Child and family health services

Sure Start Childrens Centres offer a wide variety of health services and support for Newham's families with children under 5.

Advice, information and support are provided to help families understand and improve their child's health and developmental needs. In addition to centre based services home visits are provided by all the health teams and range from a new birth visit by your local health visiting team, to specialist family therapy provided by the child and family consultation team.

Nutrition services

The nutrition team promote healthy eating and provide parents with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide a healthy diet for all family members.

Their approach is wide-ranging and includes: group sessions for parents-to-be and parents/carers on topics including nutrition for healthy families, during pregnancy, weaning groups; cook and eat courses, introducing such skills as how to cook affordable healthy foods and understanding nutrition labels; nutrition drop-in sessions, where parents/carers can get one-to one advice, including where needed a home visit; specialised groups for children and their parents/carers to encourage healthy eating habits early in a child's life.

The team also work with childcare settings and deliver the Healthy Eating Awards Scheme. The scheme provides an accreditation award to settings that provide nutritious and varied food for children ensuring that they meet childrens social, cultural and educational needs.

Child and Family Consultation services

The aim of the team is to promote and strengthen emotional health and wellbeing, supporting families when issues arise and prevent such issues continuing into later life.

The team provide support to front line staff working with children and families and focus on working with children where emotional and behavioural issues are present and issues affecting parents and parenting.

The team also support front line staff who deliver a series of workshops covering topics on supporting your child's; sleep; behaviour, toilet training and fussy eating.

Midwifery services

Childrens centres provide an enhanced midwifery service to pregnant women, new mums and their families.

The team deliver their support in the home and through groups and services such as; antenatal classes for women and their birth partners; antenatal and postnatal drop in support groups from any stage of pregnancy up to six months post birth.

The groups provide support and an opportunity to discuss your pregnancy and child and make new friendships. The team also provides breastfeeding support groups that offer advice on all aspects of breastfeeding, these group are open to all women who are thinking of breastfeeding and those who are breastfeeding and would like additional support.

There are four NHS Newham community midwifery teams based across the borough with three based in childrens centres and the fourth a short walk from a children centre and outreach venue. This team provides clinical services to women including free pregnancy testing.

You can book your pregnancy with your midwife or be given advice on what to do before pregnancy, during pregnancy or after the birth of your baby.

Speech and language support services

Childrens centres promote speech and language development in children under five. If you have any concerns about your child's speech development you can attend a Chatterbox drop in session.

The team also support the Every Child a Talker programme which supports childcare settings in developing the skills of practitioners and parents to support childrens communication, language and learning and ensure early identification of children with language difficulties

Health visiting services

Health visitors provide universal and specialist support to all families in Newham with children up to the age of 5.

Services are delivered to all families at key stages in a child's life, these include; new birth visits; support and information on local services for under 5's; developmental checks; child health advisory clinics where your baby's weight will be recorded and you can seek information and advice; health promotion information advice, this can be delivered alongside other services such as toddler groups.

Support for parents

Working with midwives, health visitors, GPs and others who have contact with parents before and after birth, this team provide support for parents and parents to be where emotional issues are present during pregnancy and in the first year after birth. They can also support parents of children where the parents have psychological issues that affect their parenting.

For further information please email customer.services@newham.gov.uk or call 020 8430 2000.