunteers to support a range of activities including gardening, helping inside the mill, at the gift shop, in the tearoom or as visitor guides.

Footsteps’ Energy Saving Flashcards in the Community

Footsteps - Faiths for a Low Carbon Future is one of the seven community organisations that make up BrumEnergy. Footsteps’ role in this project is to connect BrumEnergy with Birmingham’s faith communities.
Our second Open Conversation is launching soon

Open Conversations are open to everyone who works or volunteers in health and care in the NHS, Local Authorities and the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector across Birmingham and Solihull.
Expressions of Interest sought: Compassionate Communities and Death and Dying Matters Conversations

BVSC Grants are seeking expressions of interest for a Community Engagement Partner who can work with key VCFSE partners to support their work within communities to promote Compassionate Communities as well as death and dying matters conversations. We are keen for communities to be more confident in having discussions around death and dying whilst seeking support where necessary around these themes.
Engage for Funding webinars return on 15 April with a focus on data usage, collaboration and engagement

Engage for Funding webinars return on 15 April for a new spring season. The first three sessions combined will empower participants to develop stories from data, embrace collaborative practices and to engage with audiences on social media in more meaningful ways.
Heat Pump Workshop and Study Day

BrumEnergy partners Footsteps and Birmingham Green Doors organised this workshop to help faith community members share the benefits of using heat pumps in place of gas boilers.
Why Teens podcast is a finalist at the Inspirational Youth Awards Birmingham!

The Why Teens podcast was nominated in the Project of the Year category at the Inspirational Youth Awards Birmingham 2024.
Easyfundraising - Free funding? Now that’s unexpected

Did you know your organisation can receive funding every time your volunteers, employees, or staff shop online? Their everyday shopping can transform into a continual income stream for your organisation. You can raise up to £100 over a year, just from one person doing their weekly food shop, raise up to £45 each time someone switches their household bills, and raise up to £60 when they book a holiday. Find out how this free service works.
Watch Me Play!

Watch Me Play! is a way of supporting babies and young children (aged from 0-7) and their caregivers. Developed with the needs of young children in care in mind, the approach has been found helpful in a wide range of contexts, including perinatal service, post-adoption, young parents, supervised contact, as well as for children who have emerging but unclear needs, and as a first line or waiting list intervention.
West Midlands encouraged to ‘rise up’ and shine for young people this May

Businesses and individuals across the West Midlands are being urged to ‘rise up’ in a special month-long event aimed at tackling youth unemployment across the region.
The Hottest Ticket In Town

Hotly anticipated tickets for the new Birmingham Community Lottery are now on sale, with the first weekly draw taking place on Saturday 30 March. At a cost £1 each, winners could scoop up to £25,000.