It’s that time again: up and down the country parents are ironing uniforms, sticking name tags on to blazers and packing pencil cases. But how are our children feeling? For some, the return to school- or start of school- brings…
Tag: BirminghamForwardSteps
Free & low cost activity ideas for you and your child
With the end of the summer break approaching, we’ve rounded up some great ideas for last-minute activities that cost next to nothing to help you keep your little ones entertained for the final few weeks before they return to school.…
Backpack is a lifeline to families fleeing abuse
Nearly one in three women aged 16-59 will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime.* It can take enormous courage for a woman to leave an abusive partner; they may worry about where they can go, or that their partner will…
When slow cookers beat fast food
Natalie Haymes, our Children’s Services Lead at Perry Barr District Children’s Centre, shares how homeless families in the area are being persuaded to give up chicken and chips for something much healthier and tastier. “Most of us would say we…
How to talk to children about the invasion of Ukraine
Images of fathers leaving their families to stay behind. Videos of explosions. Photographs of children harmed. How should we talk about the Ukraine crisis with our children? Our Fegans counsellors provide some suggestions below for engaging in conversations about the situation…
The sweet taste of freedom
Zaara was so anxious about Covid that she and her two toddlers had not left their home in Perry Barr for eighteen months. Shalina Khatun, Spurgeons Health and Family Support Worker at Birmingham Children’s Centre explains that there was more…
The stark isolation faced by new mums
Since the start of the pandemic, around 750,000 mums in the UK have given birth. But it’s not been an easy time for them. Ria Evans, Spurgeons Together for Families worker in Hodge Hill, shares a glimpse of what new…
Retrospective: An extraordinary year
As Covid restrictions progressively lift and a greater normality returns, Spurgeons Head of Practice Lorraine White reflects on how we have managed to continue providing support to children and young people during the pandemic, and the new needs that are…
Helping Birmingham families during Covid
Kelly Bagnall is Spurgeons’ Senior Manager in the Birmingham Forward Steps partnership, a city wide integrated early years, health and wellbeing service for families with babies and children under five. Ria Evans is the Spurgeons Together for Families worker who…
New funding secured to support improved perinatal health services to Pakistani mothers in Birmingham
Spurgeons Birmingham Forward Steps service secures share of £7.6 million new Health and Wellbeing fund to give babies the best start in life. Spurgeons Children’s Centre Services in Birmingham have secured a share in a new Health and Wellbeing Fund…