The School holidays can be tough on parents
15 August 2023
Despite the romantic promise, the school holidays can be tough on parents. Whether you’re juggling the balance of work and childcare, stretching an already stretched budget, struggling to feed your kids something healthy or worrying about your child’s wellbeing.
We’ve put together some information to help over the coming weeks.
- If you’re worrying about the cost of school uniform, we’ve compiled a handy list of where you can pick up second hand uniform for Herefordshire schools.
- Lots of big businesses are doing their bit and offering free or cheap meals for children throughout the holidays, you can check out a list of some of them here. Local eatery the Beefy Boys have their own special offer, as do the Living Room.
- There’s also some local places offering cooking activities, such as the FREE Cost Cutting Cookery Course at the Living room where you learn to make a dish and get to eat it afterwards and Kids Kitchen are popping up Leominster. Look out for a community lunch near you, make new friends and enjoy a delicious meal together!
- Keep your eyes peeled for your local food share or community larder they do great work reducing food waste and helping people save money and unlike foodbanks don’t require a referral.
- Are you getting all of the financial support that you are entitled to? The Money on your mind section of our website has lots of useful resources including links to the BetterOff tool and signposting to support available.
- If you are a Herefordshire resident needing emergency support you may be eligible for help through the local welfare provision scheme, or if you’re struggling to pay for food or energy bills you can apply for financial support through the Household Support Fund.
- Keep your eyes peeled on our What’s on pages for free events, to help keep the family entertained during the holidays – from WILDPLAY sessions throughout the summer, the SUMMER SAFARI trail in Leominster and Ross, Hereford Dino Days, and a Kids Colouring competition at Midlands Air Ambulance Hub
- In addition to our events calendar, the Talk Community team have put together a list of summer holiday activities taking place across the county throughout the holidays.
- We have also put together a FREE Kids Activity Pack available to download on the Talk Community Directory.
- If you are feeling stressed and need some support , there are some useful contacts on the Adult mental health and wellbeing page.
- If home doesn’t feel like a safe place, find out about how to get support here.
- The Solihull Approach are encouraging parents to take an emotional heath check. Their courses are free to Herefordshire residents and support parents, grandparents and carers.
- If you’re finding family life difficult to manage, or you just need a listening ear the CHAT team offer support, advice and guidance for families and young people on a wide range of topics.
- There’s information and signposting to support on Children and young people’s mental health here.
- Parents and carers can access expert advice about common childhood illnesses and how to treat them via a mobile app called HANDi app. It’s free and can be downloaded to any Apple or Android smartphone or tablet.
- Get Safe Online have put together some useful tips to help keep kids safe online.
- If you’re looking for some tasty healthy meals to make that won’t break the bank, visit our Cooking at Home page to find out how to make goujons, biryani, cheesecake and more!