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Dear Sponsors and Guests,
I hope our newsletter finds you well and you enjoyed the May Day and King’s Coronation bank holidays. One more to come this month, which is Spring Bank Holiday on 29 May and not another until the end of August.
All these bank holidays got me thinking, why do we have them and when did they start?
Sir John Lubbock, a banker and politician created bank holidays in 1871 and for a while they were known as St Lubbock’s Day by the extremely grateful workforce.
Scotland has a special public holiday on St Andrew’s Day (30 November) and Northern Ireland has St Patrick’s Day (17 March). We do occasionally get an additional one-off bank holiday, like for the Coronation, and bank holidays do get moved every now and then like in 1995 when the early May bank holiday was moved from 1 May to 8 May to enable VE Day celebrations to be held.
In other news, the Council has approved an increase in 'thank you' payments for sponsors, and from June they will be increasing to £600 a month. Thank you for all your support and commitment to your guests, and if you know of anyone who might consider becoming a sponsor, please encourage them to call or email us and we would be happy to discuss the scheme further with no pressure or obligation.
Please do remember that you can contact the Ukraine Support Team either by calling 0300 300 8855 or emailing homesforukraine@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.
Mel Goult, Ukraine Support Team Manager
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News and updates
There is a support group running for Ukrainian families
CHUMS Trauma service supports children and young people aged 5-18 years old in Bedfordshire. The team of qualified clinicians use evidence-based therapies in working with children and young people.
CHUMS is now running a programme for families who have come to the UK to seek safety from the war in Ukraine. Children and young will be able to meet others with the same experiences, and give them an opportunity to explore and address difficult feelings resulting from the conflict in a safe and supportive space.
The programme will teaches young people about what happens to us when we experience stress or trauma, and what are the common emotional responses. Young people will be equipped with strategies to help them calm and regulate their feelings.
Parents and carers are also invited to participate in a group running alongside the Children and Young People’s programme, enabling a free and open safe space to talk about memories and challenges. The Parent and Carer group will also provide a space for people to learn about the effects of trauma and provide strategies to support their children during the transition period of settling into the UK.
The group will be held at venues across Central Bedfordshire in blocks of six weeks. Each session will be one hour after school, and drinks and refreshments will be provided.
For more information, please contact:
Polly Baddeley: polly.baddeley@chums.uk.com
Zoe Rebecca: zoe.rebecca@chums.uk.com
Adult learning and careers support with Central Bedfordshire Council
Bedfordshire Employment and Skills Academy (BESA, who are our learning provider) can support you to feel confident with numbers in everyday life. If you want to improve your numeracy skills in fun and sociable workshops, BESA can help!
BESA is delivering free Multiply workshops for adults* – whether you want to improve your number skills for work, you’re a parent wanting to support your child with maths, or you just want to feel less worried about day-to-day tasks involving numbers, there is a lot on offer to support you.
Here are some of their numeracy-related courses:
- courses covering key maths skills in bitesize chunks
- money skills workshops covering cost of living support, budgeting and saving; understanding borrowing and debt; and how to shop for less whilst still cooking from fresh
- creative workshops such as origami paper crafts and making macrame knot keyrings; building a bee hotel and making seed balls to plant in the garden; and brain teasers like bingo and board games for those who want to work on your maths skills through fun activities
[*free for adults 19+ living or working in Central Bedfordshire and Bedford Borough without a level 2 maths qualification (equal to UK GCSE grade C/4)].
BESA also delivers English courses to build confidence with written, spoken and reading skills – suitable for learners with a basic level of English.
And there is a dedicated team of National Careers Service Advisors available to help you get into work or learning too, providing support with CV writing, job searching and writing job applications, practising interview skills and planning career progression routes.
Contact BESA to find out how they can support you.
Community events
Drop-in sessions in Biggleswade
Our Ukraine Support Team are running drop-in sessions at Biggleswade Children's Centre every other fortnight from 9:30am until 12:30pm.
The team can sort out any enquiries there and then and have lots of other useful information available. You'll also be able to meet other guests, and are welcome to stay for a hot drink and a chat.
The next visits are:
- Tuesday 23 May
- Tuesday 6 June
- Tuesday 20 June
The address for Biggleswade Children’s Centre is: 137 Mead End, Biggleswade, SG18 8JU.
Don't forget about our website!
Don’t forget about our website! We have created a whole section which covers the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, initial support for guests, how to access financial support including Universal Credit, as well as information about education, training, how to set up a bank account, health and wellbeing. Most of our website can be translated into Ukrainian.
To find out more and see what information we have available, visit: www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/ukraine-sponsors.
Contacting the Ukraine Support Team
Telephone: 0300 300 8855
Email: homesforukraine@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk