New Government resource to help keep children safe from sexual abuse

It's estimated that one in ten children in England and Wales will experience sexual abuse before they turn sixteen. That's equivalent to three in every classroom. 

Most children won't tell anyone at the time of their abuse. That's why it's important for everyone to know how to spot the potential signs of child sexual abuse and where to go for support if concerned. 

The Government's new Stop Abuse Together website can help you learn to spot the signs, and have regular conversations with your child which can help keep them safe, and know when it's right to reach out for more support. 

If you feel something's not right, you can call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000. No matter what's happened, there's always someone who will listen to you and take what you say seriously. 

All children have a right to be safe from sexual abuse, and we all have a role to play in keeping them safe. 

Let's stop abuse together.​

Army Transition Information Sheets

INDIVIDUAL PLANNING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Our aim is to ensure that service leavers are given all the relevant information needed to make an informed choice allowing a smooth transition into civilian life.

Transition Individual Planning and Personal Development (IPPD) is the offer of support, advice and education that will increase personal knowledge and awareness and supports soldiers' personal development and long-term planning. It should be undertaken throughout your military career in order to enhance your professional portfolio and career prospects as well as prepare you for your inevitable transition to civilian life.

To support this there are a variety of free Transition Information Sheets that are available on the Army website and cover everything from securing accommodation, pensions, health and wellbeing to immigration information and managing personal finances.

To find out more 👉 Transition to civilian life | The British Army (mod.uk)

MoneyHelper For clear money help that’s on your side and free to use - impartial and backed by the government.

MoneyHelper is here to make your money and pension choices clearer. 

Here to cut through the complexity, explain what you need to do and how you can do it. 

Here to put you in control with impartial guidance that’s backed by government and to recommend further, trusted support if you need it.

For clear money help that’s on your side and free to use, just search for MoneyHelper.

MoneyHelper joins up money and pensions guidance to make it quicker and easier to find the right help.

MoneyHelper brings together the support and services of three government-backed financial guidance providers:

* the Money Advice Service

* the Pensions Advisory Service

* Pension Wise

Children's Mental Health Week 7th-13th February 2022.

Some Free Resources for Children's mental health week are available at:

Children's Mental Health Week (childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk)

Mental Health Resources For Children and Young People | YoungMinds​

DOWNLOADS | CAMHS Resources (camhs-resources.co.uk)

Scottish Government - fire alarms in the home **Reminder**

The law on fire alarms is changing.

By February 2022 every home in Scotland needs to have interlinked fire alarms.

Find out more about the changes and what you need to do 👉 www.mygov.scot/firealarms

Chester: Learn on Skate at Blacon High School Gymnasium - Thursdays

You can join the Blacon Skate Facebook group by clicking here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/218091487051521/?ref=share

Weeton: Tumble Tots Session within the Fylde area

Information provided by Preston & Weeton HIVE

Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) Contracts

In-Service Date of the Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) Contracts

A message from DIO’s Head of Accommodation, Air Commodore James Savage 

We are currently preparing for the introduction of the new Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) Accommodation contracts that will replace the National Housing Prime (NHP) contract and will fulfil the Defence requirement for the delivery of effective and responsive accommodation services for Service personnel and their families. More information about FDIS and the new suppliers can be found here.

The new contracts are due to come into service on 1 March 2022 and DIO and its partners have been working towards this date. However, a risk has emerged that some of the key IT systems on which FDIS would depend might not be ready to deploy on 1 March 2022.

Although this risk is not high, DIO and our suppliers are committed to putting the interests of Service families first and it is crucial that we get this right, because improving the lived experience for families is at the heart of the new contracts. Therefore, we are seeking formal approval to change the in-service date by a month to 1 April 2022, in order to ensure the new systems are fully ready.

Although the approval process will take a little time, we have agreed with Amey and MOD Head Office that we should extend the current National Housing Prime Contract to 31 March 2022 to ensure that we can continue to deliver services in the meantime. An early decision was necessary to ensure Amey could give its supply chain adequate notice. The proposed change to the in-service date of FDIS should then allow time to ensure all of the key systems are fully tested and proved prior to going live. We will provide a further update once the approvals process has completed.

Accommodation is such an important part of family life for Service personnel, which is why we collaborated closely with representatives of our people and their families to develop these contracts and ensure that their needs are fully considered. These new contracts offer the opportunity to break decisively from the past and to build on the commitments made by all suppliers to innovate and deliver more responsive and flexible services to the Armed Forces and their families.

The new contracts will require suppliers to work differently, such as fixing faults on an initial visit to a property and undertaking simple preventative maintenance while attending properties to reduce disruption to families.

I look forward to continuing working with Pinnacle, Vivo and Amey to transition smoothly from the NHP to the new FDIS contracts, and to ensure delivery performance is maintained. More details will become available as we approach the in-service date, with comprehensive guides to the new contracts to be issued to all families in SFA in good time before the contracts go live in April. Please do keep checking Gov.uk as all the latest SFA FDIS guidance is there, and we will be updating those pages as appropriate.

Wimbish: Saffron Walden County High School

www.swchs.net

Information provided by Wimbish HIVE

Chester: Can You Make Local Maternity Services Better at Countess of Chester (Cestrian Ward 32) - Feedback on Experience

The link to give feedback is here: https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSdFQUCejHeDEm.../viewform or you can scan the QR code above. 

The Facebook page is here for this: https://m.facebook.com/chestermaternityvoices/