Kinship carers in Kendal are being invited to an event at Caste Green on 8 October as part of Kinship Care Week, which begins in the week commencing 5 October.
The event is being organised by Westmorland and Furness Council’s Kinship Care team. The council says the Kendal gathering will celebrate kinship carers, while a separate event will be held at the Family Hub in Penrith on 9 October.
Support for kinship carers
The council’s family services update also says a larger event is planned in Penrith on Thursday 29 October. That event is expected to include support from professionals and a stay-and-play craft session for children, although further details are due to be released on the council’s Facebook page.
Information about kinship care is available through the council’s online Kinship Local Offer. The service’s September update directs families to that resource for information about support available to people caring for relatives’ or friends’ children.
Family Hub activities across the area
The Kendal event is part of a wider programme of Family Hub activity across Westmorland and Furness. During September, the service attended the Upper Eden Practice Roadshow in Kirkby Stephen to share information with colleagues from the voluntary sector, the council and the NHS.
Family Hub staff also attended Clifton Primary School’s PTA autumn event, where they provided information to families alongside glitter tattoos and bottles of bubbles.
A joint Family Hubs and Cumbria Wildlife Trust After School Nature Club also began during the month after a successful summer-holiday trial. The first session took place at Cold Springs nature reserve, where the service reported a strong turnout from children of different ages despite the weather. Details of future sessions are available through the Eden Family Hubs Facebook page.
Family Hub events are now also being provided in Appleby and Kirkby Stephen, including Chill, Chat and Play, Little Bookworms, and Sing, Sign and Rhyme. The hub in Kirkby Stephen has been rearranged within the Local Links building to make it more user-friendly, with opening hours listed on the library’s website.
Other activities mentioned in the update include an Infant Feeding Support Group in Alston, baby massage sessions in Shap, and planned sessions in Penrith and Kirkby Thore. The baby massage course is for babies aged six weeks to six months and runs for five weeks.
Families can also access Family Decider Skills, Diddy, Understanding Your Child Togetherness and Invest In Play sessions. The council says these are held at locations around Eden, either online or in person, with bookings available through its online service.