Getting support
Helping you access the right information
NHS Torbay health visitors & school nursing - Child and young peoples safety
torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-and-school-nursing/child-and-young-peoples-safety/
Information on keeping your young child, teenager and family safe, with links to local and national advice and videos and accessing further help
South Devon College
southdevon.ac.uk/course
Find out more about the courses and apprenticeships available near you.
NHS Torbay health visitors & school nursing - Toileting, wetting and soiling
torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-and-school-nursing/toileting/
Toilet training, wetting and soiling information, support and advice for all ages.
NHS Torbay health visitors & school nursing - Illness, allergy and keeping healthy
torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-and-school-nursing/illness-allergy-and-keeping-healthy/
Information from common childhood illnesses, health promotion and family wellbeing, through to serious illnesses – what to look for and expect, how to manage, and when to seek help.
NHS Torbay health visitors & school nursing - Child development
torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-and-school-nursing/child-development/
Advice on helping to support development for all the family. Useful links to video clips, local and national information and guidance.
NHS Torbay health visitors & school nursing - Immunistaions
torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-and-school-nursing/immunisations/
Vaccines are quick, safe and very effective and help protect you, your child, and whole family from a range of potentially serious and even fatal diseases. Lots of helpful information and websites to help answer all your questions.
NHS Torbay health visitors & school nursing - Emotional health and wellbeing
torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-and-school-nursing/emotional-health-and-wellbeing/
Advice, helpful website and information to support the whole families wellbeing.
NHS Torbay health visitors & school nursing - Teething and dental health
torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-and-school-nursing/teething-and-dental-health/
Poor dental hygiene affects not only your child’s teeth but also their health and wellbeing. Information and help to find local Dentists.
Hungry Little Minds
hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/
HM Government provides digital information, strategies and videos for parents to use at home.
NHS Torbay health visitors & school nursing - Behaviour
torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-and-school-nursing/behaviour/
Advice and support on managing behaviours in children and teenagers, common behavioural habits and difficulties, with explanations to why these behaviours often occur.
NHS Torbay health visitors & school nursing - Special needs learning and physical disabilities
torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-and-school-nursing/special-needs-learning-and-physical-disabilities/
The Children’s Learning Disability Health Team offers a specialist community based service for children with a learning disability within Torbay.
NHS Torbay health visitors & school nursing - Starting and moving school
torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-and-school-nursing/starting-and-moving-schools/
Information you and your children may want to know before they start or move schools including; preparation and advice; health screening programmes; and local and national guidance.
NHS Torbay health visitors & school nursing - Safeguarding
torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-and-school-nursing/safeguarding/
Information and advice to support children in having safe, healthy and happy childhoods that help to prepare them for adult life.
Royal society for prevention of accidents
rospa.com/
Provides information, advice, resources and training, and is actively involved in the promotion of safety in all areas of life – at work, in the home, and on the roads, in schools, at leisure and on or near water.
British Allergy Foundation
allergyuk.org/
Information and support to sufferers and their families. Leaflets, fact sheets and regular newsletters are available. In addition they run a help line and support groups throughout the country.
The Communication Trust.
thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/resources/resources/resources-for-parents/through-the-eyes-of-a-child/
Four films entitled ‘through the eyes of a child’ for parents of children between birth and 3 years. The Communication Trust films are full of useful advice on how parents can encourage their child to talk and interact with them:
NHS Vaccinations
nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/nhs-vaccinations-and-when-to-have-them/
You’ll find all the information you need about which vaccinations your baby will be offered and when in the Red Book (your child’s personal health record)
Perinatal & Infant mental health service
england.nhs.uk/south/south-west-clinical-network/our-networks/maternity-network/perinatal-and-infant-mental-health/
Parent Talk
parents.actionforchildren.org.uk/?utm_source=sms&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=X20XXXDIP&utm_content=torbay-front-door-texts
Down-to-earth parenting advice you can trust. We’re on hand to support parents, when you need us. Browse our articles on the most common parenting questions from our experts. Or talk one-to-one with a qualified parenting coach about anything that’s worrying you. It’s all free, and no topic is too big, small, or embarrassing.
Space for us too, support for parents
spaceforustoo.org.uk/
Space for Us Too is a free, guided text message service that can give you space to breathe. You can use any or all of the tips to build positive habits in your relationship and family life, or to feel refreshed and recharged in yourself.
Torbay Safeguarding Children Partnership
torbaysafeguarding.org.uk/
The Torbay Safeguarding Children Partnership aims to help children, young people and families stay safe at home, at school and out and about.
Torbay Family Information Service
fis.torbay.gov.uk/kb5/torbay/fsd/home.page
The Family Information Service (FIS) Directory provides information for families and people working with them in Torbay
Job Centre Plus Torquay
gov.uk/contact-jobcentre-plus
Advice and information on a range of employment and training issues for people of working age
Christians Against Poverty
capuk.org/
CAP can help if you are struggling with debt or unemployment, need some help breaking free from habits or learning new life skills.
Special education needs and disability support
torbay.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/send/
Find support, guidance and information for parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
Sleep
nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/sleep/
If you're having sleep problems, there are simple steps you can take to ease those restless nights. Find out how to get to sleep and how to sleep better.
NHS sleep self-assessment
nhs.uk/conditions/insomnia/
Most people experience problems with sleep in their life. In fact, it's thought that a third of Brits will have episodes of insomnia at some point. This short test from Sleepio will give you a 'sleep score' plus practical tips and advice for improving your sleep.
NHS Sleep - how much sleep do children need
nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/how-much-sleep-do-kids-need/
Sleep, recommended guidelines for children
Talking Point, I Can
ican.org.uk/i-cans-talking-point/
Information to help you understand and support children and young people’s speech, language and communication.
