Useful resources and information for the school holidays
We know that times continue to be extremely hard, the pandemic has put a strain on many families and residents within west Cheshire, and beyond.
There is a wide range of support available to you as parents across the borough which can help you if you feel that you may need it.
Edsential
Community interest company, Edsential, is working with 47 organisations, including schools, community, voluntary and faith sector organisations, to organise 64 holiday activity clubs throughout the borough this summer period. The holiday clubs will provide local children and families with:
- healthy meals and snacks, along with family cooking sessions and nutritional education
- a variety of directly delivered physical activities such as, swimming, yoga, golf, judo, skateboarding, dance and drama workshops and family days
- diverse enrichment activities, including arts and crafts, musical theatre, chicken wire sculpture making, archery, street dance, mindfulness, forest school, trips to Chester Zoo, and much more.
Visit the Edsential website for a full list of the clubs taking place over the summer holidays:
Youth zones for 11-16 year olds (up to 25 if SEND)
Youth Zones, operated by the Council’s Youth Service, will be providing eligible children and young people across the borough with a summer offer.
Youth zones will be open across the borough and all families of children and young people who are eligible for free school meals will be able to register to attend summer fun activity evenings, days, and trips out. All children and young people will be offered a healthy balanced hot meal or packed lunch.
Programme plans include healthy cooking sessions, arts and crafts, sports, inflatables, health and wellbeing sessions, look after yourself pamper sessions and graffiti sessions.
If you would like more information, please email: EHPChesterandRural@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.
Provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
A number of organisations have been funded to deliver SEND specific HAF provision across the borough, the varied offer will include sessions for children and young people such as trampolining, fishing, mindfulness, a petting zoo, sensory and messy play, garden activities, adapted cycling, seated archery and seated table tennis.
A healthy meal will be provided at every session for the children and young people in attendance.
For more information, please email: AimingHighForDisabledChildren@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.
Brio Leisure
Brio Leisure will be running various activity programmes from sites across the borough. The range of activities include multi-sport activities with free Brio memberships, a specific teen offer and swimming crash courses, all of which will include a healthy meal.
If you would like more information, please email: info@brioleisure.org.
The Council is working with other agencies to support residents and businesses in west Cheshire. The pages cover:
- Dedicated helpline for people who need support
- Clinically Extremely Vulnerable - shielding guidance
- Support and advice on council tax
- Domestic abuse advice and support
- Support for businesses and employers
- Coping with coronavirus
- NHS bereavement advice and support
- Test and Trace support payment
If you need help with food shopping or are looking for details about other practical support available in your local area, visit the Practical support if you're isolated page on Live Well Cheshire West.
An additional £421 million Household Support Fund has been made available to councils in England to support those most in need due to rising living costs, particularly around the need for food and fuel. This funding covers the period 1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022 inclusive.
The Council is using some of the funding to support pupils in receipt of free school meals (FSM) to access food during the summer break. The Council has approved a school allocation of £15 per week per FSM recipient for the six-week school summer holiday and this funding will be distributed by schools. However, each FSM recipient should receive a total payment of £60. This will leave an unallocated amount of ‘Support Fund’ to be used at individual schools’ discretion to assist families just above the FSM threshold.
Schools are free to decide how they distribute funds from the Support Fund, but the intention is to provide food vouchers or emergency assistance to families not eligible for FSM but who may be experiencing financial hardship. Please contact your child’s school for further information.
Funding from the Household Support Fund has been provided to local schools to be used over the school holidays to help families who have children that receive benefit related free school meals. If you need support, please contact your child’s school for further information or the HELP scheme.
The Welcome Network
The Welcome Network has pulled together details of the food and activity offers for families during half-term breaks, including Foodbank distribution points. All of the information can be found on a live, interactive map on the Welcome Network website.
Those delivering food support who aren’t currently on the live, interactive map are encouraged to add their details so people needing food support in their area can access their services.
The Welcome Network - Get involved
If you're having difficulty contacting any of the groups, or if there isn't something suitable or local to you please email: hello@welcomenet.co.uk and one of the team will link you to the support you need.
The HELP scheme is a discretionary scheme offering local welfare assistance including:
- support for exceptional needs
- limited payments for emergency funding in a crisis or;
- to help people moving out of care
Any awards which are made are conditional. With you accepting any support from us that we consider you need. All awards are subject to a means test, which means we will look at your income and expenditure. This includes income that is available to you, including income we usually ignore when looking at your claim for Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction.
Funding will be made on a one-off basis and will be restricted to one award in any 12 month period. Normally awards will be restricted to provide help with food vouchers or recycled goods.
The HELP Scheme has been awarded additional monies by DWP in the form of the Household Support Fund, to support those most in need due to rising living costs.
It will primarily be used to support households in the most need with food, energy, and water bills. It can also be used to support households with other essential costs. This may and can include households not currently in receipt of DWP welfare benefits.
Only one award can be made per household and applications are made via the HELP phone lines.
If you are unable to buy food, then food aid is available from the Foodbank.
The most important step is to get a foodbank referral. You will need to get a referral by telephoning or emailing someone who can do this for you.
If you cannot get out to collect your food, then please mention this to the person making your referral for you and they will make the arrangements for food to be delivered if this is at all possible.
If you have no food and cannot contact a referrer, please call the West Cheshire Foodbank office.
- Telephone: 0151 355 7730
- Email: info@westcheshire.foodbank.org.uk
- Visit: West Cheshire Foodbank
Covering Mid-Cheshire (South of M56) includes Winsford, Knutsford, Northwich and surrounding villages.
If you are unable to buy food, then food aid is available from the Foodbank.
