Parents and Carers signposting
Early Help Service 0–19
The Early Help Service 0–19 can help support your family from pregnancy until your child is 19.
The service consists of East Sussex County Council and NHS professionals. They can offer a wide range of support at your home, from a Family Hub or a Youth Hub.
They can offer help and support through:
- Health Visiting health clinics and home visits
- Keywork Support
- Family groups at a Family Hub
- Youth groups at a Youth Hub
- Supporting you to become a volunteer
- Training courses to improve Life Skills
- Support with child Speech and Language
- Antenatal support (NHS)
- Parenting Advice and Courses
The Early Help Service 0-19 helps to identify and support early years Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Please note, accessing keywork support depends on your child's level of need. Please contact your Health Visiting team to find out more. The main NHS provides more information:
East Sussex Parent Carer Forum
East Sussex Parent Carer Forum (ESPCF) is a forum for parents and carers of children and young people with SEND in East Sussex. They work together to ensure every parent carer in East Sussex feels that their voice, their views and their experiences matter. They contribute towards developing and improving services.
Parent Groups and Befriending (Amaze)
Amaze run local support groups for parents of children and young people with SEND. The groups are informal and run regularly. The group is called Parent Groups and Befriending.
They also offer one-to-one befriending for those parents who need more individual support.
At the groups, you’ll meet other parents and carers who know what it’s like to bring up kids with additional needs. Sessions are sometimes based around:
- particular issues you want to know more about
- your views on a topic or service so they can feed back your concerns to the right people
You can find out more by visiting the Amaze website:
East Sussex Local Offer directory, on 1Space
Part of the East Sussex Local Offer includes the directory, on East Sussex 1Space. The directory includes charities and community groups that can offer support in meeting other parents and carers:
- Find advice, guidance and support groups on 1Space
- Find additional support for families, carers or homes on 1Space
Family Hubs and Youth Hubs
Family and Youth Hubs offer a chance for parents and young people to meet with others, across East Sussex. These hubs offer opportunities to share experiences with other parents and young people. They all offer SEN-specific groups:
Young Carers Service
Care for the Carers offer a Young Carers Service. This service is for all young carers (5 to 17 years old) living, attending school or caring for someone in East Sussex. This includes siblings and friends. The service provides support to young carers before they reach crisis point. It also aims to help their physical and mental wellbeing.
The Young Carers Service provides young carers with support and fun activities to get involved with. You can find out more on the Care for the Carers website:
Care for the Carers
Care for the Carers are a local, independent charity. They support and represent unpaid carers in East Sussex.
Their team can provide free practical and emotional advice. This is either face to face, by telephone, or online. They can put you in touch with other carers, and help you navigate the range of local services available. They also run support groups, training and events across the county. They are for those interested in speaking up on important issues, or having some time out to relax and meet new people.
Sussex Mental Healthline
The Sussex Mental Healthline is a 24/7 telephone service. It offers listening support, advice, information and signposting to anyone experiencing difficulties with their mental health or relatives, friends, carers and healthcare professionals. You do not need an appointment.
If you need support right now, this is a good place to start.
- For telephone support, call NHS 111 and select option 2 or dial 0800 0309 500
- You can also visit the Sussex Mental Health Crisis Line | Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Health in Mind
Health in Mind are dedicated to improving mental wellbeing. For people in East Sussex, they deliver:
- Free courses
- Therapy
- Online programmes
- 1:1 talking therapies
Visit the Health in Mind website to find out more.
Counselling
Counselling is a good way for parents and carers to talk through the things that they find challenging. Counselling can either be:
- Via a health referral from your GP. Your GP can refer you to a local NHS therapeutic service. This route can sometimes have a long waiting list.
- Provided by a charity or community organisation. This can be free or low cost, though sometimes is harder to find.
- Private counselling. This would be counselling you find and pay for yourself. You can search for counsellors local to you on Google or use one of the many counselling directories. Counselling directories include Psychology Today and British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
You can search for a therapist via:
Health and Wellbeing for Children and Young People
The East Sussex Local Offer has specific pages dedicated to children and young people's wellbeing, physical health and mental health.
For mental health and emotional wellbeing support:
Physical health and practical support topics covered on this site include:
- Physical fitness and body health
- Healthy eating, diet and food
- Dentists / dentistry
- Learning disability register
- Annual health checks
- Sexual health, sexuality and relationships
- Online safety
To find out more, visit our page on Physical Health and Practical Support.