children

Charity calls for families with young disabled adults to seek support

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Tue, 02/28/2023 - 5:56pm

Families caring for young disabled adults at home are being offered help by a forward-thinking national charity to improve quality of life.

Faced with three times higher costs to bring up disabled children, the continuing cost-of-living crisis is placing families in financial jeopardy. It is therefore even harder to afford the things that improve their disabled young adult’s day-to-day living.

National charity Family Fund is now urging families with a disabled 18-24 year-old living at home to apply for wide-ranging grants through its Your Opportunity scheme.

Set...

Plus-ed raises £44,000 for digital wellbeing platform that educates and engages school children on mental health

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 01/30/2023 - 11:36am

An Exeter business has raised £44,000 in Innovate UK grant funding to grow Plus - its digital wellbeing platform, helping school children to track and manage their mental health with support from parents and teachers.

Plus provides pupils with a fun and engaging way to make wellbeing part of their day. It is carried out on an iPad or other device, that focuses on nutrition, exercise, and emotional health.

“One in six children have a probable mental health condition and 50% of mental health problems are established by the age of 14, so we focus on supporting children aged...

Westbank's Kidzone Childcare Manager Lucy Elliott with one of the toddlers

Devon preschool graded ‘Good’ in its first year of operation

A small, friendly preschool near Exeter that welcomed its first intake of young children last spring has already received a good grade.

In a recent Ofsted inspection, the Kidzone at Exminster - operated by local charity Westbank Community Health and Care - was described as a ‘Good Provider’.

The charity’s preschool for Over 2s opened its doors at the end of April 2022, with just three children attending over three days. Since then, it has quadrupled its numbers and extended its opening hours. The facility now looks after 12 young children over five days and has recently...

Childrens Charity Brainwave Raises £40,000 to fund a new therapist

Brainwave has announced that they achieved their target of raising an additional £40,000, to support with the costs of a full-time therapist for a year.

The charity has been blown away by the generosity of supporters across the UK, who despite the cost-of-living crisis have still dug deep to support them during their 40th anniversary year.

The funds raised will enable them to support more children with disabilities across the UK during 2023.

Keith Sinclair, CEO of Brainwave said: “Forty years of achieving life changing outcomes for children with disabilities and...

Curious About Exeter - Quirky heritage walks for the Curious!

Curious About Exeter - Quirky heritage walks for the Curious!

Event Date: 
20/01/2023 - 10:30am to 31/12/2023 - 4:30pm
Venue: 
Exeter City Centre, starting Northernhay Gardens, Exeter, EX4 3RY

Have fun (re-)discovering Exeter, spotting things you’ve never noticed before, with two quirky treasure hunt style heritage walks - an all-year, fun and affordable way to enjoy some fresh air. Buy in printed booklet or instant download format (to print at home or use directly on up to three mobile devices) from https://www.curiousabout.co.uk/exeter.html and explore in your own time. Use code: Exeter15 for 15% off all Curious About walks.

Curious About Exeter visits not just the obvious places, but some unusual ones too, with hidden treasures to discover. Suitable for all ages,...

Advice on how to ensure toys are safe this Christmas

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Fri, 12/09/2022 - 11:34pm

To help ensure that the toys you are buying this Christmas are safe Trading Standards has released two short videos.

The videos, about toy safety and buying electrical goods , feature Holly Traynor from the Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service and she gives her top tips and advice on what to look for and what to avoid.

Trading Standards advises that if you are buying new products, you should ensure they display a CE mark, proof that the product has passed EU safety regulations, or the UKCA mark, which is the UK equivalent.

All toys, including ‘free...

Devon County Council teams up with John Lewis on its own Christmas advert

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Fri, 11/25/2022 - 7:09pm

Devon County Council and John Lewis, Exeter, have teamed up in celebration of fostering and children in care.

The connection follows the recent launch of the much-heralded John Lewis 'Christmas' TV advert, viewed by millions and seen by many to mark the start of the Christmas count-down.

Often poignant, the John Lewis advert this year focuses on children in care and follows the preparations by a foster carer ahead of the young person's arrival.

Knowing that the young person is a keen skateboarder, foster carer dad spends previous weeks learning how to skateboard...

New speech and language courses to help young children catch up after COVID-19

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 11/03/2022 - 4:41pm

Research conducted in schools last year revealed that the coronavirus pandemic, with its lockdowns and restrictions, held back many young children's speech and language development.

So, Devon County Council has created new courses which are available to parents and carers, and staff who work with children and young people, to help children catch up and reach their potential.

The Education Endowment Foundation research suggested that measures taken to address the pandemic deprived young children of social contact and opportunities that would normally have helped develop...

Childline launches campaign to help children at risk of sexual exploitation

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 10/27/2022 - 9:36am

New analysis by the NSPCC of police recorded crime data reveals the number of crimes with an element of child sexual exploitation in the South West has almost tripled within the last year.

During 2021/22, a total of 3,866 crimes were recorded by Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Devon and Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset Police forces, compared to 1,383 offences in 2020/21*

In the same period in England and Wales, there were 17,486 crimes logged by police where children had been sexually exploited –an increase of 10% on the previous year.

The charity is revealing this...

A free, family Hallowe'en adventure comes to Exeter

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Mon, 10/24/2022 - 10:08am

This October, families in Exeter will be able to follow an augmented reality story-trail.

As part of local plans to give families a fantastic half term, InExeter and Visit Exeter have teamed up to provide a free interactive trail for families. Working with High Street Safari, InExeter and Visit Exeter have launched a unique, free trail in Exeter ready for October half term.

The Totally Spooking Out! Hallowe'en trail is an innovative experience that lets families choose what happens in the story as they follow the trail – all you need is a smartphone. Players will hunt...

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