Home-Start North West Kent
There for parents when they need us most
because childhood can't wait
Useful Links
Useful Links Directory
There are 57 useful links on this page to national and local organisations. You can navigate this page by clicking on one of the buttons below which will take you the relevant table. Each item is listed in a box, click on the box to open it and show the details. At the bottom of each sequence of boxes is a return button. That will bring you back up to here.
General Parenting
BBC Online – Parenting
Web: BBC Online – Parenting
Advice on parenting, preparing for parenthood throughout pregnancy, illnesses, baby’s needs and parents needs.
Bullying UK
Web: Bullying UK
Help, advice and information on bullying for parents and children.
Community Legal Service Direct
Web: Community Legal Service Direct
A free government-funded confidential advice service providing help and advice on a range of common legal problems.
Fatherhood Institute
Web: Fatherhood Institute
The Fatherhood Institute are the national information centre on fatherhood. They provide news, training information, policy updates, research summaries and guides for supporting fathers.
HomeDad
Web: HomeDad
Online discussion and advice forum for home-based fathers.
NCH Action for Children
Web: NCH Action for Children
Runs over 460 projects throughout the UK which include family centres, abuse, disability and homelessness projects.
Netmums
web: Netmums
Netmums is a local network for mums by mums with a wealth of information and advice on being a mum with young children in your home town.
Mumnsnet
Web: Mumnsnet
A community of online parents. Their philosophy is “to make parents’ lives easier by pooling knowledge, experience and support”.
Parents’ Advice Centre
Parents’ Advice Centre (PAC) provides a telephone helpline and face-to-face support and guidance service for families on lots of issues.
Parent Centre
Web: Parent Centre
Information and support for parents on how to help with your child’s learning, including advice on choosing a school and finding childcare.
Parenting UK
Web: Parenting UK
Promotes and maintains a high profile for parenting education and support, promoting growth in knowledge, skills, understanding and personal development of parents.
Family Lives
Provides support for parents under stress. Visit this website or phone 0808 800 222.
Nanny Share
Web: Nanny Share
Nanny Share aims to provide a service for parents seeking affordable and flexible childcare.
Sure Start
Web: Sure Start
Find out about the wide range of SureStart services that are currently available, from Children’s Centres and early support programmes to information and advice on health and financial matters.
Talk To Your Baby
Web: Talk To Your Baby
Talk To Your Baby is a campaign run by the National Literacy Trust to encourage parents and carers to talk more to children from birth to three.
What about the children?
Promotes parental responsibility with particular emphasis on the emotional needs of children under three, through research and campaigns.
Child Accident Prevention Trust
Web: Child Accident Prevention Trust
Has a detailed section on their website for parents to help reduce the number of children and young people killed, disabled or seriously injured in accidents
Child Welfare
Separation, Divorce & Lone Parents
Association for Shared Parenting
Web: Association for Shared Parenting
The Association for Shared Parenting (ASP) promotes the rights of children after separation or divorce and encourages and support parents.
Centre for Separated Families
Web: Centre for Separated Families
Works with everyone affected by family separation in order to bring about better outcomes for children.
Families Need Fathers
Supports and provides information to parents about maintaining relationships with their children after a family breakdown.
Gingerbread
Web: Gingerbread
The national organisation for lone parents and their children. Over 500 support groups in the UK.
Only Dads
Web: Only Dads
An organisation for single fathers offering advice, a forum for making contact, a number of benefits like discounted holidays and clothes purchases, and free legal and financial advice
Children or Families in Need
4 children
Web: 4 children
Believes that all children and their parents should get the support they need in their community – starting from the early years, through to their out of school and teenage years.
Action for Prisoners’ Families
Web: Action for Prisoners’ Families
Action for Prisoners’ Families (APF) is the national organisation acting as the voice for the concerns of prisoners’ families across the UK. They also run a helpline for families.
Childline
Web: Childline
Free national helpline for children in trouble or danger. Provides 24 hour confidential counselling service. Visit website or call 0800 11 11
Children First for Health
Web: Children First for Health
An interactive guide to life and health for children and young people.
The Children’s Society
Works with and for children to help them deal with life’s harshest challenges.
Disability
Disabled Parents Network
A national organisation of and for disabled people who are parents or who hope to become parents, and their families, friends and supporters.
