Tag: Children and Families

Foster carers needed for children from minority ethnic backgrounds

Foster with Edinburgh is launching a new a recruitment campaign to find more foster carers for children from minority ethnic backgrounds.

The organisation is looking for host family foster carers for unaccompanied young people arriving in Edinburgh escaping the trauma of war and persecution.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the need for foster carers who have the skills, knowledge and cultural awareness to support them.

As well as a digital advertising and radio campaign, the foster team will be linking in with mosques, universities, cultural and voluntary overseas organisations to spread the word.

A series of events will start with a stall at the Asda superstore in Chesser tomorrow (Thursday 20 April) where anyone who wants to find out more can pop along from 11am until 2pm and meet the team.

Edinburgh has a number of children from minority ethnic backgrounds and unaccompanied migrants between 16 – 21 who require support. 

Research highlights where possible children who require foster care should be matched with families who can reflect and promote their ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identities, as well as navigate discrimination. 

There is currently a national shortage of approved foster carers, so matching children with carers who will best suit their needs is an ongoing challenge. 

We are therefore keen to recruit foster carers from a range of diverse groups. As our host family foster carers support unaccompanied migrants age 16 plus, they can still work.  A large part of their role is supporting our young people in coming to terms with their experiences, promoting their learning within a new country and helping prepare them for independence.

Cllr Joan Griffiths, Education, Children and Families Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, explains more about the campaign and its importance. She said: “We have a number of children and young people from minority ethnic backgrounds who desperately need homes as they are unaccompanied migrants seeking asylum in the UK or may have been trafficked.

“We urgently need foster carers who can support these young people to feel safe, nurtured and cared for.  

“Our foster carers come from all different backgrounds, but we know that young people from minority ethnic backgrounds face additional challenges and need understanding in relation to the impact of racism and of growing up in a society where their culture and heritage is different.

“I would encourage anyone who might be interested in taking up this amazing opportunity to change a young person’s life for the better to come along to one of our public events or contact us at fosterchildren@edinburgh.gov.uk.”

Foster carers are supported by way of a fostering fee to reflect the care they are providing, along with a maintenance allowance to cover a child or young person’s expenses while in their care. They also get full training and ongoing support from an allocated social worker to develop the skills and knowledge needed to foster.  

Foster carers need time, space (physical and emotional), a sense of fun, patience, and commitment. They also need to have a spare room, be able to work confidently with others and take part in meetings in English. It’s also important to be able to support children and young people becoming part of a new culture who may have issues relating to their immigration status.

There are two further events planned at Asda Chesser on Tuesday 16 May and Friday 26 May which both tie in with Foster Care Fortnight.

Granton Goes Greener looking for Spring clothing donations

Granton Goes Greener are now looking for DONATIONS of SPRING CLOTHES AND SHOES

The items we really need are:

-teenager clothes and shoes,

-children clothes and shoes ( from 2 years old),

-good quality shoes of different sizes,

-male and female Spring clothes.

🙏
🙏
🙏

Healthy Heart Tip: The Power of Gardening

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK

Healthy Heart Tip: The Power of Gardening

It is National Gardening Day on 14th April in the UK and as the weather starts to (slowly!) warm up, it is a great time to get outside. Gardening is associated with many health benefits including improved physical, mental and social wellbeing.

Mowing the lawn, digging, weeding and other gardening tasks can help us stay active and hit our weekly exercise goal and simply spending more time outdoors has been shown to improve sleep. If you don’t have a garden, or outdoor space, you can still reap many of the benefits by planting in pots on windowsills or joining a local gardening group near you.

Read on for our top tips to get started and ideas of what to grow: 

Getting started 

Whether you are growing indoors or outdoors, a thriving plant starts with good soil. The surest way to make sure your plants get off to a good start is to buy a bag of compost and use this to start your seedlings; once they are well-established you can re-plant them into regular soil in your garden.

To save money on buying little pots, you can start your seedlings in clean yoghurt pots or any other containers you can save from your kitchen, just poke something sharp through the bottom to allow for some drainage. 

Grow heart-healthy herbs 

Eating too much salt can contribute to increased blood pressure, using herbs in cooking is a great way to add flavour without adding salt. Herbs are one of the easiest things to grow and great for beginners to try. They are a great choice for indoor growing as they do well in pots on a sunny windowsill.

If you’re planting them outdoors, choose the sunniest spot you can find. Chives, mint, basil, parsley, and thyme are just a few that are easy to care for. You can either grow from seeds or buy the small plants from the supermarket and re-pot them. 

Involve the whole family 

Gardening is a hobby for all ages, and it’s a nice activity to do with children. Children love to see flowers grow and growing vegetables together can be a great way to encourage them to try them, which is especially helpful if you have a picky eater.

It is also a great way to introduce a little responsibility in the form of caring for something else, let children choose what flowers and vegetables they want to grow and watch the sense of joy they get from seeing the fruits of their labour. 

