Signposting to other services and support

If a member of the family is in the Armed Forces, many organisations can offer support. A key one is SSAFA. The easiest way to find these is on the Forces Connect app.

• Armed Forces Covenant
• SSAFA
• SSAFA (Southampton & Eastleigh)

Southampton City Council

Southampton City Council provides clear guidance and information to a wide range of services on benefits, money, and debt

Benefits & Welfare

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice has several local offices – check the link for the nearest one to your scheme

Search for your local Citizens Advice

Southampton Advice and Representation Centre

Southampton Advice and Representation Centre (SARC) also provides advice and representation in welfare benefits and employment.

SARC

For young people who may want to start a career in the armed forces, more information is available on the website. This includes those considering joining cadet branches of armed service.

Armed forces careers

Directory of support services

The Southampton City Council directory has information on childcare providers within the city. It also provides information on available ways to help in paying for childcare. 

• Childcare
• Help paying for childcare

Early Years and Childcare service

This service supports the development of sufficiently good quality affordable and flexible provision for young children within Southampton, as identified within Southampton’s ‘Childcare Sufficiency Assessment’.
It also provides targeted support and challenge to providers to ensure they are working to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for children; this contributes to ensuring the optimum development of the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Southampton Early Years and Childcare Service

Startpoint Sholing, Wood Close, Sholing, Southampton, SO19 0SG

Children’s Services

Southampton City Council’s Children’s Services provides safeguarding and social care services, education and information on childcare.

Child protection and children in need

NHS

Parents and carers can also access relevant services for children and young people through links to different key health, well-being and development questions.

Children and young people's services - NHS

Child friendly Southampton

CFS works towards ensuring that all children and young people in Southampton have a good start in life, live safely, are healthy and happy to go on, and have successful opportunities in adulthood.

The team works together to create a city where all children -whether they are living in care, using a children’s centre, or simply visiting their local library – have a meaningful say in, and truly benefit from the local decisions, services, and spaces that shape their lives.

Child Friendly Southampton

• Email: child.friendly@southampton.gov.uk
• Facebook: Child Friendly Southampton
• Instagram: @ChildFriendlySouthampton

Don't forget to follow #ChildFriendlySouthampton

The Children’s resource service

This service ensures that children and their families receive the right help at the right time. It provides support and signposting for anyone concerned about the immediate safety of a child OR looking for help for their own child or family OR if you think a child or family may benefit from support from the Early Help service.

The Children's Resource Service

Professional: 02380 83 2300
Young person: 02380 83 3004

Social workers (MET and LAC)

This service provides support and information for Looked After Children (LAC) and Missing, Exploited and Trafficked children (MET). It includes available health services, health assessments, virtual school, and other relevant information on school admissions, early leaning, children’s centres, SEND Local offer, youth offending service, early help and adoption.

Looked after children placed in Southampton from other local authorities

Email: METhub@southampton.gov.uk

Citizen’s advice is a charity that provides free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities.

Citizen's Advice Southampton

There are several services that you can access locally and nationally. 

View results on our directory of support services

Directory of support services

Our directory has a list of different career fields and related organisations. 

Ideas for careers

Jobcentre Plus

Jobcentre Plus has help to find work, job vacancies and hints and tips on applying for jobs and job search ideas.

Southampton JobCentre Plus and Jobs in Southampton

The Prince’s Trust

The Prince’s Trust offers mentorship and skills training for young people interested in gaining skills across different fields.

The Prince's Trust

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships – information on becoming an apprentice

Apprenticeship opportunities in the South

SEND

The city council gives advice and offers a range of support for families of children with SEND.

Financial support for families of children with SEND

Southampton City Council SEND information

All schools in Southampton have the same special educational needs and disabilities duties and are expected to provide support for children and young people who have additional needs. These duties come from the national SEND Code of Practice 2014.

Most children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities attend mainstream schools. The service’s page includes more information on the SEND local – information on short breaks, housing, things to do, health and wellbeing, training and employment, money matters, schools and learning, childcare and support for carers.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Young Carers

Information for support available to young carers. The No Limits service supports young people to help themselves.

Young Carers

Disability Advice Independence Support

Disability Advice Independence Support (DAIS) offers support to all persons who identify as having a disability. This includes money matters, personal support, and resources.

The finance care service also offers support for vulnerable people.

Disability Advice Independence Support

Directory of support services

Check our directory for all other links to providers of financial advice and education as well as support for young carers, paying for childcare and other associated money matters.

Directory financial search results

Other providers

• Citizens Advice (local)
• Money Advice Service (national)
• National Debt line (national)
• Step Change debt advice (national)

GOV.UK

Advice on money and tax matters and families struggling with debt, court claims and bankruptcy.

Options for paying off your debts

The Prince’s Trust

The Prince’s Trust offers support for young people looking to start a business and develop key skills.

Support for starting a business - The Prince's Trust

Directory of support services

Please check our directory for links to food banks/ pantries and access to other essential basic services. The link includes venues across Southampton.

City Catering

City Catering Southampton is a charity driven to improve accessible healthy food for all through school meals, care meals and healthy home cooking. The charity exists to make tangible nutritional difference in people’s lives and target different groups of people including the vulnerable and elderly adults across the city.

