Praise for charity’s ‘flock-down’ initiative

Child and youth care charity Kibble, has been recognised for continuing its HenPower initiative online during pandemic lockdowns to ensure the relationships made between the groups were not lost.

Kibble was awarded the Digital Innovation award by Generations Working Together, a centre of excellence supporting the development and integration of intergenerational work.

The project focuses on establishing valuable connections between young people at Kibble and the older generation in community care homes. The young people worked with residents at local Spiers Care Home at weekly face-to-face sessions before the pandemic, which included caring for the ex-battery hens on-site at Kibble’s therapeutic Forest View School in Lochwinnoch, as well as art and music sessions.

However, due to lockdown restrictions, project lead and outdoor activity co-ordinator at Kibble, Rhona Dorrington, instigated the use of technology to make sure the young people and elderly residents could still enjoy time together.

Using tablets and mobile phones, young people at Kibble’s Forest View campus were able to continue joining Spiers’ elderly residents for virtual visits with the hens as well as taking part in clay moulding and rock painting.

In addition to visiting the hens during their very own “flock-down”, aptly named by the children at Kibble, Dorrington was also able to extend the animal visiting to the ducks, turkeys and ponies who are a big part of day-to-day life and education at Forest View.

Kibble supports young people who have faced trauma and adversity, providing therapeutic care and education for those aged five to 25. The national charity implemented the HenPower project in its early years residential and educational services at Forest View in 2019.

HenPower is a national project, and the Kibble arm has been funded by The National Lottery Awards for All Scotland.

Bringing generations together has proven to be massively beneficial in developing understanding, perspective and stimulating both groups by working together and learning from each other.

As well as the mental wellbeing benefits, there has been a noticeable increase in the physical and mental health of the elderly residents, with even one non-verbal resident speaking for the first time in years to express her fondness of one of the young people.

Dorrington said: “The power of the relationships built between the young people and the elderly residents is astounding. It is about establishing a bond with each other based on love and care, about being seen, and knowing that they are not forgotten.”

Polka Theatre launches free mental health workshops

A children’s theatre is offering free digital workshops to help children cope with the impact of lockdown on their wellbeing.

Wimbledon’s Polka Theatre has created a series of digital mental health and wellbeing workshops to be freely accessed by schools, from reception to year 6.

Following successful in-person workshops with primary schoolchildren last autumn, Polka has now launched workshops online, filming the content to make it readily accessible to a wider audience.

Islington Council pledges free wi-fi for care leavers

Islington Council has become the first local authority in England to offer young people leaving care wi-fi broadband access for the first 12 months they live independently.

The move will offer a boost to around 60 children who leave care in Islington each year.

The council said the offer, which is a central element of the Keep Care Leavers Connected campaign run by charity the Care Leavers National Movement, will provide vital help at a time when care leavers are learning to find their feet in the world and live independently.

Barnardo’s partnership to provide Easter crafts

A new Barnardo’s partnership provided 6,000 vulnerable children with craft activity boxes over the Easter holidays.

The charity’s match partnership with children’s craft subscription company toucanBox saw a craft box pledged to one of 45 children’s centres across the UK every time a subscription was bought over the two-week break. Barnardo’s distributed the craft boxes across its services and children’s centres.

ToucanBox provides craft box subscriptions around specific themes for children aged three to eight.

Nominate your Covid heroes

From early years staff working to keep settings open, to social workers providing enhanced support both face-to-face and virtually, and youth workers ensuring vulnerable children are safe, practitioners and leaders across the sector are some of the unsung heroes of the pandemic.

As part of CYP Now’s #Chances4Children campaign, we want you to nominate your Covid heroes who have made a difference to the lives of children throughout the pandemic.

Let us know who you think deserves to be recognised by tweeting @cypnow with the hashtag #Chances4Children, tag us in your nominations on Facebook or email fiona.simpson@markallengroup.com