Children's Centre Services

A Children’s Centre is a place, or group of places, where local families with young children can go and enjoy facilities and receive support that they need. Sometimes support may be offered in the home.

The facilities and activities are designed especially for parents expecting a baby, or those with a child under 5 years old.

The staff are fully trained to deal with individual needs a child might have, and work with many partners to ensure they can support families in whatever area they need.

All of our Children’s Centres are open and our teams are working with families who need support.

Healthy Start Vitamins are available to collect from Children's Centres.

Open these leaflets to find out about some of the help and support you can get from our Children's Centre Service.

What do the Children's Centre Service offer?

Children's Centres have a range of services for families with children aged 0-5 years old who live in Nottinghamshire. Some of these are at our purpose built centres, but many take place in community venues, parks and in the home.

Children's Centre service staff have expertise in family support, developing parenting skills, promoting health and wellbeing, early years development, community development, communication and language and supporting adults back to work. Children's Centres work with partner agencies to ensure they support families in whatever area they need.

Each Children's Centre Services team has its own programme of weekly activities, home visit appointments and other services which vary according to the needs of their local area. To find out more about Children's Centre Service and the support they can offer you in your local area please click on the following link: Children's Centre Services

For Families

Qualified Children’s Centre workers offer one-to-one or group support with:

preparing for a baby
children’s development, including listening and communication
playing with your child
the emotional health of you or your child
children’s behaviour
feeding your child
increasing your confidence to help you get a job
domestic abuse (in partnership with Women’s Aid services)

Click on the link below to see the list of workshops and one to one sessions you can book on: Our services | Nottinghamshire County Council

If you would like to access the Children’s Centre Service please talk to your local Children’s Centre Service Team or complete the Request for Service form. Once you have completed the form, you can drop it off at your local Children’s Centre or email it to us using the email address for the district you live in.

Ashfield: CC.Ashfield@nottscc.gov.uk

Bassetlaw: CC.Bassetlaw@nottscc.gov.uk

Broxtowe: CC.Broxtowe@nottscc.gov.uk

Gedling: CC.Gedling@nottscc.gov.uk

Mansfield: CC.Mansfield@nottscc.gov.uk

Newark & Sherwood: CC.NewarkandSherwood@nottscc.gov.uk

Rushcliffe: CC.Rushcliffe@nottscc.gov.uk

For Professionals/Practitioners

If you are a professional who would like to refer a family you work with for support from the Children’s Centre Service, please complete the online referral form

The Children's Centre Interventions Guide for Referring Agencies [PDF] describes most of the targeted services and interventions offered by the Children's Centre Service.

Nottinghamshire PHEW (Parents Health & Emotional Wellbeing) Groups

In the Children’s Centre Service we know that being a new parent is a wonderful but sometimes difficult time. Our PHEW groups – which stands for Parents Health and Emotional Wellbeing - are designed to help with this.

Children’s Centres across Nottinghamshire run these groups and you can refer yourself to them.

For more information, take a look at Nottinghamshire PHEW (Parents Health & Emotional Wellbeing) Groups

Children Centre Services Timetables

Click on the links to open up the timetables for each districts:

Ashfield Timetables

Bassetlaw Timetables

Broxtowe Timetables

Gedling Timetables

Mansfield Timetables

Newark and Sherwood Timetables

Rushcliffe Timetables

Children Centre Holiday Activities

Please click on the timetable for your areas to see what Special Events and Holiday activities:

Broxtowe holiday timetable

Open the timetable to find out more

Newark and Sherwood holiday timetable

Open the timetable to find out more

South East Mansfieldholiday timetable

Open the timetable to find out more

South East Mansfieldholiday timetable

Open the timetable to find out more

Find your local Children's Centre

Click on your local Children's Centre to go to their page:

Ashfield:

Bassetlaw:

Broxtowe:

Gedling:

Mansfield:

Newark &Sherwood:

Rushcliffe:

BABES Breastfeeding support groups

Our Baby and Breastfeeding Encouragement and Support groups (known as BABES groups) offer a welcoming atmosphere for all mums who breastfeed, and mums-to-be who are thinking about breastfeeding, offering tips and practical ways of helping you and your baby enjoy and sustain your breastfeeding experience.

Find your nearest BABES Group

In this video from Manton Children's Centre in Worksop, you can hear from organisers and users of the BABES breastfeeding support group about what benefits the group can offer new mums.

Children’s Centre Service Volunteering

Volunteering can be a great way to gain experience and get yourself into/back into work It can help you to add skills to your CV as well as improving your own well-being. You can achieve goals, discover new talents and interest.

Volunteering can be challenging but it can give you a sense of pride and well being that you are doing something supportive, and giving back to your local community.