The most important step is to get a foodbank voucher.
In order to provide the most appropriate help for the circumstances of your situation, Mid Cheshire Foodbank work with local agencies. If they feel you are struggling to put food on the table, they will issue you with a foodbank voucher. The local agency can also provide long term support if needed to help address some of the issues behind the reasons for your crisis. Agencies the foodbank work with include: Citizens Advice, housing support officers, children’s centres, health visitors, social services and some local charities.
Get in touch with the foodbank via phone or email and they can talk through your situation and put you in touch with a relevant local agency to obtain a voucher. Once you are in touch with a local agency, they will discuss your situation and supply you with a foodbank voucher where appropriate.
- Telephone: 01606 590992
- Email: info@midcheshire.foodbank.org.uk
- Visit: Mid Cheshire Foodbank
If you are unable to buy food, then food aid is available from the Foodbank.
The most important step is to get a foodbank voucher.
In order to provide the most appropriate help for the circumstances of your situation, Mid Cheshire Foodbank work with local agencies. If they feel you are struggling to put food on the table, they will issue you with a foodbank voucher. The local agency can also provide long term support if needed to help address some of the issues behind the reasons for your crisis. Agencies the foodbank work with include: Citizens Advice, housing support officers, children’s centres, health visitors, social services and some local charities.
Get in touch with the foodbank via phone or email and they can talk through your situation and put you in touch with a relevant local agency to obtain a voucher. Once you are in touch with a local agency, they will discuss your situation and supply you with a foodbank voucher where appropriate.
- Telephone: 07922 072906
- Email: info@runcorndistrict.foodbank.org.uk
- Visit: Runcorn and District Foodbank
The Council Tax Reduction Scheme provides financial support for people who are on a low income and need help to pay their Council Tax. There is a discretionary fund alongside the main scheme.
- Visit: Council Tax Reduction
The Discretionary Housing Payment scheme is available to help people who receive Universal Credit or Housing Benefit where the amount awarded in benefits does not pay their full rent. This scheme can help with the shortfall in some circumstances or can help people on benefits with rent in advance to secure a property.
If you are affected by coronavirus or its effect on the economy, there is a wide range of support available.
The Understanding Universal Credit website provides information about the changes the government has brought in to support people who are already claiming benefits, need to claim benefits, or are at risk of losing their job as a result of coronavirus. To find information you need about Universal Credit and other benefits:
Universal Credit (UC) - If you have any queries please use your UC journal to make contact, if you have a change in circumstances please report this on your home page. If you are unable to access your digital account, please contact 0800 328 5644. There may be a longer waiting time than usual on the telephony service as they are experiencing high call levels.
Legacy benefits - If you claim Job seekers Allowance (JSA), Income Support (IS) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) please contact your relevant benefit on 0800 169 0310 if you have any queries. Please listen carefully as the options may have changed since you last rang.
You can contact your local jobcentre by ringing 0800 169 0190 and you will be put through to/or a message passed to your local jobcentre. Jobcentres are limiting the number of people allowed in the offices during COVID-19 so please only attend a jobcentre if you have a booked face to face appointment or have no other way of contacting Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Local jobcentres can support with both ensuring you receive the correct benefit to support you whilst you are looking for work and if your circumstances mean you are currently unable to look for work. They can provide advice and sign posting to local support organisations. They work closely with both partners and providers to offer a range of training that is relevant to the local economy and is most likely to enable customers to gain skills to return to work.
The website highlights the range of support and advice on offer to help jobseekers find jobs, and employers get the people they need, all in one place.
Jobhelp is a good place to start if you are looking for work. Despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak, there are still jobs out there to apply to. Jobhelp are there to help you get started.
Their website provides a range of support.
You can also find hints and tips on applying for jobs and ideas about jobs you may never have thought of. And for the latest vacancies, check the latest jobs page or search the Find a job (external website) service.
The Live Well Cheshire West site provides support for a range of different money related matters, including:
- Budgeting, banking and managing money
- Money and benefits
- Paying for care
- Grants and funds
- Debt
- Help in a crisis
Free, impartial advice and information on a range of issues. Advice is independent and completely confidential. Information to help you make the right choices if you are in debt. Such as how to avoid losing your home and how to get your finances back into shape. Help can include:
- working out how much money you owe and the debts you should pay back first
- budgeting your bills
- getting a bank account
- starting a pension
- dealing with creditors
- gambling advice and/or problems with tax
The Citizens Advice Bureau has also received £25,000 from the Winter Grant Scheme fund to cover payments made through their Fuelbank.
For further information:
- Visit: Citizens Advice Cheshire West
- Telephone: 0808 2787 806
Some children and adults could be facing increased risks as we are all asked to stay at home more due to COVID-19. We are here to help you. It is important you know you're not alone. The Council is continuing to work with other agencies to offer you support and encourage you to make contact when out on an essential trip (like shopping) to ask for help.
Open the Door signposts to local and national help, encouraging people to start a conversation about domestic abuse and bring it out from behind closed doors.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger call 999.
The Live Well Cheshire West website provides various resources about supporting children and young people during the lockdown including a section on mental health and wellbeing.
Anyone struggling with their mental health can call the Cheshire West Mental Health Crisis Helpline on: 0800 145 6485. This is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for adults, children and young people.
Our libraries have lots of exciting events and activities planned to help children keep reading over the summer holidays. Please visit the Summer Reading Challenge events page to find out more:
Resources on advice about money and where you can get support:
- Independent Food Aid Network: Worrying about money leaflet (PDF)
- Worrying About Money? - Cheshire West and Chester