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2-3 years: Who can help me as a practitioner? - Universal

Answer:

Health Visitors work with parents and carers, offering support from the ante-natal period until the child starts school at five years.

The Service includes a team of Health Visitors, School Nurses, Staff Nurses, Nursery Nurses and Parent Support workers.  It provides advice and support on the health and well-being of children and families from 28 weeks gestation through until 19 years of age.

Health Visitors and School Nurses are registered Nurses or Midwives who have chosen to undertake additional training and become Specialist Community Public Health Nurses. They lead the Healthy Child Programme (Pregnancy and the first 5 years of life), providing a universal prevention and early intervention programme, helping parents to support their child in achieving the best start in life and improve outcomes for children and reduce inequalities.

As part of the universal element of the Healthy Child Programme, every child and family is offered 5 mandated child development reviews which includes assessment of the child and family’s needs,  health promotion, advice and support and referral onto other agencies if targeted support/prevention is required.

Ages 2 – 3 years is crucial in terms of child development. Problems with behaviour, social skills or communication and language difficulties often begin to become more visible.

Assessment of speech, language and communication, anticipatory guidance and promotion of a language rich home learning environment is integral to every mandated contact.

The Service work in partnership with parents helping them provide a language rich home learning environment to support their child’s cognitive development, language acquisition and social and emotional development. Supporting the whole family particularly parents mental health.  Good maternal and paternal mental health helps to develop a secure attachment between parent and child which will help shape a child’s later emotional, behavioural and intellectual development.

The Service provides a universal preventative service with targeted and specialist elements.

What Can I do? 

  • Remind/support parents to attend health checks

  • Discuss any concerns with Health Visitors 

Staffordshire residents

In Staffordshire the Service is called the Families, Health and Wellbeing 0-19  service. The team are available, either via the telephone HUB, one to one appointments, Chat Health or at child health clinic.

In addition to the mandated contacts families can be signposted to the Service for advice and support via the Hub telephone and ‘Chat Health’ text service.

Contact Details 

  • West Hub - 0300 303 3923 (covering Moorlands, Newcastle, Stafford, Stone, Seisdon)

  • East Hub - 0300 303 3924 (covering East Staffs, Cannock, Lichfield, Rugeley, Tamworth)

  • Chat Health - Text 07520 615722 (answered in office hours only) 

Stoke on Trent residents

The team are available, either via the telephone HUB, one to one appointments or at child health clinic. More information can be gained on the Health Visiting Team covering Stoke on Trent

Contact Details

Answer:

Early Years settings will assess and monitor children’s communication development following age and stages as part of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.

Settings will talk to parents about a childs development, their progress and their needs and put in place activities to support this development. They can share ideas about what parents can do in the home to support language development.

Answer:

The two year integrated review provides a progress check covering a childs health and development before their third birthday.

This review assesses a childs progress and development identifying children who may need a little extra support and help get it early.

What does the integrated Review involve?

Progress check –early years settings will complete a Progress check when a child is aged between two and three. Parents and carers will receive a copy of this check. Early years practitioners should encourage parents to take their childs Progress check to the Growth and Development review with the Health Visitor service/Families Health and Wellbeing Service.

The Health Visiting Team covering Stoke on Trent / Staffordshire Families and Wellbeing 0-19  service will send an appointment for a Growth and Development review to all Children aged between 27 and 30 months. This is a parent/carer questionnaire, to assess the development of a child. The review will be completed by a Health Visitor, Specialist Public Health Practitioner or a Nursery Nurse.

Prior to a child’s 2 – 2 ½ year health and development review, the FHWS will send two Ages and stages questionnaires (ASQ) out to the family to complete in preparation for the appointment.

The first ASQ covers 5 areas of development:

  • Communication,
  • Gross motor development
  • Fine motor development
  • Personal and social development
  • Problem-solving.

The second questionnaire (ASQ-SE) is specific to a child’s social and emotional development.

The review provides parents with the opportunity to be fully involved with their child’s assessment.

If the child is already in an Early Years Setting the review will be integrated with the Early Years Progress Check.

The review will include an assessment of the child’s growth and development to identify any additional need in order that further support or early intervention/advice/referral to specialist agencies, can be made and the service offered tailored to the family’s need.

On occasions, and only with informed consent, a nursery teacher or child minder maybe asked to complete the ASQ – SE to further inform the child’s development review.

Answer:

Find out if you could receive help with childcare costs

Funded education for 2-year-olds – Staffordshire Think 2 and Stoke on Trent Best start

30 hour childcare - Working parents in Staffordshire could receive 30 hours a week of funded childcare for their 3 and 4-year-old children. Staffordshire 30 hour childcare and Stoke on Trent 30 hours childcare.

Funded Education for 3 and 4-year-olds

Find out more about help with childcare costs.

30 hour childcare (remove Staffs hyperlink) - Working parents in Staffordshire could receive 30 hours a week of funded childcare for their 3 and 4-year-old children. Staffordshire 30 hour childcare and Stoke on Trent 30 hours childcare.

Funded Education for 3 and 4-year-olds

Find out more about help with childcare costs - hyperlink childcare costs to this link.
Childcare Choices | 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More | Help with Costs | GOV.UK

Answer:

Family Hubs across Staffordshire provide further information, support and a variety of sessions for families. These include: 

  • Supporting children’s development and family wellbeing.

  • Parenting support
      
  • Free Pass Card Scheme for eligible families to support with the financial barrier of attending sessions. Contact your local Family Hubs for more details. 

  • 1:1 and group support from a Family Support Provider with any concerns. 

  • More information about courses to support child development.  

For more information please visit Staffordshire Family Hubs on Staffordshire Connects where you will be able to see current activity timetable, links to individual Children’s Centre Facebook pages and Centre contact details.

Family Hubs 

Staffordshire County Council has 8 Family Hubs to provide help for families across Staffordshire.  

The Family Hubs are open for support Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. 

How can they help? 

Families can contact their local Family Hub to: 

  • get information, advice and guidance

  • get questions answered

  • link in with local networks of support

  • share ideas for coping with the changes in your lives

  • access in-house support and projects which have been created by the Early Years Coordination team.  This includes Family Hub Cooking, Family Craft Hub, Community Crates Fun and School Readiness.  

How to contact the Family Hub? 

Contact details for your local family hub can be found on Staffordshire Connects Family Hubs.

Please see Stoke on Trent Children’s Centres for more information on the Children’s Centre offer in this area.

Answer:

Staffordshire SEND Local Offer and Stoke SEND Local Offer – provide information on local services and support available for children with a range of different needs.

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