Children's Health, Care and Justice Services

Children and Families Social Work

For children already supported by Social Work Teams, each team will continue to offer support and safeguarding via phone, Skype, Facetime and Zoom.

If you have a review pending then a worker from the Social Work Team will be in touch to advise on how this will be progressed.

Additionally the Scottish Children's Reporters Administration (SCRA) has made the decision to close all their Hearing Centres. If you have a Children's Hearing coming up you can find out more information about the arrangements here:  https://www.scra.gov.uk/contact-us/coronavirus-attending-childrens-hearings/

Children's Health

The Health Visiting service is still continuing to provide support to children and families and will be in contact with families. If you have any concerns, please contact the service through the current route and leave a message. Preschool immunisation clinics continued to be delivered by the Health Visiting service and we encourage all parents / carers to bring their child, unless unwell or self-isolating due to symptoms in the family. If this is the case, please contact your health visitor

Justice Services

South Ayrshire Council Justice Services are continuing to support and monitor those who are subject to Court orders or released from prison. Although MacAdam House is closed, the Justice Team continues to operate and respond to calls as normal. If you are due to appear at Court after a deferment for a Criminal Justice Social Work Report or have been sentenced to a Community Payback Order the team will be making contact with you via telephone within a day of your Court appearance to advise you of next steps. If you have a family member who is due for release after serving a prison sentence and will be on Parole the team will be in touch with you to discuss this. The Justice Team can be contacted on  01292 289749. If you have been previously involved with Justice Services and require assistance also call this number.

National Helpline for Care Experienced People

Who Cares? Scotland has set up a seven-day helpline to support care-experienced people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The helpline is open from 10.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday, and from 10.00am to 4.00pm Saturday and Sunday. The telephone numbers are 07756 047389 or 07545 337152.

An experienced member of the team will take the call as a first responder, and then provide immediate support or pass information on to the local team to provide a more physical response. Who Cares? Scotland has money set aside to support care-experienced people struggling financially, and has been deemed an essential service so staff can travel to deliver food and other supplies. So far, the team has supported people with phone top ups, utility payments, food shopping and supporting benefit applications.

Additionally, the team is also working closely with Aberlour, and can access support for any struggling household as long as there is a person under 21 years living there. For this support no-one has to be care-experienced.

For more information, visit the Who Cares? Scotland website: www.whocaresscotland.org/coronavirus-support/

CELCIS coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Page

There's a new Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection(CELCIS) online resource with key information, advice, guidance and signposting specifically to support the care and protection of children and young people in Scotland during the COVID-19 outbreak. Click here to find out more.

Immunisations

It remains important for children to be immunised at this time. Before attending an appointment, please ensure both parent/carer and child are well and showing no symptoms of Coronavirus. Stay updated at www.nhsinform.scot/immunisation

Barnardo's Ayrshire Services

Barnardo's Services will endeavour to operate in a responsive way to enable operational service delivery which ensures the safety and wellbeing of staff (and others) and fits the changing circumstances. Unless you have specific staff members email and mobile number, locally this means the first point of contact should be by email southwestservices@barnardos.org.uk

Information Pack for Young People

Penumbra, one of Scotland's leading mental health charities has produced an information pack for young people about responding to change and how to manage your wellbeing during COVID-19. The pack is designed to help young people explore and manage how they are feeling during this unsettling period. To access the information pack visit: https://www.nhsaaa.net/media/8946/young-peoples-resource-responding-to-change.pdf

Supporting Children and Young People with Loss and Bereavement

The outbreak of coronavirus means that many aspects of children's normal routines have been significantly and abruptly changed. Most children are spending all their time at home with their immediate family and are not able to have physical contact with their wider family, friends or teachers. This will be an anxious time for many children - they may have questions about how coronavirus may affect them or other members of their family. It is important to give the time to listen and talk to your child about any concerns they have. For more information on supporting children at this time visit: https://www.nhsaaa.net/media/8913/20200421-bereavement-leaflet-for-parents.pdf