The Children's Team
If you are a child or a young person
visiting this site because you are worried about your mum please click
the picture below
At Leeds Womens Aid we recognise the wide range of needs of
children/ young people coming into refuge who wave witnessed and /or
have been victims of domestic violence. Naomi and Marnie provide
support for the children and young people and their mums and offer a
wide service to ensure the children/ young people feel safe and their
lives are as consistent and stable.
The main areas we deal with are:
Therapeutic work
These are weekly sessions over a six week period, unless it if felt
they need longer, or we also refer to other agencies such as CAMHS
(child and adolescent mental health service) and the 0-16 team. This
time enables the child to talk about their feelings and also make sense
of what has happened. In some cases we find that the child may have
anger management issues and this is something we cover during the
sessions. We also work closely with school and mum so the work that is
done in the sessions can be followed through into every part of their
life.
Family sessions
Sometimes in cases of domestic violence the mums authority as a parent
is hindered by the perpetrator, either not allowing mum to parent or
telling the children not to listen to her, due to this some children
come into refuge and therefore dont listen to mum and boundaries are
hard for mum to set.
Some mums feel guilty about coming into refuge and allow
boundaries to slide, this can make it difficult in the long term and
some mums find it difficult to put the boundaries back in place once
things have settled.
Some mums need assisting with parenting skills, this can be
for a verity of reasons and as well as family sessions we also have a
parenting group which Naomi runs together with sure start. This is
called star mums and it gives mums a chance to chat about any
difficulties they may be having.
Spending time with the family as a unit and working together
on putting boundaries back together is so important to ensure that the
children and mums are happy and therefore will thrive as a family. We
sometimes talk through what has happened, devising rules and rewards,
ensuring there is time set aside in the day for mum to play with her
children but also encouraging and giving mum the confidence to take
control as a parent. We provide worksheet based work that focuses on
building a stronger relationship with mum and her child/ren.
Toddler groups
It can take some time to get a place in the local childrens centre so
we offer a toddler group once per week, this gives the toddlers time to
mix with other toddlers and also get used to mum not being with them
for a short period of time. It also gives the mums a chance to have
some time for themselves, as they have very limited on hand support
from family.
Playschemes and after school club
During the school holidays we run a playscheme for ages 1-16 this is a
great chance for the children to have some fun over the holidays and
mums to have a break. The day is split into age groups and we do a
variety of activities from baking to whole day outings. Playscheme
ensures that the children are not feeling isolated during the holiday
period as when children are living in refuge they cant have friends
round to play as they would when at home. It is also an opportunity for
children mix with their peers
Afterschool club runs twice per week and is for children ages
4-10. We also run a youth zone after, after school club which is for
11-16s again this ensures children and young people are not feeling
isolated and gets them mixing with their peers.
Education
When a new family move into Leeds Womens Aid the children usually have
to change schools this is because of either the perpetrator could
easily track the family down or they have moved from another city.
Primary schools is usually a quick process however high schools can
take a bit longer and sometimes we have to go through an appeal process
with education Leeds to get a place in school. This can be quite timely
so we provide the child with English and maths work to do during this
period.
We currently have an Education Worker for 1 year to
August 2009 whose main responsibilities includes:
- work with children and young people (CYP) ages 4-16
to identify and address unmet educational needs
- advocacy and support for CYP and their parent or carer
- to support CYP throughout the admissions and school
transfer process by making sure that they are on role in school
and to minimise time out of education
- 1 to 1 education sessions and in-school packages of support
- home tutoring for children out of education
- to deliver school transition work to support CYP
emotionally and practically during school changes
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