Volunteer groups in Keyworth and the Wolds have been awarded funding from Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Community Support Scheme assisting a Young People’s Centre and local Women’s Institute Group with much needed investment for projects. Cabinet members Cllrs Rob Inglis and Andy Edyvean and Cllr John Cottee, all ward councillors for the local area, each selected funding towards the Keyworth Young People’s Centre and Willoughby-on-the-Wolds Women’s Institute.

The Centre were able to purchase a new football table and games console, that were amongst the most wanted items by users and the WI were assisted with the cost of a day trip to the national learning centre in Oxfordshire.

Chris Seager, Youth Worker at the centre thanked the councillors for their support and funding, enabling them to buy new equipment that will assist further social and recreational activities for local young people.
He said: “Through the fund raising efforts of the young people here and a partnership with our local councillors we were able to raise enough money to buy the new equipment for the centre.

“It has been a really great project from start to finish with a wide range of the young people getting involved. “Because it’s something that has been chosen by them, they have a real sense of achievement and success from their efforts and hard work.

“Thanks again to councillors Inglis, Edyvean and Cottee for their support with this project!” The Chair of the WI Christine Hull described the support as “fabulous”. She said: “We were so grateful to receive a Community Grant funding from our three Borough Councillors.

“We could finally arrange this trip which had been previously financially restrictive for some of our members. “We all had a truly fantastic day and we cannot thank them all enough.” Cllr Inglis said: “We consider it very important to support ideas that encourage social interaction amongst local community groups. “In the Youth Centre’s case, we were delighted to provide a joint contribution from our Community Grant funds to ensure they could make the purchases.

“If any there are any other projects within our Ward that need a funding contribution we ask groups to contact us at www.rushcliffe.gov.uk.” Cllr Edyvean added: “We were pleased we could make the difference to one of our local WI’s that enabled them to visit their college and enjoy an informative day.

“They certainly deserve something back for all their voluntary and fundraising work in the community.” Cllr Cottee said: “We know how vital funding can be to local groups so they can pursue their activities that increase people getting out and about and active in their local communities.
“It’s great to hear feedback that the groups really value the contributions we were able to make.” The Community Support Scheme allocates £1000 to each Councillor to spend in their ward for the benefit of their community.
Individuals or community groups in Rushcliffe that may benefit from the scheme can contact their local Councillor.

Retailers across West Bridgford are being encouraged to sign up to Nottinghamshire County Council’s take-a-seat campaign to help more older and disabled shoppers be ensured of a resting place when out and about. More than 300 businesses and other organisations across the county have already made a commitment to make their shops and buildings more age-friendly, with shops and organisations in West Bridgford now joining the scheme including Timpson, Co-op Funeral Care, Create! West Bridgford and Renew 37, a community hub based on Abbey Road.

By displaying the ‘We are Age Friendly’ sticker, businesses are providing reassurance to older people and people with a disability or chronic illness that they will be offered a seat when they go inside – should they need to rest. Many shops will also offer a drink and, if accessible, use of their toilet facilities. Councillor John Handley, Vice-Chairman of Communities and Place Committee at Nottinghamshire County Council, “We are passionate about helping older people stay independent and connected to their communities and we encourage more shops and businesses to sign up to promote their great service for older customers.”

Local resident, Jenny Letts, welcomed the initiative. She said, “It’s a brilliant idea. When you’re out and about in West Bridgford is nice to know you have somewhere to sit for a rest without having to think about whether you need to buy something or not. “It may be warm now, but in the winter months it will be good to have somewhere to come in from the cold.

“I’m passionate about spreading the word about this idea as it helps people like myself to stay active and get out and about. “Eventually I’m sure more and more local shops and cafes will have the ‘We are Age Friendly’ sign in their shop window.” Timpson Store manager Chris Riley added. “We are very happy to support the scheme as it is our company ethos to play a part in helping the community where we can.” A third of older people are identified as lonely, with many losing independence because they find it increasingly difficult to walk from their home to local shops and community venues without the reassurance that there will be somewhere warm and comfortable for them to rest. Being an age friendly business makes commercial sense for retailers. Studies have shown that:

• 60% of older people are concerned by the lack of seating in shopping areas
• 33% of older people would feel ashamed to ask for a seat in a public place
• Annual high street losses of £4.5bn are predicted by 2030 if retailers fail to attract and retain older customers

School pupils in Mansfield and Ashfield are set to benefit from additional mental health support following an announcement by Education Secretary Damian Hinds.

Nottinghamshire County Council and NHS commissioners have successfully been granted extra funding by the government to extend a Trailblazer pilot to Mansfield and Ashfield to transform children’s mental health in the school setting. The original pilot was agreed for the Rushcliffe and Gedling areas last year and mental health teams in schools will roll out in these areas in December 2019. The extra funding is for two years and it will enable a mental health support team to be set up which will cover 20 schools across the Mansfield and Ashfield areas, offering increased access to emotional and wellbeing support. The teams, which will be staffed by mental health professionals, from Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust, will work with children and young people with mild to moderate emotional, mental health and well-being problems.

