This echoes what we’ve heard from parents in our wards in Redcar & Cleveland. To support parents during this time, the family hubs have been hosting free activities for children across the borough. This included Beach Week – an opportunity for parents to bring their children to the beach for games, fun activities and lots of sea air. It might seem like a simple day out, but we heard from many of our parents that, despite living only a short distance from the beach, many had never been before.
So, we worked alongside the family hubs to ensure families in our wards would be able to access this opportunity, particularly focusing on how we could remove barriers our parents experience.
Removing barriers to increase participation at Beach Week:
➡️ Coaches from local, familiar pickup points
Many families don’t drive, and what would be a short car trip to the beach can turn into over an hour on public transport. We provided a free coach service collecting parents from familiar locations we knew they could access by foot, such as where they go for parent, baby and toddler groups.
➡️ Parent Connector support
Our Parent Connectors helped get the word out to parents at in the community, making sure parents had the information they needed and provided reassurance on any areas of anxiety. They were also there to offer practical help, support play, and make sure parents could enjoy themselves too.
➡️ Free packed lunches
The beach might be free, but the day isn’t. We recognised the financial pressure to buy expensive treats on the day, from fish and chips to the famous Redcar & Cleveland lemon-top ice cream. In addition to removing the cost of transport, we also provided free, nutritious packed lunches to all families.
“The journey made it feel like a holiday. The baby was clapping and laughing the whole way. It brought us together because we all made friends before we even got to the beach. Without that, I think it would’ve been harder to start chatting to the other families here.”
– Local parent
By listening to parents, working together with the community and bringing our additional capacity and resource, we were able to give parents and children time together in a new environment and the space to connect with each other in a fun, relaxed way. It also helped forge new connections, not just between families but with the wider support network of the family hub and partners in the area – something which could help ensure families have access to more opportunities like this more regularly.
“Me and my sister had so much fun jumping through the waves. I made new friends and got to play games with them.”
– Local child
