The children's centres supporting families online during Covid-19 crisis

Virtual ‘call centres’, online play sessions and regular welfare checks are among the services offered to families by centres continuing to offer support during the pandemic.

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Better children’s centres - south and east Greenwich, London

Ten children’s centres run by Better, a social enterprise provided by Greenwich Council Homestart and Quaggy development trust, have moved services online to connect with families through social media and through regular phonecalls.

The team has created a virtual call centre which sees staff working from home phoning regular users of the children’s centres on a daily or weekly basis to check on their welfare, offer emotional and practical support and sign-post them to other relevant agencies.

It is also delivering remote activities for children such as speech and language skills, storytelling, and physical exercises through Facebook. While parents are supported with advice on parenting skills, online cooking demonstrations and personal wellbeing coaching. All the activities are delivered by children’s centre staff ensuring that families see and are able to engage with familiar faces and staff that they know well.

The ten children’s centres are located in areas of higher deprivation and normally support over 7,000 children and their families each year, providing help with child development, school readiness and parenting skills. Through their vital work the centres reach 85 per cent of children aged five and under, who are deemed vulnerable and are perhaps living in with domestic violence, parental mental health issues or have child protection orders.

Lisa Walsh, strategic lead at Better children’s centres within Greenwich Council said: “Government guidelines on social distancing and coronavirus meant we were unable to keep our physical children’s centres open. However, we felt it was crucial that we stayed in contact with our families and offered them as much support as possible, albeit remotely.

“Our staff have been remarkable, many rapidly learning new IT and social media broadcasting skills, while thinking of innovative ways in which to provide a comprehensive range of activities and support for children and their carers.”

Evgenia Theodotou, a mother who attends Waterways Children’s Centre in Thamesmead, south London, said: “I am so happy that we live in Thamesmead and we have the chance to use the local children’s centres and join the baby groups and activities. During the lockdown their Facebook page is a lifesaver! There are daily amazing activities for the children and workshops for the parents. Staff are brilliant and passionate about their job.”

Wirral children’s centres - Merseyside

Staff at Wirral Council’s children’s centres have replaced popular face-to-face classes with virtual online classes on the centres’ My Child Can Facebook page. 

Staff film their own class demonstrations, including sessions such as dough disco, baby babble and story time, to share on the page, sticking to the regular timetable. Within the first two weeks of moving online some 12,500 families logged-on to watch the videos.

Paul Boyce, corporate director for children’s services at Wirral Council, said: “The centres day-to-day help improve outcomes for families across Wirral and in the face of the health crisis they’ve stepped up again to make sure they can still offer this support. The virtual offering with the online classes is fantastic and keeps centres connected. I’m proud of the whole team and I’m sure the parents and young children are enjoying the online classes.”