For more information on Volunteering click the leaflet or go to the Children Centre Services website

Breastfeeding Peer Support Volunteering

Listen to Emily, one of the Children’s Centre Service Breastfeeding Peer Support Volunteers, talking about what volunteering means to her.

Jasmin has undertaken the Peer Support Volunteer training course

Jamie has undertaken the Peer Support Volunteer training course

Volunteering Journey

Community Development Worker Karen talks about her volunteering journey that lead to her job in Children's Centre Services

Volunteering at Children's Centres

Here’s what two of our Children’s Centre Volunteers, Hayley and Jessica have to say about volunteering:

How did you get into volunteering at the Children’s Centre?

Hayley:

I was already familiar with the Children’s Centre because of having my daughter, who is now 3. I had attended the BABEs group, came here for the Healthy Start Vitamins; I was also aware of the courses that the Children Centre ran. Currently I’m a stay-at-home mum and we were out at a park one day when I got chatting to another mum who was wearing a green NCC lanyard and I asked what she did. She told me that she was volunteering at the BABEs group and I was like “wow, so glad I’ve bumped into you, can we have a chat?” She went on to tell me all about volunteering, how I could just phone the Children’s Centre and speak to the staff there, offer to volunteer and support other mums at the groups. Meeting this mum came at a real turning point for me as I felt a bit stuck in what I wanted to do; I was not really sure after having my daughter, I didn’t want to go back to my old career, but I wasn’t sure how I wanted to move forward.

The volunteering has really helped get my brain working again, everyone is so lovely; I support at the breast-feeding course and then at the Stay and Play. Once my little girl starts school, I will be looking into doing other courses that I can do and just see where that leads me. I have a very supportive partner and it was fantastic to be able spend time as a mum and be with our daughter, but there comes a point where you can lose yourself, I was starting to feel a bit confused. I wanted to be with her, but I wanted a bit of ‘me’ back. Volunteering has just helped me mentally to put a smile back on my face, feeling like I have something else I am part of, giving something back to other mums.

I can totally relate to other mums experiences with having my own daughter, there have been times when you think ‘oh is that behaviour normal, should she do that’ and coming to the groups really helps because you can discuss things and you realise you are not the only one. It can be very lonely being a mum at home and coming to the Children’s Centres can really help you feel supported and listened too.

I would 100% recommend volunteering. The staff are so lovely and are brilliant. After I have been here, I walk out and think ‘they are so kind and lovely to me’ I feel so thanked, they are always happy to see me, and they are always saying ‘thank you for being here’. They make me feel so valued and wanted, for me, as an individual and what I can offer once my daughter goes to school, I can hopefully offer a bit more.

How did you get into volunteering at the Children’s Centre?

Jessica:

I used to work at a Nursery and then I went through a bit of a rough patch with my mental health, so I had to leave and take a step back, but I had always wanted to get back into Nursery work. I spoke with my support worker who works with the Nottinghamshire County Council and she looked into volunteering at the Children’s Centres. We spoke with the staff here at Bingham and the opportunity of volunteering was a really good option for me. I am hoping that through volunteering my confidence will come out and since being here for the last couple of months I have already noticed the change in myself, and this is hopefully going to help me get back into work and back to what I want to do.

Volunteering has really helped me because after I’d left my job, I would sit at home doing nothing because I felt like I couldn’t do anything. But since coming here, it has got me out of the house again, volunteering makes me happy because I have supported parents, I have done something for the day, and it really does make me feel positive and has helped me a lot.

I would definitely recommend volunteering to anyone because it has helped me massively and it is going to help me get back into what I want to do for my career.

Jasmin is an Early Years Volunteer

Quotes from Children's Centre Service Volunteers May 2023

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To see more quotes of how being a volunteer with the Children's Centre Service has enriched their lives click here Children's Centre Services quotes on being a volunteer.

What’s a Family Hub Network?

What’s a Family Hub Network?

Family Hubs are a “front door” for families, offering a “one stop shop” of family support from pregnancy, through the child’s early years, later childhood and into young adulthood, up to the age of 19 (or up to 25 for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).

Each Family Hub Network is unique to the local community it serves and aims to make a positive difference to parents, carers and their children through a mix of physical and virtual spaces, as well as support in family homes, where families can easily access non-judgmental information, advice and support.

All Family Hubs must have a Best Start in Life offer for parents and babies: Giving Children the Best Start in Life | Nottinghamshire County Council

Notts Help Yourself is the “Virtual Family Hub” – giving parents/carers and the professionals who work with them easy access to lots of useful information, advice and guidance.

For more information on Family Hubs please see:

Family Hub Networks in Nottinghamshire - Information for Families | Nottinghamshire County Council

Family Hub Networks in Nottinghamshire - Information for Professionals | Nottinghamshire County Council

Nottingham City Children Centres