We are an independent impartial support network.
Some of our services include:
Practical support Advocacy Mediation Guidance Outreach Service
Education Therapy Forum Events Inclusion activities
Community Resources Drop-in Surgeries Raising Awareness.
Social Fund Training
Telephone Helplines
Volunteer Opportunities
We are proud to have been “ nominated for The Queens Award for voluntary services"
Following over a 30 years of outstanding delivery of services, we have been recognised for this prestige and unique award.
We were independently of the charity nominated by non-partisan people and services of: Young people - Families -Carer's - Voluntary organisations - Statutory services also other representatives.
We are immensely proud to have met the rigorous criteria that following an index audit by the Queens award deputies that concluded our outstanding continuity and excellent consistent service delivery
The cost of living crisis
The cost of living crisis refers to the fall in real disposable incomes that the UK has experienced since late 2021.
The government has responded to the crisis with several packages of support throughout this and last year. The latest updates on support were announced in the Spring Budget, including an extension of the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), however, the recent fall in the energy price cap means this support will now end.
Despite extensive government support, household incomes are not keeping up with living costs and are not expected to return to 2021 levels in real terms until 2027.
Some households face a higher effective inflation rate because they spend a higher share of their income on energy and food, the prices of which are increasing fastest. On average, poorer households spend more of their income on these essentials.
The government is providing additional support to those on lower incomes through direct payments but the expected decline in real household incomes means poor households will continue to face hardships. For example, the Joseph Roundtree Foundation has reported that 75% of the bottom 20% of low-income households in the UK (4.3 million) have gone without essentials.
Overall, the worst-affected households are those on low incomes with higher-than-average energy bills (for example if they have a large family). While these households have received additional payments from government, these are not sufficient to match the increase in energy and other costs.
In May 2022, the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) surveyed 101 of its organisations representing 194 independent food banks across 94 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. 93% of organisations reported an increase or significant increase in the need for their services since the start of 2022. 95% of organisations reporting increases said it was due to the cost-of-living crisis
Close to 3 million emergency food parcels were distributed by food banks in the Trussell Trust network in the past 12 months — the most parcels ever distributed by the network in a year.
Sainsbury's has also confirmed that it'll be offering kids free hot meals or a lunch bag over half-term.
Parents will just need to purchase any of the adult main meals for £5.20.
The offer is available in all Sainsbury's cafes between February 13 and February 24.
Asda has confirmed it will be running its popular £1 kid's meal scheme throughout the summer holidays across all of its 205 cafes.
The deal will run until the end of the year.
Morrisons supermarket alongside Warburtons are rolling out an initiative called Ask for Ellen, if you visit your local morrisons you can Ask for Ellen and you will be provided with two crumpets Jam and Butter No questions asked.
This offer is currently running from 17th of July till the 13th of August Nationwide.
The Tesco is offering its 'kids eat free' deal to help parents with the cost of feeding from now until the beginning of term.
The ever-popular offer means that when a paying adult presents their Clubcard and spends as little as 60p in one of 310 Tesco cafes across the UK, they will get a free kids meal.
The deal will run on weekdays from July 24 to September 1 in England and Wales, from now to September 1 in Northern Ireland.
And in Scotland, the offer will run from now until August 11.
Food banks in the UK are run by charities. To get a food bank voucher, you need to visit a referral agency, such as Citizens Advice, children’s centres, or health visitors. The agency will take some details from you to complete the voucher, which will help them to identify the cause of your crisis and offer practical guidance.
Citizens Advice
Adviceline (England): 0800 144 8848 Adviceline (Wales): 0800 702 2020
Carer's Assessments
Anyone who needs care and support can have a needs assessment. It doesn’t matter how simple or complex their needs are, or what their income or savings are. Anyone aged 18 and above, who appears to have a need for care or support can have a needs assessment, regardless of the level of those needs or the person’s financial resources.
Even if you as the carer are providing all the care the person needs, they are still entitled to an assessment.
Remember that carers can be eligible for a needs assessment too. If you think you could do with extra help and support, you can request a needs assessment for yourself too. You can have this as well as a carer’s assessment.
