Families First - North East

We’ve registered with easyfundraising and we need your help!
easyfundraising is a great website where you can help Families First North East raise funds simply by doing your everyday online shopping with over 3,300 big name retailers like Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com, eBay, Boden, and M&S.
Every time you shop, we receive a small donation to say ‘thank you’ and it’s completely free too! We want raise as much as possible so please sign up and help us at http://bit.ly/2KHZofh

Thank you to our friends from Santander UK Hartlepool who volunteered at our Diamond and Pearl Ball and were the best raffle balloon sellers ever. They have generously have match funded our on the night fundraising by £2,500!

Voting is now open for the Golden Giveaway visit http://www.teessidecharity.org.uk to cast your vote for Families First! Vote and share this link with all your networks to help us a win a share of £20,000. The more votes the more we win!

If you would like to see services such as our afterschool, holiday, evening and weekend provision along with our Toy Loan Service continue, please take a few minutes to complete this survey to Hartlepool Borough Council.
Thanks in advance.
Short Break Activity Programme in Hartlepool - Your Views Matter
... We are in the process of obtaining views from parents and carers. It is important that Hartlepool Borough Council hear about your experiences of receiving short break activities in Hartlepool.
This questionnaire is about short break activities that provide services for children and young people with additional need and/or disability who do not require an assessment of need to access them. However if you do receive a direct payment for other services and also access the services included in the survey your views are important to us.
Following consultation the information gathered will be used to help us improve services and to ensure that the support we offer remains both helpful to families and reflects what parents and carers need to meet the needs of children and young people with additional needs and/ or a disability.
The questionnaire should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete. All replies will be treated in confidence. You do not need to give your name at the end of the questionnaire unless you choose to do so. Where a choice is offered, please tick the most appropriate response. If you have any questions about the survey or need any support completing the survey, please contact Tracy Liveras on 01429 284876 or tracy.liveras@hartlepool.gov.uk The closing date for the survey is Monday 17th December 2018
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/HBC18Sho rtbreakActivities
See More

We are part of www.teessidecharity.org.uk Golden Giveaway. Voting will start at 9am Monday 26th November and will carry through to 12 noon on Friday 7th December. Please help us and vote for us. The more votes we receive the bigger share of the £20,000 pot we will receive (Please note it’s one vote per email address).
The organisation receiving most votes will receive £5,000. After that, in descending order of most votes to least, organisations will receive £2,500 for 2nd place, £2000 for 3rd place, 4th & 5th will get £1,500, 6th, 7th & 8th will receive £1000, 9th – 12th will receive £750 and the remaining three organisations will receive £500 each.
Set your alarms!

With over £1.4 billion spent across Black Friday weekend, it’s a great opportunity to raise money for Families First North East with every online purchase you make, and, it’s completely FREE!
If you use easyfundraising when shopping online, retailers like Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com, eBay, Boden, and M&S will then make a small donation to say, “thank you”.
To find out about how you can help us raise as much as possible, visit https://www.easyfundraising.org....uk/… /familiesfirstnortheast/
Thank you!
See More

Big thank you to James Black for choosing us as his birthday charity. We hope you had a great day celebrating James.

Remember to shop via #easyfundraising when doing your #BlackFriday shopping. You'll raise money for Families First North East with every online purchase you make and it’s completely FREE! To find out more, visit: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/…/fa miliesfirstnortheast/

We will be letting the children experiment by cutting out their own shapes with different textures and creating pictures with glue and cellotape in this weeks Tots Time sessions. Lots of sensory interaction during the session. Sessions are held on a Wednesday and Thursday between 9.15am-11.15am, costing £1.00 per child. For further information, pplease feel free to contact our office on 01249 867016.

Are you struggling to keep your youngster entertained? Why not come along to one of our Tots Time sessions which are held every Wednesday and Thursday morning between 9.15am-11.15am. These sessions are inclusive and everyone is welcome no matter what your child’s need are, and why not take this opportunity to have a look around our toy loan service. Enjoy crafts, play, a snack and juice for your child, and a cuppa and chat for the adults for only £1.00 per child. This weeks activities are: Wednesday and is shaving foam painting and Thursday is sensory glitter bottle making.

