Families come in all shapes and sizes but one thing that is universal is that being a parent can be tough!

As a school, we are always here to support you.   Below, you will find lots of links to help you with common issues and the website at the bottom has even more.   

If you are struggling (whether it be financially or in another way), please feel free to speak in confidence to me to see how we may be able to help.

Remember there is also lots of useful information about keeping your child safe online on this page of our website:  https://www.ourladyofgracejuniors.co.uk/keeping-your-child-safe-online/

Mrs Hart

Inclusion Leader

Please see above the information that was used during our in person and online workshops on understanding your child's emotional wellbeing.  The PDF is the slides used during the workshops and includes links to the videos shown and the signposting to support both your and your child's mental health. The feedback on the above session was very good.  We will be holding another session on Fri 14th March in person at 9am but this time at the Junior School. It will be on supporting parents with strategies to deal with challenging behaviour.  We will again be holding an online version on Tues 18th March from 7-8pm. We hope to see as many of you as possible at these events.

The Brent Family Wellbeing Centres

The Brent Family Wellbeing Centres provide a range of community-led services that can support you from the moment you know you’re expecting, through pregnancy and birth, until your child is 18 years old. The Centres, offer a wide range of free health, education and welfare services to families and aim to give everyone in Brent the best possible start in life.  Many of the centres also include free homework clubs. There are a number of centres including Kilburn, Harlesden, Wembley and the St Raphael’s estate.  Full details can be found here.  Please register for their services using the link below.

Family Wellbeing Centres | Brent Council    

A full timetable of events and details of the homework club that are happening at the St Raphael’s Estate wellbeing centre can be found above.   

Into University are a local charity who run  homework clubs to provide literacy and numeracy support to children aged 7-11.  It takes place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 3.30pm and 5pm in St Mark's Church, Bathurst Gardens, NW10 5HX.  They also provide fun educational activities linked to the national curriculum.

The above are free to children who meet the following criteria:

Students are eligible if they meet any ONE of the following criteria:

- Young people eligible for low income based free school meals

- Young people from a low income household

- Young people who live in social housing

- Young people who are care-experienced (children who have been in the care system)

Students may also be eligible if they meet at least TWO of the following criteria:

- First generation to go to university

- Young carer

- English as an additional language

- Special Educational Needs

Use the QR code in the flyer above to sign up or find out more information.

Brent's mental health support team are running a free summer workshop for parents and carers this August via Zoom. There will be 3 workshops that  will benefit parents/carers to understand and learn more about children's wellbeing. All parents and families are welcome.  There is a zoom link/passcode/meeting ID on the flyer above.

Supporting your Child’s Transition 1^st August from 11AM-12PM

Supporting your Child’s Behaviour (Session 1) 7^th  August from 12PM

Supporting your Child’s Behaviour (Session 2) 8^TH August from 12PM

Parent Wellbeing 14^th August from 4PM-5PM.

Mental Health Support Team 

Barnardo's and Brent Family Support Helpline

Brent and Barnardo's have an evening and weekend helpline and webchat service to provide families in Brent with access to a Barnardo’s family support worker during evenings and weekends.

The service is part of Brent’s Family Wellbeing Centres.  Their experienced and friendly team will offer information, advice and support and can help you with:

• Yours and your child’s family support and wellbeing needs during evenings and weekends.

• Registering with a Family Wellbeing Centre.

• Accessing other services in Brent, including support with the Cost-of-Living Crisis.

Who can access this service?

The service is free to access for any family living in Brent. Translators are also available on request. Please note that this is not a crisis service – if you or someone you are with is in immediate danger call 999.

Full information (including the website and telephone number) can be seen in the document above.

April 2023

Brent have now started to run some BeeZee Families courses aimed at supporing healthy lifestyles for families.  They are for any family with at least one child who is above the ideal healthy weight and are completely free of charge.

Full details can be found on the flyer at the bottom of this page or by clicking on this website

For Families (beezeebodies.com)

The next course starts on 8th May so sign up now for a fun way to engage your children in healthy eating habits for life.

March 2024

Brilliant Parents are a lottery funded community group that are  running some helpful online workshops for parents.  They include workshops on how to develop a good bedtime routine, how to deal with aggressive behaviour and how to shop with young children to avoid the meltdowns.

Flyers for all three can be found below and it is easy to sign up for them via the link in the flyer.

What to do when mealtimes are becoming a battle field

Place2Be: Parenting Smart: Family mealtimes are turning into a battleground

What to do when your child is really anxious

Place2Be: Parenting Smart: My child is anxious

How to help your child when someone dies

Place2Be: Parenting Smart: Supporting your child when someone dies

How to deal with sibling rivalry

Place2Be: Parenting Smart: Understanding sibling rivalry

How to use praise and rewards  effectively

https://parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk/article/using-praise-and-reward

How to talk to your child about race and diversity

Place2Be: Parenting Smart: Helping your child understand cultural identity

How to support your child who is struggling with peer pressure

Place2Be: Parenting Smart: My child is struggling with peer pressure

Supporting Healthy Gaming Habits

Place2Be: Parenting Smart: Supporting healthy gaming habits for children

What to do when your child thinks they need to be perfect

Place2Be: Parenting Smart: My child thinks they need to be perfect

How to support your child if they have friendship issues

Place2Be: Parenting Smart: My child has friendship issues

There are some resources and links provided by the Diocese of Westminster which families can interact with at home in preparation for Easter:

Interactive Lenten Calendar - You can reflect on how you are helping others during Lent

https://www.cathchild.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CCS-Lenten-Challenge-Calendar.pdf

CCS Presentation and Quiz - Learn about CCS and how your fundraising makes a difference. You can then test your knowledge with the CCS Quiz!

https://www.cathchild.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CCS-PowerPoint-and-Quiz.pdf

CCS Quiz Answers -  Answers to the CCS Quiz questions

https://www.cathchild.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CCS-Quiz-Answers.pdf

September 2022

Brent  Health4Life are running a programme of fun free interactive online sessions for children aged 5-19 who are overweight.  Sessions include healthy eating workshops on food groups, portion sizes and label reading. 

See below for details about how to book a place.

This half term, St Raphael's family centre (on the St Raphael's estate) are offering a number of activities including multi sports for families from Brent.  You will need to register to join the wellbeing centre via this link. 

St Raphael's Family Wellbeing Centre | Brent Council

All the information about the various activities throughout the week (including a Jubilee Party) can be found in the above documents.

The Brent Parents/Carers Forum have arranged an art therapy session for parents/carers on Mon 16th May at Chalkhill Community Centre from 10.30am-11.30am.  Art therapy helps in accessing thoughts, feelings and memories in a safe and gentle way and the session will give you the chance to have an informal chit chat with the therapist and/or meet other parents in a supportive environment.

Full details about how to book are in the document above.