This can be said for many other charities, as it is easy to focus on all the wonderful things that are done to help those who benefit from the work done. We certainly don't want to stop telling you about the great events and programmes that we are putting on throughout the year. However, what we wanted to do this time is to remind everyone about the issues that we are trying hard to tackle and to highlight why With Kids is a much needed charity.
What we do
We are based in the east-end of Glasgow, one of the most disadvantaged areas of Scotland. The area is characterised by high levels of crime, mental and physical ill-heath, drug and alcohol abuse, family breakdown, long term unemployment and deprivation.
We provide a unique service designed to help the most vulnerable children and families develop the resources and resilience to overcome the difficulties they face not just in the short-term but hopefully into their adult life.
We do this by providing a range of individual, social and practical support including, play therapy, counselling and group support. We currently work in 12 primary/nursery schools in the east-end of Glasgow and in our base in Dennistoun and we have recently set up a second base at in Wester Hailes in Edinburgh. We are delighted to announce that Inspiring Scotland have provided funding for a one year pilot of With Kids to be set up in Edinburgh, meaning we can reach even more families that need our services. in the Whale Art Centre, in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh.
The Children we work with
The children we work with have all experienced significant difficulties in their early years including, extreme violence, drug/alcohol misuse, chaotic parenting, family breakdown, worklessness, poverty, ill health, etc. All of this is extremely damaging for children and has a long term impact on their life chances. The difficulties experienced by children living in these circumstances are reflected in the increasing numbers of children who are experiencing emotional and behaviour problems at nursery and primary school. At the moment in Glasgow we work with 154 children on an individual basis.
As part of our work to support children we also work with their parents to help them better understand their children’s needs and concerns. Support through group activities is also provided to a further 220 children. In addition to the direct work with children we also work with over 100 parents/carers offering practical, mentoring, and group work support.
Our work is based on the belief that early intervention in a child's life can build the skills, self-esteem and resilience to help them fulfil their potential in adult life. However in the short-term our input has achieved excellent outcomes in helping children, re-integrate back into mainstream education, improved concentration, increased participation in classroom learning, improved learning outcomes and less disruption. Our work has been independently evaluated by Blake Stevenson Consultants which confirmed the positive impact of our work on children’s emotional and social wellbeing.
What our programme aims to achieve
Our programme aims to bring even the most troubled children back in touch with their instinct to free play; to explore spontaneously, alone or with others; to express good and bad feelings; to use toys and themselves creatively. Our non directive approach is based on the belief that with support children contain within themselves both the ability to solve their own problems and the instinct to grow which makes mature behaviour more satisfying than immature behaviour.
However changes in a child's ability to cope must be supported by relevant people in their, family, school and community. It is this holistic approach which we believe is the best way to meet the, practical, social, emotional and cognitive needs of vulnerable and troubled children.
We would like to hear from you and if you have any comment or feedback please let us know.
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