The Family Services team have supported community Baby and Toddler groups around the Highlands over this last year.  Despite the past 12 months being far from ordinary, our member groups have continued to benefit from their membership in lots of ways.

Family Practitioners continue to support committees with up-to-date Scottish Government guidance.  A representative from CALA has been present at government meetings throughout the year, not only ensuring our advice is current, but also advocating the importance of support for families with young children and reflecting pressures on community toddler groups.  With this knowledge, our practitioners have been supporting those who were able to meet as regulations allowed both outside and inside.  One Chairperson said “We would not have managed to reopen our toddler groups without your help. We would not have felt confident enough about all the rules or even thought it possible. It was only through your help and encouragement that the groups re-opened.”

Family Practitioners have also been constant support for families as they navigate parenting and family life in such different circumstances.  Outdoor and online groups have provided key support to families as places to meet and to make connections with others, which supports the health and wellbeing of parents and carers.  They have also become forums to discuss home-based activities to support their child’s development.  Many families have also explored the ever-expanding resources on our CALA website, including our dedicated Parent Portal, Family Services page and Play and Learning page which encourages play and learning opportunities at home.  Most recently on the Family Services page, we have begun a series of short clips focusing on supporting children’s early communication.  The members-only Facebook page gives further useful tips and links. 

Member groups also have access to the MembersZone section of the website, which has useful templates and documents, to support the running of groups and a committee induction pack, with top tips for new committees.  As part of their membership, groups receive three vouchers to take part in further training from CALA’s e-learning zone. 20 courses are available, with topics ranging from an Introduction to Risk Assessment to Top Tips for Interacting with Young Children, or Gender Equal Play, there is plenty to choose from.  You can also currently access the ‘Supporting Young Children’s Behaviour for Parents’ e-module here, currently being gifted for free during COVID.

The family Services team have also recently undertaken Walk Leader training with Paths for All.  Partnering with other organisations, we can’t wait to offer member groups the chance to take part in Buggy Walks and Toddler Toddles, as a way to increase health and wellbeing; enjoy the outdoors and support child development. These walks are now permitted under government regulations and plans are being made to establish these early next term.

If you would like to explore membership for your community group click here or contact the Inverness Office 01463 222569.

As restrictions begin to ease and we can begin to get out and about more, our Family Services Practitioners would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Easter holiday and look forward to seeing you next term – Happy Easter!

Thank you to all who responded to our previous consultation – it is hard to believe that 6 months have now passed!

CALA are keen to continue to monitor and understand the impact of the pandemic on our young children.

We invite you to share your thoughts on any impact you feel the pandemic has had on you and or your child/children via this simple 3 question consultation survey.

We will collate your responses anonymously (no personal information will be retained) and use them to both inform CALA services and share with the Scottish Government to help inform the direction of support available to help mitigate impacts.

Click here to access the consultation.

Thank you in advance for your help with this.

Despite the difficult times that we find ourselves all in with COVID 19 restrictions, our Gaelic Parent and Toddler Development Workers continue to be solution-focused and innovative in finding ways to communicate and support the development of the Gaelic Language with our youngest children. Click on the links to find out about some of the things they have been doing and useful links to resources in their latest March 21 Newsletter.

Click here to access the newsletter in Gaelic

Click here to access the newsletter in English

Scottish Child Payment is open for applications

Scottish Child Payment is a new payment for families on tax credits or certain benefits to help towards the costs of looking after a child. It’s £40 paid every four weeks for each child under six.

The payment starts on Monday 15 February 2021, with first payments made from the end of February onwards, but Social Security Scotland has been taking applications early to help manage demand.

You can apply if your child will be under six on 15 February 2021.

The qualifying benefits are:

• Child Tax Credit
• Income Support
• Pension Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Social

Security Scotland will ask for evidence that the person applying is responsible for a child under six, usually through the child being named on a benefit claim form.

If more than one person applies for the same child, there’s a process for deciding who gets the payment – prioritising the person who the child lives with most of the time.

Scottish Child Payment will not be taken into account for UK benefit and tax credit assessments and there is no cap on the number of children this payment can support.

First payments will be made from late February onwards. When someone gets paid will depend on how many applications we get and the process each individual application goes through.

If someone applied before Monday 15 February 2021, this will be the date that their payment will be calculated from. If they apply after this date, it will be calculated from the date that they applied. Payments will be made every four weeks following the first payment.

Find out more information and apply at mygov.scot/scottish-child-payment or call Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222.

Factsheets – Scottish Child Payment Factsheet.pdf – These are also available in a variety of different languages if required on the Social Security Scotland website.

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Best Start Grant – School Age

 

People with children who were born between 1 March 2015 and 29 February 2016 could be eligible for a Best Start Grant School Age Payment but they must apply before 28 February this year.

Factsheet – Best Start Grant School Age Factsheet

Factsheets available in a variety of languages and can be found on the Social Security Scotland website.

 

Culbokie Out of School Club

Our responsive practitioners at Culbokie Fun Club shared how they had facilitated the children’s idea to show they were mindful of others by making small gifts and notes which they posted to friends so they would know they were thinking of them. This followed on from their discussions from children’s mental health week.

Several parents have been in touch with the setting to say how excited their children were to receive their gift. #SHANARRI in practice.

Click here to view

 

Family Services

CALA’s Family Practitioners continue to lead virtual Bookbug sessions, baby massage sessions and Gaelic sessions for some families across Highland.

Families who have taken part in these online sessions have said in their feedback, “online sessions are great for giving the kids something to look forward to.”  They are “not as good as the real thing but [are] the next best thing.”