Family Footings
Web: Family Footings
Family Footings is a national project for families of disabled children and children with special educational needs. They provide advice and resources on how to use person centred thinking to improve outcomes for children and young people in education, health care and day-to-day support.
Family Fund
Web: Family Fund
Family Fund champions an inclusive society where families with severely disabled or seriously ill children have choices and the opportunity to enjoy ordinary life.
Learning Disabilities
Provides information about issues which affect the lives of people with learning disabilities and is a useful gateway to some of the other resources on learning disabilities.
National Face to Face Network
Web: National Face to Face Network
Offers a befriending service to parents of disabled children.
Finances
Home Heat helpline
Web: Home Heat helpline
Gives advice and information on reducing fuel bills and details on how to access grants and benefits.
Turn2us
Web: Turn2us
Helps people access the money available to them – through welfare benefits, grants and other help.
StepChange
Web: StepChange
Offers free, impartial debt advice to anyone in the UK experiencing financial problems. They also have a free online debt advice service – Debt Remedy.
Family Relationships
Marriage Care
Web: Marriage Care
Offers relationship counselling through local teams of qualified practitioners who volunteer their time. There is no fixed fee but contributions are requested towards their services.
Relate
Web: Relate
Provides counselling, sex therapy, relationship education and training to support couple and family relationships throughout life.
Mental Health
MIND
Web: MIND
Working to provide a better life for those with experience of mental distress.
The Association for Post Natal Illness
Web: The Association for Post Natal Illness
Provides support to mothers suffering from post-natal illness, increases public awareness of the illness and encourages research into its cause and nature.
Young Minds
Web: Young Minds
An interactive website, containing information for young people, parents and professionals about children’s mental health.
Pregnancy, Birth & Multiple Birth
Bounty
Web: Bounty
Best known for the educational guides and product sample packs they provide to expectant mothers, new parents and young families.
Cry-sis
Web: Cry-sis
Offers self-help and support for families with excessively crying, sleepless and demanding children. 08074 045 011
National Childbirth Trust
Web: National Childbirth Trust
Advice, information and services in relation to pregnancy, birth, the early weeks and months right through to toddler stage.
The Multiple Births Foundation
Web: The Multiple Births Foundation
A vital resource to professionals and families alike, it aims to improve the care and support of multiple birth families through the education of all relevant professionals.
TAMBA - Twins and Multiple Births Association
Web: TAMBA – Twins and Multiple Births Association
Supports families with twins, triplets or more, individually, through local twins clubs and specialist support groups.
Other Useful Links
Includes: 24hr Support; Adoption and Fostering; Forces Families; Bereavement; Drug & Alcohol Addiction and Behavioural Problems.
24-hour support: Samaritans
24-hour support
Web: Samaritans
Samaritans provides confidential non-judgemental emotional support, 24 hours-a-day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which could lead to suicide
Adoption & Fostering
Web: British Association for Adoption & Fostering
The British Association for Adoption & Fostering is the leading UK charity working for children separated from their birth families.
Web: Post Adoption Centre
The Post Adoption Centre provides advice, support and information for anyone involved in adoption. They offer a telephone advice line and a contact and mediation service.
Forces Families
Provides support to serving soldiers, former soldiers and their families in times of in need.
Web: RAFBF Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund
We provide a range of support to RAF veterans and serving personnel and their families which includes financial help, support with housing, benefits advice and mental wellbeing support
Web: rnbt.org.uk Royal Navy Benevolent Trust
RNBT provides financial assistance and support to Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel and their families in times of need. We assist thousands of people in need by providing wide ranging financial assistance and caring for older people in our care home.
Bereavement
Web: Saying Goodbye
Saying Goodbye is the first National set of remembrance services, for couples and families, who want to formally say goodbye to children they have lost.
Drug & Alcohol Addiction
Web:Adfam
Provides support and information to family and friends of drug and alcohol users. Includes a search facility for UK support groups and helplines.
Behavioural Problems
Web: ADDISS
Provides information and resources about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to anyone who needs assistance – parents, sufferers, teachers or health professionals.
Web: KidsBehaviour
Focuses on understanding children’s behaviour and offering solutions to dealing with a wide range of behavioural problems.
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