Parent and Carer links
Parents and Carers Links
Sources of support and information for parents and carers to help keep children and themselves safe.
General Support - York Citizens’ Advice
Addiction and Recovery
York Drug and Alcohol Advisory Service
Stem4 - Supporting teenage mental health
Anxiety and Worrying
If your child is feeling anxious NSPCC has some useful advice.
Armed Forces
British Legion - York branch
SSAFA - The Armed Forces Charity
City of York Council - Armed Forces Covenant
Bereavement and Grief
It’s natural to feel sad, depressed, anxious and angry when someone close to you dies. Bereavement is difficult for anybody. Childline, Young Minds and Marie Curie all over useful support.
North Yorkshire Safeguarding Childrens Partnership Child and Family Bereavement Support
Bullying
Child Exploitation
This video produced by PACE also demonstrates how parents spotted the signs when their children were being exploited.
The children and young people's section of our website has further information regarding exploitation.
Virtual College has a useful online parenting course to help parents keep children safe from sexual exploitation. The following websites also have useful resources:
Breck Foundation - Online Safety
PACE - Parents Against Sexual Exploitation
Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP)
PACE - Keep them Safe online training
County Lines - criminal exploitation
NWG Network – Child Sexual Exploitation
Domestic Abuse
Eating Disorders
Stem4 - Supporting teenage mental health
Female Genital Mutilation
Gender, Gender Identity and Sexuality
LBTQ+ inclusion is often an area we do not discuss too frequently, and yet it impacts many young people today. If you are wanting to support an LGBTQ+ child or young person, here are some resources you may find useful:
The Genderbread Person is a great tool for explaining and talking about gender. For further information please visit http://lgbt.foundation/sexualhealth
Another useful tool is the Gender Unicorn which clearly shows non-binary identities.
Tips for Parents of LGBTQ Youth
Jackson Bird: How to talk (and listen) to transgender people | TED Talk
LGBT Fo8undation Sexual Health
General Parenting Advice
The following organisations offer advice for parents and carers:
NSPCC Positive Parenting Guide
Action for Children 'Parent Talk'
Hate Crime
Home Alone
When can you leave a child at home?
The law doesn’t say an age when you can leave a child on their own, but it’s an offence to leave a child alone if it places them at risk. Use your judgement on how mature your child is before you decide to leave them alone, e.g. at home or in a car.
The NSPCC says:
Children under 12 are rarely mature enough to be left alone for a long period of time
Children under 16 shouldn’t be left alone overnight
Babies, toddlers and very young children should never be left alone
Parents can be prosecuted if they leave a child unsupervised ‘in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health’. This means that they can be fined or sent to prison if they are judged to have placed a child at risk of harm by leaving them at home alone.
Advice for leaving a child at home
Whether you or your child are comfortable with the idea will often depend on how mature and adaptable your child is.
The advice below is there to help you make up your mind about whether leaving your child home alone is a good idea, as well as tips for choosing appropriate childcare if you decide it's not.
- Babies, toddlers and very young children should never be left alone
- Children under the age of 12 are rarely mature enough to cope in an emergency and should not be left at home alone for a long period of time
- Children under the age of 16 should not be left alone overnight
- A child should never be left at home alone if they do not feel comfortable with this, regardless of their age
- If a child has additional needs, these should be considered when leaving them at home alone or with an older sibling
- When leaving a younger child with an older sibling think about what may happen if they were to have a falling out - would they both be safe?
Questions to consider?
- Would they know how to contact you or another family member or friend if they needed to?
- Do they have these contact numbers to hand?
- How would they feel about being left alone – pleased to be given the responsibility or scared by the thought of it?
If your child is over 16 and you think they’re ready to be left alone overnight, let them know exactly where you are and how they can get in contact if anything goes wrong. And remember to have those conversations about who they’ll invite over while you’re away.
For further advice:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/in-the-home/home-alone/#/#
If you are concerned about a child who has been left alone at home please report your concerns to Children's Services or the police.
Homelessness
Mental Health and Trauma
The children and young people's section of our website has some useful advice and guidance.
Healthwatch York have produced a York Mental Health and Wellbeing Guide which contains all the useful contact details of services available within City of York
The following websites also have useful resources:
Trauma and Young People - A Guide for Parents
Modern Slavery
Radicalisation
Safer Sleep for Babies
Every year in the UK 300 babies die suddenly and unexpectedly in their sleep. While there is no advice which can guarantee the prevention of sudden and unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), also referred to as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), there are a number of things you can do to reduce the risk to your baby both at nap time and bed time.
The CYSCP have been working with North Yorkshire (NYSCP) to produce some advice for parents and this is available on the NYSCP website.
Sexual Abuse
Suicide and Self Harm
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)
Self-harm can cover a range of things that people do to themselves in a deliberate and harmful way. It's important to know that support is available for anyone who self-harms or thinks about self-harm, as well as their friends and family.
NHS advice
Young Minds - Parents advice self-harm
NSPCC offers good advice to understand the reasons why children and young people self-harm
Self harm in young people for parents and carers
Stem4 - Supporting teenage mental health
Contact us
CYSCP, City of York Council,
West Office, Station Rise,
York,
YO1 6GA
CYSCP@york.gov.uk