More schools across Nottinghamshire will also have the opportunity to attend free Mental Health in Schools Link Workshops. These workshops bring together education and mental health staff to discuss and plan how they can support children and young people’s mental health in schools. 109 schools attended these workshops last year. Nationally, one in eight young people aged five to 19 had a diagnosable mental health condition in 2017 and teenagers with a mental health disorder are more than twice as likely to have a mental disorder in adulthood. Mansfield and Ashfield has the highest number of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) contacts in the County.

Councillor Philip Owen, Chair of the County Council’s Children and Young People’s Committee, said: “We are delighted that we have been successful in getting this additional support, which will benefit young people from Mansfield and Ashfield and their carers. This puts us in an excellent position to develop and improve mental health support in our local schools, which play a vital role in identifying mental health needs and building resilience in young people.”

Dr Gavin Lunn, Clinical Chair, Mansfield and Ashfield CCG says: “This scheme is a great opportunity to focus on early intervention. We know young people and their parents and carers want to be able to access mental health services quickly and that the earlier mental health problems are identified the better the health outcomes. Having mental health support teams in schools will provide additional support for well-being and mental health directly to children and young people and offer an easier and more familiar setting for them to access care when they need it.”

Julie Attfield is Interim Director of Mental Health with Nottingham shire Healthcare: “We are delighted at this extra investment in the health and wellbeing of young people in Mansfield and Ashfield areas. The mental health of young people is of the utmost importance and if we can help and support young people in a timely manner then we can prevent them using mental health services in the future.

That’s good for the young people, their families and society in general.” Further funding was announced by the Government for the Nottingham City area, which will be used to develop mental health support teams across 40 schools in the area. The teams in the City, Mansfield and Ashfield areas will all be operational from September 2020.

A new adoption agency will offer children in care the stability and security they need to achieve their potential. The launch of the Regional Adoption Agency (RAA), part of Adoption East Midlands, will transform the lives of children and their adoptive families. Every year the RAA will be looking for families for approximately 160 children.

The Government’s vision behind the regionalisation of adoption services is to accelerate the pace of change to ensure those children, for whom adoption is the right path, are given the best chance of finding a loving and stable family as quickly as possible.

Incorporating Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council, the Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) will work collaboratively across the East Midlands to encourage more people to become adopters, which in turn leads to markedly improving the life chances of children in care.

As well as the RAA, Adoption East Midlands comprises a regional partnership incorporating Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County Council, Lincolnshire County Council and Rutland County Council and two voluntary adoption agencies, CORAM East Midlands and Faith in Families.
Shelagh Mitchell, Group Manager Adoption East Midlands, said: “We want every child to be in the loving, stable home that’s right for them, and adoption can transform the lives of these vulnerable children – and their adoptive families – in a remarkable way.

“By coming together and joining forces through the work of RAAs, councils can use the network to match children with the right families much more quickly.”

“RAAs will be the platform on which a modernised adoption service is built; providing better support to adopters and to meet the needs of children waiting for adoption.” A key aim of the RAA is to encourage more people who express an interest in adoption to attend information events and hear from people who have already gone through the process.

Shelagh added: “We need to celebrate adoption success stories and show at first-hand how loving families change the lives of children in care.” “We will also give people expressing an interest in adoption the information they need to make a life-changing decision. This will include dispelling a number of myths surrounding the adoption process and challenging unhelpful perceptions.”

Across the East Midlands adopters are needed for sibling groups of two or three children, children with additional needs, children from a BME background and school age children. “Although we have priority needs in different regions, our message is clear, we welcome anyone who has interest in adopting children and who wants to make a difference to children’s lives,” Shelagh added. Kyle and Steven, from Rushcliffe, decided to adopt siblings after they knew they wanted more than one child.

Steven said: “Our main motivation for adopting was that we both came from large families and we knew that we wanted to have a busy household with all the energy and fun that children create. “We love the idea of keeping siblings together and to be honest they probably settled a bit better quicker because there was that sense that wherever the others were, they were meant to be.”

Kyle admitted the experience was not without its challenges: “There are always challenges having three young children of a similar age in terms of meeting all their needs… but it’s also wonderful, exciting and keeps you young, and something we’d not change at all.”

The couple both agreed adopting siblings has been one of the best decisions they made with Steven adding: “If you’ve got the time, and the energy, and the space, to adopt siblings it’s an amazing and wonderful thing to do because they have each other, you are keeping a family together and you have a ready-made family that have that established connection. We’ve never regretted it for a single moment.

See Steven and Kyle at home discussing why they adopted and why it could be right for you at www.adoptioneastmidlands.org.uk/stories
Paula and Tim, from Rushcliffe, had two teenage daughters when they adopted a five-year-old girl.

Paula said: “We involved our teenagers throughout the adoption process as we felt it was important that they were on board from the start.
“If you’ve got birth children and you’re thinking of adopting, what’s important is to talk to them about it quite openly, find out what they feel and what they think.

“Our birth daughters are exceptionally proud and protective of their little sister. If you ask them they think we should adopt more children.” Paula and Tim also praised the support they received from the local authority. Tim added: “If you need help and support it is there, so don’t be afraid to ask for it. We found ourselves in situations where the advice we received was invaluable and it helped us deal with issues and move on to the next stage.” Tim and Paula discuss their adoption journey, see their video here www.adoptioneastmidlands.org.uk/stories

Find out more about adoption at www.adoptioneastmidlands.org.uk or come along to an information event (details are available on the website) and have a chat about how adoption could create the family you’ve always wanted.