Flying Start

Our Flying Start Health Visitors provide additional support to empower parents/carers to improve the life and health outcomes for their children.

This support is provided through visits to the home, where Health Visitors give suitable advice to the family as well as monitoring and assessing the child’s progress. This helps to identify any needs that the child or the family have at an early stage, and makes it easier to address those needs.

Health Visitors provide advice and support on a wide range of matters including :

• Getting ready for baby
• Breastfeeding
• How to access support
• Emotional health & wellbeing
• Nutrition
• Safety at home
• Weaning
• Infant feeding
• Dealing with crying baby
• Dental health
• Immunisation

We also offer weekly drop in clinics for parents to see health professionals

Parenting support is available from our Flying Start Community Nursery Nurses and Family Support Workers and can be accessed in group or on a 1 to 1 basis to help parents to further develop skills in managing and understanding their children’s behaviour, setting boundaries, establishing household routines, playing and interacting with their children and healthy nutrition. These all help to build parent’s confidence and self-esteem. We are also able to offer intensive support within the home to support with difficulties such as toileting, behaviour, safety and sleep.

We currently offer group programmes in:

• Nurturing
• Baby Massage
• Come & Cook
• Stay & Play
• Bookstart,
• Swimming Academy
• Aqua-natal Swimming
• Stroll & Roll
• Incredible Years Toddler Programme
• Language & Play

We also offer weekly drop in clinics for parents to see health professionals.

Portage is a home based support Service for pre-school children with additional needs. The aim of the Portage Service is to support the development of Early Learning Skills.

Support offered to parents is based upon the principle that parents are the key figure in the care and development of their child, and Portage aims to help and support parents in this role whatever their child’s needs may be.

How Portage works?

Families are usually visited on a weekly basis for approximately an hour at home by a qualified Portage Worker. During the visit we can chat about your child’s abilities and support needs so we can work on these together.

You can practice these skills between visits, sometimes using equipment left by the Portage Worker. A record or diary can be kept of the activity as a reminder of the activity and what has happened between visits, so we can plan the next steps together. The Portage Worker will keep a profile of the child’s progress that is shared with you, the worker’s supervisor and the Educational Psychologists who jointly oversee the service.

Criteria:

• Parents/Carers are willing to commit to the Service and the weekly home visits.
• Children are experiencing a delay in two or more areas of development.
• Children are under 4 years of age.
• Children will be referred through their Health Visitor.

Laugh and Learn is a home visiting educational service for preschool children to support parents/carers to become more confident in supporting their child’s learning, through play activities and to help children be school ready.

How does Laugh and Learn work?

Families are visited weekly for 4 weeks by a qualified child development worker, who brings play activities for you and your child to share and have fun with. They will find out what your children’s communication strengths are by using the “WELLCOMM” screen and work out what your child’s “next steps” could be.

Who is Laugh and Learn for?

Any child over 12 months whose parents/carers would prefer not to go to a group at the moment and would like to find out more about supporting their children’s learning.

Flying Start Childcare is 2½ hours childcare at one of our partner playgroups, Cylch’s or Day Nurseries from Monday-Friday during Denbighshire term time. There is no charge to the parents/carers. Session times depend on which setting you choose, but will normally be 9:00am-11:30am or 13:00pm-15.30pm (please check with a member of the team)

What is the aim of Flying Start Childcare?

To build on and support all the things you have already taught your child. It’s a chance for your child to get used to playing in a larger group, take turns, make friends and develop their attention, thinking and listening skills all whilst exploring and having fun!! They’ll learn new songs and try new things.

How do I access Flying Start Childcare?

Around your child’s 2 ^nd Birthday, a member of the childcare team will come and visit you and your child at home. We will chat about which settings are available, answer any questions you may have and find out what your child’s communication strengths are by using the “WELLCOMM” screen. This will help you and the childcare setting know what your child’s “next steps” could be

Who is Flying Start Childcare for?

All children registered with Flying Start from the school term after their 2 ^nd birthday until the school term after their 3 ^rd birthday.

The Flying Start Speech & Language Therapist provide support for parents/carers and members of staff who work with young children to make sure they can facilitate children’s speech, communication, language and related skills. This also helps to make possible the early identification of children with high needs in these areas.

The service provided includes drop assessment sessions, developing Individual Communication Plans, Parent Child Interaction Therapy, and support for Flying Start Groups.

The Speech & Language Therapists also provide training for parents and relevant members of staff, this includes Elkan courses, WELLCOMM and Makaton training.

The Family Worker’s Team provides support for families with:

• Safety in the home
• Building your support network
• Eating healthily
• First Aid for families with young children

The team can also assist families to access other Flying Start services and things like money advice, housing support, help with relationships and support for those looking for learning or employment opportunities.

They will usually visit you in your own home and will help you work out what kinds of support you need most and how to get it.

The Flying start Midwifery Service provides additional care and support to help expectant mothers and their families during pregnancy. Support is also provided after the birth and the team work other Flying Start staff such as the Health Visitors, Community Nursery Nurses and Speech & Language Therapists.

The service aims for early contact with women during pregnancy as this can have a beneficial impact on the progress of the pregnancy and the future health of the child.

The care and support provided by the Midwives and Maternity Support Workers includes antenatal care via appointments or a ‘drop-in’ facility and ‘preparing for childbirth’ sessions for couples, single women, teenagers and their parents.

The service aims to be flexible to meet the needs of the women and their families, and is both user-friendly and easily accessible.