BBC Bitesize, starting primary school
bbc.co.uk/bitesize/collections/starting-primary-school/1
Lots of help, advice and games to get your child ready and feeling more confident about starting school.
Potty Training
parents.actionforchildren.org.uk/behaviour-and-learning/
Information and advice around potty training.
PARENTAL SUPPORT FOR MENTAL HEALTH
talkworks.dpt.nhs.uk/parental-support-for-mental-health
Being pregnant and having a baby is thought of as a happy and exciting time. However, for some women and new parents, it doesn't always feel this way and can be an extremely overwhelming experience.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our lives, it’s a difficult time to be having a baby. With less support groups, increased health worries and less contact with loved ones, we're here to help you cope during this stressful transition.
Understanding your baby
inourplace.co.uk
‘Understanding your baby’ is for everyone around a new baby: supporting you and the new arrival from birth to 12 months.
This course gives you information about your baby's brain development and your baby's physical and emotional development. It shows how important your relationship with the baby is for the baby's development.
It integrates the traditional information given on a postnatal course with this new approach to developing your relationship with your baby. It looks at your baby’s sleeping, feeding, crying, playing and childcare options.
If you have already done the Solihull Approach antenatal course 'Understanding pregnancy' you may recognise some of the Units about feelings and support, You may want to think about this again, now you have your baby. If you are a Dad you may recognise parts of the Module for fathers, but you may want to look at the Units again.
Children's Allergies
healthvideos.torbay.gov.uk/childrens-allergies
Lot's of useful videos on children's allergies from cow's milk allergy to hay fever.
Head Lice
healthvideos.torbay.gov.uk/health-visitors
Find out more about finding and treating head lice in this short video
Children's Learning Disability
childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk/learning-disability-nursing/?fbclid=IwAR1jgO6UMgdX7n7-l6vaPZrslkkCQRw_K-tovbnZyz3Tnaoy3vA1KfmIvDU
We are a specialist team of Learning Disability Nurses and child Learning Disability Clinical Psychologists. We provide a community Learning Disability service providing advice and support to children, young people, and parents/carers as well as to healthcare and education professionals. Children & Family Health Devon provides the NHS Learning Disability service across Devon, including Torbay.
The service we offer includes behavioural, sleep and assessments to support continence and skills for independence with children and young people who have profound and severe levels of learning disability; working with children who have profound and severe levels of learning disability (including children with additional diagnosis such as Autism, Down’s Syndrome etc.) and supporting the development of community and school-based programmes of support. As such, we offer support both directly to children and young people with learning disabilities and indirectly in order to facilitate access to mainstream services.
Daddilife
daddilife.com/?msID=3c66d3ab-0085-48a4-bf21-b53245b8ab94
Daddilife - A Parenting Website For Dads
Daddilife. A parenting website for dads which includes advice, tips and help on family, health, lifestyle and much more.
Speech and Communication
parents.actionforchildren.org.uk/behaviour-and-learning/
Find out how you can help your child's language and reading skills and communciation milestones.
Sleep
parents.actionforchildren.org.uk/sleep/
Sleep explained. We answer your questions on everything from bedtime and naps to the stuff that keeps us all awake.
Childline - CalmZone
childline.org.uk/toolbox/calm-zone/
There are lots of way to feel calmer. It's about finding what works for you. Try some of CalmZones breathing exercises, activities, games and videos to help let go of stress.
Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs
Information and advice if you have a child or young person with a disability or special educational need.
Torbay Council, special educational needs and disability (SEND)
torbay.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/send/
Find support, guidance and information for parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
The Lullaby Trust
lullabytrust.org.uk/
Support for families and expert advice on safer sleep for babies and emotional support for bereaved families.
Our safer sleep advice gives simple steps for how you can sleep your baby to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) which is commonly known as cot death. It can give you the peace of mind to enjoy this special time.
NHS Car Safety - Choosing a car seat
nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/child-car-seats-and-child-car-safety/
Information and tips on buying a car seat and how to safely fix them into your car.
Who am I? Videos explaining various health professionals roles.
healthandcarevideos.uk/hcp
Have you every wondered what the different health professionals do? If so, these videos explain the various roles you might meet.
Here's a link to videos which explain health professionals roles from your health visitor to dietician to junior doctor or speech and language therapist.
Our child’s development
0to19torbay.co.uk/
Every child is unique and develops differently. Each will struggle with different things. While some seem to breeze through life and school, others can find certain things very difficult. This can come out in their behaviour and it can be hard for families and schools to know the best way to support them. There is never a simple explanation for why a child is struggling. Often it is a matter of trial and error to find out what works and setting realistic expectations for each individual child.
This “First Steps” booklet is for those caring for a child with development needs. It is a record and a guide.
As a record it is for you to hold, keep updated and share with anyone involved. Recording needs and discussing them as a family might be enough, but if you need further help (from school, friends or health professionals) you can share what you like from this booklet. This way everyone is kept on track, and you will not have to keep repeating your story.
As a guide, it takes you through a comprehensive assessment of your child. You can then focus on areas of need using the initial tips in each section, seeking help from appropriate professionals if required.
CAPT
capt.org.uk/
Free child safety advice to parents and carers, support professionals working with children and families, support senior professionals and policymakers and advise the government and organisations on child safety.
One of the reasons children have accidents is because they develop so fast that Mum and Dad can’t keep up! How many times have you heard the phrase ... “I didn’t know he could do that”? Find out more from CAPT.
Are you ok?
areyouok.co.uk/
If your partner or someone in your family is hurting your mind or your body that’s not OK. Support is available.
Breastfeeding - Unicef
unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/about/breastfeeding-in-the-uk/
Find out about breastfeeding rates in the UK and our work to improve them.