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our healthy recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/.

Dino-saur into the Edinburgh Science Festival final weekend with EarthFest

Dino-sauring into Edinburgh Science Festival 2023’s final weekend, the National Museum of Scotland is hosting the second of the Festival’s themed family weekends: EarthFest.

From prehistoric creatures to the cutting edge of climate science, EarthFest is a t-rriffic celebration of the world around us that offers the chance to learn more about our planet, the animals that live here and how we can take care of it. 

Families can build their own dinosaur from giant bones in the Grand Gallery’s drop-in activities zone, and adventure through a world of sustainability in Two in a Barrel. 

PICTURED: Thane Elders (age 7) getting ready for EarthFest this weekend at the National Museum of Scotland.

Over 23,000 celebrate Easter with the National Trust for Scotland

  • Scotland’s largest conservation charity welcomed 23,822 children to take part in its Easter Egg Trails 
  • Events took place across 32 Trust places throughout the country, with Crathes Castle welcoming 3,363 children, Newhailes 3,251 and Brodie Castle 2,261

The National Trust for Scotland welcomed 23,822 children to its places over Easter weekend, as people flocked to sites such as Crathes Castle, Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and Glencoe National Nature Reserve, to take part in its Easter Egg Trails and enjoy the country’s nature, beauty and heritage.

Following the popularity of last year’s Easter Egg Trails, which saw nearly 20,000 children take part in activities at 21 National Trust for Scotland places between Good Friday and Easter Monday, this year even more events took place across Scotland to encourage more families to get outdoors and enjoy some fun-filled activities in the beautiful surrounds of the Trust’s properties. This resulted in an increase in participants of almost 20%.

This year’s Easter trails took place across 32 Trust properties, from Friday 7 to Monday 10 April, where the family-friendly events tasked visitors with collecting clues dotted around the gardens, grounds, hills and woodland owned and cared for by the conservation charity, before solving the puzzle and winning some tasty chocolate prizes.

Certain places across the country saw a remarkable increase in participants this year, with figures at Hill of Tarvit up 155% to 846 children, meanwhile Crathes Castle welcomed 3,363 children (up 51% on last year), Newhailes 3,251 and Brodie Castle 2,261. House of the Binns, which recently re-opened its doors to the public on 1 April, participated for the first year and sold out in advance, with 478 children taking part.

Philip Long OBE, Chief Executive of National Trust for Scotland, said: “Easter is one of the highlights of the National Trust for Scotland’s calendar, giving people and especially families the chance to enjoy nature, beauty and heritage at our fantastic places.

“All over the country, our places were alive with people from across generations spending time together outdoors, while the sun mostly shone. What a great start to spring for everyone who loves Scotland’s special places. This support means so much to our charity and allows us to continue our vital work to care for and protect Scotland’s rich heritage, now and in the future.”

The Easter Egg Trails are just one example of the events and activities the National Trust for Scotland has made available this year, as part of its commitment to making Scotland’s heritage more accessible, as outlined in the charity’s 10-year strategy, Nature, Beauty & Heritage for Everyone. 

Focused on caring for, sharing, and speaking up for Scotland’s heritage which doesn’t have a voice, the Trust offers its members and visitors the opportunity to explore over 100 sites, while learning about some of the most magnificent buildings, collections and landscapes in the country.

For more information on the National Trust for Scotland visit www.nts.org.uk. 

Cineworld Edinburgh hosts IMAX Film Fest with £3 tickets

  • IMAX FILM FEST TO TAKE PLACE ON SATURDAY 22 APRIL
  • TICKETS REDUCED TO £3 FOR ALL FILMS, ALL DAY, ONLY IN IMAX
  • OFFER VALID ACROSS ALL 27 IMAX CINEMA SITES IN THE UK & IRELAND

Cineworld, the UK’s leading cinema chain, will be holding its sixth annual IMAX Film Fest on Saturday 22nd April 2023.

To celebrate the world’s most immersive viewing experience, this exclusive one-day event will give movie buffs all across the country the opportunity to watch a film of their choice in IMAX for only £3.00 a ticket. 

Cineworld is bringing back some of the biggest blockbusters from the last year including: Avatar: The Way of Water, Top Gun: Maverick, Academy Award Best Picture-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once, and residents can also exclusively catch Ponniyin Selvan: 1 on the day, one week ahead of its sequel release.

The festival will give guests the chance to experience the IMAX difference, with the clearest images on the largest screens and heart-pounding audio that puts you in the middle of the action. 

Stuart Crane, VP of Film Cineworld Group, said: “We look forward to offering guests the chance to escape to other worlds in IMAX for only £3.

“Whether that’s immersing yourself with Avatar: The Way of Water or going Mach 10 and beyond with Top Gun: Maverick, the stunning images and powerful, heart-pounding audio in our IMAX auditoriums will give customers a chance to experience films to the fullest.