How do I get a needs assessment for the person I look after?
Anyone can request a needs assessment for another person. The Social Services department of the local council or trust has a legal duty to carry out a needs assessment once they become aware of the person’s potential needs.
The process will differ depending on where you live so download our country specific factsheets about assessments to find out more.
Contact the local council or trust of the person you look after. Tell them you help someone who needs care and support and ask for a needs assessment for them.
If someone needs urgent support, the local council or trust can provide services before an assessment has been carried out. In this case, they will carry out a full assessment as soon as possible to make sure the right support has been put in place.
You can find contact details for your local council on GOV.UK. In Northern Ireland, you can find your trust at NI Direct.
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More information on needs assessments
How will the needs assessment be carried out?
How will the assessor decide whether someone is eligible for support?
What happens after the assessment?
What help might the person I look after get?
How much will the person I look after have to pay?
The local council or trust will carry out a financial assessment (or means test) for the person you care for. This will look at their income and capital and work out whether they need to contribute towards the cost of their care.
The council or trust can’t charge anyone else for their care, including you or anyone the cared for person lives with.
What if I’m not happy with the outcome or service?
If you, or the person you are looking after, are having issues with the local council/trust, the NHS or a care service, you or they could look into making a complaint to try and resolve these issues.
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Other assessments
It may be helpful to know about other assessments that are available to help provide support.
If you’re under 18 and help to look after a relative with an illness or disability, then you’re a young carer. It’s important that you decide how much and what type of care you want to give, and whether you want to be a carer at all.
You shouldn’t be doing the same things as adult carers or spending most of your time caring for someone else. Disabled adults are entitled to support from their local council or trust, so it’s important they have their own needs assessment to find out what help they can get.
As a young carer, your carer’s assessment will be different to the one adult carers have. It will look at the help you and your family need. It can also decide whether it’s appropriate for you to be a carer, and whether you want to continue in your caring role.
The assessor must look at your education, training and leisure opportunities, and thoughts about the future. They should involve you, your parents and anyone else you want to include. You should get a written record of the assessment including whether the council thinks you need support and whether they’ll provide it.
If you’re 16 or over and not in full-time education, you may be eligible for help finding work and benefits such as Carer’s Allowance.
If you care for a child who is under 18
If you’re a parent who cares for a disabled child, you’re entitled to a parent carer’s need assessment. It’s your chance to talk about the things that could make looking after your child easier. You may get services or direct payments to meet your assessed needs.
If your local council or trust thinks you may need support as a carer, then it must offer you an assessment. If it doesn’t, you can request one.
The assessment must take in account:
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whether you have needs for support, and what those needs are
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how much support you’re giving your child and whether you’re willing or able to give the same level of support in future. It’s important to be realistic about what you can do
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your wellbeing
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the need to safeguard the child being cared for, and any other children you have responsibility for.
This assessment can be combined with one for your disabled child, if you wish, and carried out by the same person.
If you care for a disabled child but you’re not their parent - for example, if you’re their grandparent - you don’t have the right to a parent carer’s need assessment. However, you can still request a carer’s assessment to find out what help you may be entitled to.
What is a carer’s assessment and how does it differ from a needs assessment?
A carer’s assessment is specific for adult carers who are 18 or older and is separate from a needs assessment. It is an opportunity for you to put forward what additional support you might need to make your life easier as a carer. This could be anything from help with taxi fares to hospital appointments, to temporary care cover put in place so that you can have a break every so often. For more information, see ‘What is a carer’s assessment?’
The Trustees and Volunteers have also been awarded Level 1 POQSSO Quality Mark's. This is a Quality Assurance system, it sets out a charities professionalism demonstrating that we have in place stable outstanding governance practices financial risk management procedures and a robust system for measuring outcomes.
This Means By achieving the PSQSSO Level 1 mark the SENFSG have successfully demonstrated qualities suchs as:
sound governance-leadership and management-well planned user centred services which are monitored well.
Robust financial procedures
Working well within our team as well as with other organisations. Focusing on learning and development.
