For Children and Families

Fledglings provides a domestic abuse recovery service for the non-abusing parents/carers and children and young people (CYP), from the age of 5, who have been exposed to domestic violence. As we are a recovery service, we are only able to work with children and non-abusing parent post-separation, and where the risk from any ongoing abuse is managed or mitigated.

We aim to promote and support recovery for children through:

• Group work; delivering an accredited programme to help children with processing and regulating emotions, confidence, self-esteem, managing anger/anxiety, communication, and safety planning.
• 1:1 support for children who may need additional support.

We aim to promote and support recovery for parents/carers through:

• Group work; delivering an accredited parenting programme that mirrors and runs in parallel to a children’s group, to help understand how domestic abuse impacts parenting, and understand the impact of trauma on children and young people with techniques to help manage and adapt to their behaviour.
• 1:1 support for parents/carers in exceptional circumstances.

We know that abuse does continue post-separation, commonly occurring within child contact and handovers. Families experiencing this can receive additional support from Fledglings as we offer child safety skill sessions.

A key piece of work that our team delivers is working closely with other agencies involved with the family, e.g. Early Help Family Support and Social Care. This is achieved by attending relevant meetings, liaising with professionals, and advocating on behalf of the child’s wishes and feelings, as well as the impact domestic abuse has had on the whole family.

How to refer to Fledglings:

Parents/carers: Self-referrals are accepted. To self-refer, you can fill in an online form here or please call Fledglings on 01702 302 333, and a self-referral will be completed over the phone.

When a referral is received, we will confirm receipt of referral. We will then contact the parent/carer to arrange an Initial Assessment (I.A). During the I.A, our staff will assess what support will be best for the family and agree on a support plan, including referrals to other services if need be. We will liaise with relevant involved agencies so that all professionals can help support the family.