As advocates for access to good food, we are acutely aware of the challenges many face in the school holidays where the risks of food poverty increase. As a result, we work hard to support the increasing need for holiday provision for our Member schools.

City Catering Southampton

Email: admin@citycateringsouthampton.co.uk
Call: 02380 332226
Facebook: City Catering Southampton
Twitter: @CityCatering Sou

Solent NHS

The Solent NHS team also offer resources for practitioners, parents and carers on special dental care.

Special Care Dental Service

School Nursing

Access to school nursing services. Also, support for children and families with children of school-going age.

• Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust
• Healthier Together

Let’s Talk about it

Let’s Talk about it offers support across a range of topics for young people. It forms part of the NHS Solent Trust.

Let's Talk about It

Southampton City Council

Southampton City Council offers holistic information for both children and adults’ mental wellbeing.

Mental health and wellbeing

YoungMinds

YoungMinds offers support and useful resources for people struggling with their mental health or those who want to support people with mental health concerns.

YoungMinds

Kooth

Kooth offers confidential online counselling and wellbeing for ages 11 to 25 years.

Kooth

No Limits

Counselling and advice for people below 26.

No Limits

Youth Options

Individual and group options.

Youth options

Yellow door

Specialist support for young people affected by domestic abuse, sexual violence/ abuse and other forms of interpersonal harm.

Yellow Door

Saints Foundation

Youth engagement (8 to 18-year-olds)

Saints Foundation

Re: minds

Support for parents and carers whose children have autism and/ or mental health issues. They provide a range of groups, and advice and have a book and sensory lending library.

Re: Minds

SO: Linked

The SO: Linked service is delivered by community navigators and development workers through an integrated partnership with a range of organisations like (Southampton Voluntary services, SPECTRUM, Alzheimer’s society, Solent Mind, TWICS, Social Enterprise Link). It offers services to adults within the Southampton area that are registered with a GP. Collectively, these organisations deliver services like specialist support, advice, training, advocacy and inclusion for disabled people, practical guidance on understanding and coping with dementia, mental health support, support, and signposting to enterprises.

Southampton City Council Stronger Communities team support and engage the community with a vision to empower communities to be stronger, safer, and to thrive

So: Linked

Email: soccg.solinked@nhs.net

Call: 023 8021 6050
Facebook:

• SO: Linked
• Southampton Stronger Communities

Twitter: @SOLinked

Solent Minds

Solent Minds is a charity whose mission is to make sure anyone in our community experiencing a mental health issue has somewhere to turn to for advice, information and support. We provide a range of services including access to talking therapies, peer support groups and mental health education.

Solent Mind

Email: info@solentmind.org.uk
Phone: 023 8202 7810 and Support line: 023 8017 9049
Facebook: Solent Mind
Twitter/ Instagram: @SolentMind

The NHS 111 service can support people that have  medical concerns and aren’t sure what to do. This service, available via NHS 111 (call 111 day or night) to support any young person with urgent mental health needs (young people can call or parents / carers worried about a young person. They have links into Hospital, Ambulance and community mental health services.

• When to use NHS 111
• Children's health

Southampton City Council is responsible for housing services. 

Housing

Public Health England

Public Health England offers resources on healthy eating for persons across different ranges. Resources for pupils to continue learning.

Healthy eating - PHE School Zone

Change4Life

Change4Life and the NHS also have a range of useful apps available for Android and Apple phones. The Change4Life Food Scanner app brings food labels to life and helps you make healthier choices. Simply scan the barcode to see how much sugar, saturated fat and salt there is in everyday food and drink.

Healthier Families - NHS

Active 10

Motivate people to start walking briskly.

Get active - NHS

NHS

Information on key lifestyle information for both children and adults.

Live Well

The British Nutrition foundation

The British Nutrition foundation provides access to evidence-based information on nutrition, health and wellbeing for children and adults.

British Nutrition Foundation

Re:minds

Re:minds – support for parents and carers whose children have autism and/ or mental health issues. They provide a range of groups, advice and have a book and sensory lending library.

Re:Minds

Book Trust

Book Trust is a renowned charity that aims to increase the number of children in Southampton able to read. They also have a website for practitioners and families packed full of help, advice and information, as well as an area specifically dedicated to FREE and exciting activities, called Book Trust Home Time and it is full of fun for children and families i.e story times with free online books and videos, Games, Prizes, Book-themed quizzes, Draw along to learn to draw some of your favourite characters.

BookTrust: Getting children reading

Southampton Libraries

There are various local libraries within Southampton that offer a range of services including social activities, reading groups, help with homework. The city council website offers more information.

• Libraries
• Activities at your local library

Safe4Me

Hampshire Constabulary and partners have a comprehensive website, Safe4Me, with advice on topics such as sexting, knife crime, drugs with advice on how to talk to children and young people about specific issues and how to report concerns.

Safe4Me

Safe4Me also has a list of support services provided by the city council and partners conversing numerous topics: anti-social behaviour, family support, hate crime/ harassment, teenagers and young people.

Support Services

Childnet

Childnet offers support, advice and resources for families, parents and carers to help keep their children safe online.

Childnet

Directory of support services

For any young people interested in developing key skills through volunteering opportunities, various organisations offer this.

Volunteering and personal development