Children and Family Wellbeing
Essex child and family wellbeing service
Essex County Council (ECC) and West Essex NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (WECCG) have recently commissioned Virgin Care in partnership with Barnardos to deliver the Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service.
The service ensures that families continue to have easy access to local services, but staff are also be able to reach children and families in the community; whether in a local clinic, play area or in a family’s front room.
This flexible and innovative new way of working is about providing services without walls and ensuring we are reaching those families who need support the most. The services are for children from before they are born through to the age of 19 (or 25 for young people with special educational needs and disabilities).
This involves bringing together a number of different services from Pre-Birth-19 ( Pre-Birth-25 for SEND) which includes Children’s Centres, Family Nurse Partnership, 0-5 Healthy Child Programme, 5-19 Healthy Child programme and the Healthy Schools programme into one joined up team across Essex to transform the way children, young people and their families receive care and support.
The service will deliver broad areas of support:
Health Visiting
Including, antenatal contact, transition to parenthood, SIDS, new baby review, maternal (perinatal) mental health, wellbeing and development of child under 1 year and 2-2 1/2 year reviews, support to ‘be ready for school’
Parenting Support
Breastfeeding support, school entry review, childcare confidence support, support for expectant mother and father
School Nursing
Support for young people in schools with wellbeing and health and mid teen health review and help with family health
Family Health
Substance misuse (parents), contraception advice, nutrition support, mental health (maternal & infant), smoking cessation
Resilience and Development
Preparation for learning, DV support, returning to work, accessing ETE, safeguarding
Support for ages 5-19
Dental care, review of immunisation status, appropriate interventions for any physical, emotional or developmental problems, provides children, parents and school staff with information on specific health issues, measuring height and weight.
If your child is not in education, or you are new to area, it is recommended you make contact with the service to register yourself or your child.
Visit their website at Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service, for more information and to find contact details of services in your area.
Other specialist children's services
The service will also deliver the following in West Essex:
- Child Development Centre
- Specialist School Nursing
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Community Paediatrics
- Dedicated Medical Officer
- Specialist A&E Liaison
- Children’s Community Nursing
- ASD
- Dietetics