“There really is no better way to experience a blockbuster than with IMAX at Cineworld.”

David King, VP, Distribution EMEA & Film Development at IMAX: “We are delighted that Cineworld is hosting the IMAX film festival for the sixth year in a row to celebrate the world’s most immersive cinematic technology.

“With crystal clear life-like images and powerful audio to the highest quality, these auditoriums are made to bring the film to life and  transport audiences into their favourite blockbusters – take advantage of the reduced rate while you can, you’re in for a treat!”

Tickets for this unforgettable experience can now be purchased from the Cineworld website or the Cineworld app.

#IMAXFilmFest

ASH Scotland: Sign up and support the Charter for a Tobacco-free Generation

📣

What do we want?

🗣️

Reduce the harms caused by smoking!

📣

How can we achieve this?

🗣️

Support Scotland’s Charter for a Tobacco-free Generation.

Sign up, make 3 pledges and we’ll help you to carry them out.

Find out more here https://bit.ly/3McxIkL

New campaign promoting disability benefits launched

Financial support for disabled people

Disabled people are being urged to find out if they are eligible for Scottish Government disability benefits as part of a new campaign to increase benefit take-up. 

The nationwide campaign aims to raise awareness about financial support available to help with the extra costs that disabled children and adults may face.

Child Disability Payment provides financial support to help families and carers with the extra costs of caring for a disabled child or young person or a child or young person with a long-term health condition. Adult Disability Payment is available to   people aged between 16 and state pension age who are disabled, have a long-term health condition or a terminal illness.

These benefits are administered by Social Security Scotland and replace the Department for Work and Pensions’ Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for Children, DLA and Personal Independence Payment.

People already getting disability benefits from DWP will see their award transfer automatically and they do not need to apply separately. 

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Being disabled or having a long-term health condition can come with a variety of extra costs, such as paying more for accessible transport. We want to make sure that disabled children and adults get all the extra financial support they are entitled to, to ease the impact of those costs.

“This campaign is not just about raising awareness but also has an important role to play in helping to remove any stigma that people may be worried about when applying for social security. We believe social security is a human right. It is here for any of us should we need it and we want to make sure people are accessing what they are due.

“This is the first time that we are proactively promoting disability benefits as part of a national advertising campaign, including adverts on TV. We are not aware of the UK Government running a campaign on the equivalent UK benefits for over 30-years. I want to actively encourage people to check if they are eligible for Child and Adult Disability Payments and make sure they get extra financial support to help them live full and independent lives.”

The campaign features Piper, 9, who has Down’s Syndrome. Her mum Caroline Milburn, says disability benefits have helped cover extra costs as well as give Piper opportunities she’d never have had without them.

Caroline, from Edinburgh, said: “Piper is such a unique character. When she was born we were told she wouldn’t walk until she was around six, but she was walking at two. She’s so determined and knows her own mind. If she wants to do something she’ll do it.

“Disability benefit allowed me to buy her a sensory swing and a tablet that gives her access to games that help her learn. She just thinks she’s having fun but the games have taught her so much. She plays them with her five-year-old brother sitting beside her and he learns with her.

“Child Disability Payment helps cover the costs of buying Piper new clothes and duvets as she is always chewing holes in them  It also allows me to send her to holiday clubs. She loves them and they’re really good for her, but they cost about £40 a week.

“Piper is such an amazing girl and she makes everyone’s lives better. Without disability benefits we’d not have been able to give her all the experiences and opportunities she’s had to learn and connect with the world.”

Letters: We must invest more in children’s mental health services

Dear Editor

As a coalition of organisations that support vulnerable children and young people, many of whom have mental health problems, we would like to congratulate Humza Yousaf on becoming First Minister.

It was however disappointing that the issue of mental health featured little in the SNP leadership campaign, but now that he is in office, we would urge Mr Yousaf to focus on this vital matter.

As many will be aware, we were already experiencing a mental health emergency in Scotland, even before Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis took hold. These have worsened an already devastating situation for many children and young people, resulting in a perfect storm of challenges as demand soars.

There is no health without mental health, and already overstretched budgets are having to stretch even further to keep pace with escalating inflation. In the face of a mental health tsunami, we would urge the Scottish Government to prioritise spending on services, reversing the freeze on this year’s mental health budget and boosting the workforce.

With the resultant personal cost to those concerned and their families, as well as to the economy overall, we need to invest more, not less, in our mental health services, ensuring that our children and young people receive the high-quality care they need when they need it.

Yours faithfully

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition:

Kenny Graham, Falkland House School

Lynn Bell, LOVE Learning

Stephen McGhee, Spark of Genius

Niall Kelly, Young Foundations

42 Charlotte Square

Edinburgh EH2 4HQ

Tel: 0131 603 8996