We are delighted to announce that we have appointed a new team member to Families First (North East) who will support the organisation in developing its offer for children and young people who are on the autistic spectrum.
Known to many people in Hartlepool, Alison Blaney-Wombwell, will be joining the team on 19 November 2018.
Her role will include staff development, supporting care planning, working with parents to develop new ASD related projects and offering external tra...ining.
This is an exciting development for our organisation and for the young people and families that we serve.
If you would like to know more about Alison’s planned work in the interim and potential opportunities, don’t hesitate to contact our Chief Executive, Paul Thompson, on 01429 867016 or vial email at paul@familiesfirstne.co.uk
See More

With Winter here make the most of the long dark nights and use Novembers toy of the month to brighten your child’s evenings. This month we’ve selected our range of lights and projectors. These are great aids for relaxation for all children and can be combined with music for an added bonus. To see the whole range of lights visit http://www.hartlepoolfamiliesfirst.org.uk /comp…/toydatabase/
If you have a pre-school child with addistional needs, why not pop in to one of our Tot...s Time sessions which run every Wednesday and Thursday between 9.15am - 11.15am and only cost £1.00 per child. You and your child will be able to have a look around the toy library and even try out some of the toys.
For more information on the toy library or Tots Time sessions, please contact the Section Head for Children and Young People on 01429 867016 or email nicola@familiesfirstne.co.uk
See More

Thank you Hartlepool Carers for supplying us with a load of pumpkins. What do you think of our carvings? Happy Halloween everyone.

Do you have a child or young person with additional needs or needs support and encouragement to help them overcome issues with social skills, self-esteem or emotional trauma? Why not try one of our STREET sessions.
Is your child or young person going through an ASD assessment or have a diagnosis? do they struggle with large groups, noisy environments or social situations? Why not come along and see what our STREET ASD group can do to help.
All groups are £1.00 per session ...and have various activities including cooking, group activities, arts & crafts, team building and sessions around personal hygiene, personal safety and health & exercise.
For further information on any of these sessions, please feel free to contact Nicola on 01429 867016.
See More

If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.

Are you looking for something to do with your little monsters today? Burn off some energy and have some spooky fun down at One77 at their Halloween Disco today at 12noon. A limited number of tickets are available to buy on the door.

Good afternoon, this Saturday our STREET Families sessions will run as usual, 3.00pm - 5.00pm and only costs £1.00 per child. The activities this week will include arts and crafts, lego activities, story telling and jumbo games such connect four and Jenga. For further details please feel free to contact our office on 01429 867016.

The guys here are amazing...my son Kai has been going here for some time now during the holidays...but he is now continuing to go full time since leaving school. All of the staff will go out of there way to help and make sure that your child's needs are met.



Kirsty has been fab and Kai is loving every minute of the day doing arts and crafts and being out and about as well as other activities.



He also does the after club and one to one and he loves Nicola (Nic Nic) ...all I can say is if you get the chance for your child to go here...snap it up, don't wait cos your child is seriously missing out. Kai comes home and he is so happy you can tell he has enjoyed his day.



Thanks Guys I really appreciate all you do and also Paul & Nicola Thompson for sorting things out to allow Kai to be with you all :)

Thankyou for a fab night. Do you want to build a snowman?

My son uses the services of families first and all we can say as a family that the services and staff are second to none. I would highly recommended there services for families.

My son kenzie loves it here and all the team that work here.

My son Kieran goes here after school and in the playscheme. This is invaluable to me and the family for work and Kierans well being. The staff are lovely and he loves to go. The playscheme is truly fantastic as change in routine upsets Kieran, and at 15yr old with developmental age of a 9 month old his strops are monumental. Families First help keep a form of routine with him and they have fantastic days out where Kieran is one of them not so different!



They have always been amazing for us and no doubt will continue to be. I really don't know what our family would do without this service.



Truly amazing staff, facilities and days out �

Hartlepool families first you made a little girl and 2 bigger girls very happy. We all had a great time well done to you all.