Children’s Services 01634 334466
Revenues & Benefits 01634 332222
website:www.medway.gov.uk

Mumsnet is the UK’s busiest social network for parents.
website: www.mumsnet.com

Another UK based social network for parents
website: www.netmums.com/

Impartial information and support for both parents to make choices about child maintenance

website: www.autism.org.uk

We are Gingerbread.

We’re here to fight for single parents and their children.

We campaign against the injustices that single parents face every single day and we challenge the stigmas around being a single parent.

We provide expert advice and information to support all single parents so that they have the tools to support their children and themselves.

And, we provide a support network so that, with Gingerbread, no single parent is ever alone.

Together we can create a world where all single parents and their children don’t just survive, but thrive.

Click here for more information.

Foodbank

We don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry. That’s why we provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to us in crisis. We are part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.

Click here for more information.

NSPCC

We’re the UK’s leading children’s charity. We’ve been looking out for children for over 130 years – and we couldn’t do it without you.

Find out more about our structure, the way we operate and how we fight for every childhood.

The Princess Project

We help mums and their families to thrive by providing a holistic package of physical, emotional, social and spiritual support.

Becoming a mum is an amazing and awesome experience. It is all too easy, though, at this time of change and new beginnings, to feel lonely, isolated and inadequate.

At the Princess Project we aim to give a helping hand and a listening ear to mothers who are in need of a little extra support. Although there may well be services and help available, sometimes mums feel unable to access this for all sorts of reasons. We want to be able to help them to join in with any relevant activities wherever possible, and to provide one-to-one support, mentoring and friendship.

Click here to find out more information.

ERIC is the national charity dedicated to improving children’s bowel and bladder health. Our mission is to reduce the impact of continence problems on children and their families.

Click here for more information.

The Child Accident Prevention Trust is the only UK charity to focus on preventing death and serious injury to children from avoidable accidents. Our vision is a safer world for all our children.

We were set up 40 years ago by two consultant paediatricians who could not bear to keep treating the same injuries day after day; and who sometimes, despite their best efforts, had to give the news that no parent ever wants to hear. They knew that many of the deaths and life-changing injuries they were treating were needless and they became determined to prevent them.

We are still driven by that same passion to keep children safe.

Click here for more information.

Launched in May 2014 by our founding partners, BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media, Internet Matters understands the challenges parents and carers face in navigating the ever-changing digital landscape. ​

As fellow parents, we get it. We know how hard it is to stay on top of internet safety, so we offer the best advice and information available to help you engage in your child’s online life and manage the risks they may face online.​

Collaborating with industry leaders like Google, Samsung and Meta, along with experts, government and schools, we provide families with tools, tips and resources. Whether your child is taking their first steps online or you need guidance on a specific issue, our website has everything you need to make their online life fulfilling, fun and, above all, safe. Together, we’ve got this.

Click here for more information.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command, or CEOP Command, is a command of the UK’s National Crime Agency and is tasked to work both nationally and internationally to bring online child sex offenders, including those involved in the production, distribution and viewing of child abuse material, to the UK courts.

CEOP is made up of police officers with specialist experience of tracking and prosecuting sex offenders, working with people from organisations including the NSPCC and Childnet, Microsoft and AOL. Partnerships have been set up across non-government bodies, including: Action for Children, NSPCC, Barnardos; business (Microsoft, AOL, Serco, Vodafone etc.) and UK Government departments (Department for Education; Home Office; Foreign and Commonwealth Office etc.). CEOP works with organisations such as The Scout Association, the Football Association, the England and Wales Cricket Board, BT, and Lycos to widen the scope of its work.

Click here for more information.

Childline is here to help anyone under 19 in the UK with any issue they’re going through.

You can talk about anything. Whether it’s something big or small, our trained counsellors are here to support you.

Childline is free, confidential and available any time, day or night. You can talk to us:

• by calling 0800 1111
• by email
• through 1-2-1 counsellor chat

Whatever feels best for you.

 

Click here for more information.

The Breastfeeding Network (BfN) aims to be an independent source of support and information for breastfeeding women and others.

It aims to:

• Inform, educate and support families in feeding and nurturing babies and young children;
• Enable communities to support breastfeeding through sharing information, training and volunteering;
• Contribute to evidence based policymaking for government, healthcare providers and educators;
• Promote the mental and physical wellbeing of mothers and babies through supporting breastfeeding

Please click here for more information.

“To Mums, Dads and everyone in between, we’re here to help you at every step of your breastfeeding journey.”

 

Click here for more information. 

In May 2019 a group of parents decided to volunteer themselves to form a new Autistic group called Puzzles. Our purpose is to provide help to families supporting adults with Autism, people with a disability and those with a long-term health condition. We aim to bring families together to share experiences, meet others and spend social time with others who understand them. We want our members to be safe and feel comfortable. Based in Medway we deliver a range of weekly social, recreational and learning activities to adults with Autism, their family members and their friends to improve their physical health and mental well-being. We currently have seven trustees on the management committee with skills covering a range of areas including support work, working in a disabled school, networking with other charitable organisations and running support groups for adults with learning and behavioural disabilities and those suffering with long-term health conditions. Our Chair Paul Harper was awarded the MVA Barry Clout award for outstanding contribution to the volunteering sector and was chosen to be a baton bearer for the Commonwealth Games, while Puzzles received four other nominations in the Kent Charity Awards.

 

Click here for more information. 

The Government can help with free childcare if you claim certain benefits or potentially if you are working. 

Click here for more information.