Westminster City Council’s Post

🔍 Attention Scottish parents: Are you aware of the extra support available for school meals during the holidays? With the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, it's important to know about the benefits you may be entitled to. Households with children eligible for free school meals can receive payments of £2.50 per day, per child, over the summer holidays. This is crucial support that can make a real difference. If your circumstances have changed or you're not yet receiving this benefit, now is the time to apply. Learn more about eligibility and how to apply here: https://lnkd.in/ecb8xv7n Need assistance? Contact the team at advice.scot at 0808 800 9060 or visit www.advice.scot. #FamilySupport #CostOfLivingCrisis #SocialImpact #Scotland #ScottishParents #SchoolMealsSupport #CostOfLivingAssistance #ChildBenefitScotland #FamilyAid #HolidaySupport #FinancialAssistance #ParentingHelp #ScotlandFamilies

Barnardos Ireland research and first hand experience working with thousands of vulnerable children shows a large proportion of families still have to cut back on or go without essentials like heating, electricity and food. Our pre-budget submission focuses on three issues that could be quickly addressed in order to help achieve that commitment 🟢 Target income supports for low income families 🟢 Cut essential costs such as school costs 🟢 Improve access to supports for families We’re seeking targeted action in #Budget2025 to support vulnerable children and families. Key recommendations here 👉 https://lnkd.in/etB58HEY

We’re making £22.6 million available for innovative adult social care projects which support unpaid carers and people with care needs. The Shared Lives programme is a great example of a community-based model of social care, that allows people to live independently in their communities and homes for longer. By expanding these creative initiatives, we can begin to shift healthcare from hospitals into the community. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ew-jZuQG Oxfordshire County Council

https://t.co/YLAsO6izTl A topic that is important, but often challenging to report… The number of children in residential care has doubled since 2010 - and councils are now spending more on children’s home placements for 16000 children than they are on providing early support for all families who need it. NSPCC, Action for Children, Barnardo's, National Children's Bureau and The Children's Society worked with Pro Bono Economics on this report, which highlights the ‘urgent’ need for reform of children’s services and investment in early intervention. The government acknowledges that children are being ‘let down’.

Putting Children First ‘Getting it right’ for children and young people means getting it right for our wider society. That’s why we're campaigning for children and young people to be at the heart of policy making; whether that’s at Westminster or in the communities where we all live, work and bring up our families. For too long, children and young people have been an ‘add on’ or afterthought when decisions are made. It’s now time to reverse the balance and ensure that those who will build our future society take centre stage. So what do we need to make this happen? A new Government Department for Children, Young People and the Family headed by a Secretary of State is our top priority. For too long, ‘family policy’ has been left to local commissioning. We want the balance to be reversed so local authorities are carrying out policies which are backed by legislation – not ‘pilot schemes’ or ‘partial roll out’ that can be changed at any time. You can find out more about our campaign to put children at the heart of policy making and how to support us through the link below 🧡 https://lnkd.in/eGeW3JyT #childrensalliance #childrenscharity #betterstarts #brighterfutures 

The Community Economic Development (CED) program invests in businesses that support more inclusive, productive, and competitive economies, like high-quality childcare businesses. Check out this success story! https://lnkd.in/e6kvym52 #CEDMonth

In the latest King's Speech, The Labour Party has announced a series of transformative bills aimed at boosting child mental health services, safeguarding vulnerable young people, and elevating education standards. This comprehensive agenda, led by new Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, promises significant improvements for children, young people, and families. Key initiatives include: 📚 The Children’s Wellbeing Bill – Focusing on mental health support in schools, SEND inclusion, and free breakfasts for primary students. 🏠 Building 1.5 million new homes and investing in breakfast clubs to support young families. 🚫 Banning junk food advertising and energy drink sales to promote healthier lifestyles. 🩺 The Mental Health Bill – Modernising the Mental Health Act to improve care and reduce unnecessary detentions. 🔍 Creating a statutory definition of child criminal exploitation to protect vulnerable children. 📊 Establishing a Child Poverty Taskforce to address and reduce child poverty across the UK. By prioritising mental health, education, and social support, Labour's agenda aims to create a more equitable and prosperous society. At YUAF we support these vital changes to ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed and lead a healthy, fulfilling life. Together, we can build a brighter future for all! #government #charity #labour #support #youth #london #community

Scholarships have a GREAT butterfly effect. They relieve the financial burden of paying for child care AND enable parents and caretakers to work, catch up on other expenses, and eliminate the stressful “juggling act” so many families describe to us – choosing each week or month which bills to pay. Children are able to enter a quality program where they thrive – building social skills, developing healthy habits, and getting school-ready. Together on this #GivingTuesday, we can ensure that access to safe, quality child care is a resource for families, instead of a barrier.  https://lnkd.in/ecDd_2gE

All children need to be valued, loved, safe (including culturally), healthy, participating, learning and to have enough for the basics. But not all Queensland children have the conditions to support this. Queensland Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children experience more exclusion, poverty, violence and other environments that work against thriving. That’s why we are calling for more Deadly Kindies and early years hubs. A partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities that gives community control is crucial to deliver these. Putting Queensland Kids First's $15 million partnerships fund and early years hubs at Aurukun and Kowanyama are a good start and a lot more is needed. https://lnkd.in/gmXyqAsY

74,000 That is the number of children who are currently living in temporary accommodation. If that number doesn't shock you enough... 2.3 billion That is the number of pounds spent in England to accommodate homeless households in temporary accommodation. The budget spent on this has tripled since 2015. Temporary accommodation was right at the top of the agenda at this weeks #LGAConf24 We have had all the levers to prevent this from happening but have let NIMBYism win. We cannot shy away from the fact that this has happened because of successive failures to deliver the homes we need. We have got to wake everyone up to the human cost of saying 'No'. These figures should be published and sit right alongside the housing target of the local authority during the local plan or planning application determination process. Not only is it financially unsustainable and a large contributing factor to the fact that it’s likely four in every 10 councils will likely go bust in the next two years but it is also wholly unacceptable that in England in 2024 we allow any child, let alone 74,000 to be placed in temporary homes. This is the cost of NIMBYism. Private sector – this is a HUGE pain point for local authorities right now. I think there is a role we can play, a way we can help, beyond trying to secure planning permissions for our own sites. If any clients or contacts reading this want to sit down with me to brainstorm some options, I’d be keen to explore. Professionally, it’s in our collective best interest to make sure our local authorities don’t go bust and on a personal level, as champions of housing, we have to use our skills and resources to do better for these children. #housingcrisis #socialimpact #collaberation