We have listed below links to local, regional and national
websites/resources that may be beneficial to your organisation.

Click on the red titles to be taken to the appropriate website or document....

Local

Bedford Borough Family Information Service
Provides free and confidential information and advice to help parents, carers, children, young people and professionals working with families find the services they need.

Bedfordshire Children's Information Service
Information relating to Child Care & other Child related issues in the county.

Bedfordshire Family Support Directory
A directory of up to date information on a range of local and national services and organisations for children, young people and their families.

Health Schools Bedfordshire
The Healthy Schools Bedfordshire website is an essential guide to emotional health and wellbeing for children and young people. The purpose of this guide is to provide information, help and resources on emotional wellbeing for those who come into contact with children and young people.

Bedford Borough Parent Partnership
A free, confidential support service for parents and carers of children with special educational needs.

13-19 Central
13-19 has been developed by Central Bedfordshire Council to help anyone aged between 13 and 19 make a positive contribution to their community. The site will be packed full of information about events and activities across the area and has lots of additional information on learning, working and living in your local area.

Central Bedfordshire Family Youth Information Service
Provides a 24/7 service via telephone, face to face, online via the ‘Family Information' directory and at information points including Sure Start Children's Centres. The service also provides a one stop shop for information on childcare, financial support for parents and carers, working parent rights, activities for children and young people. CAF forms, documention and processes in relation to CAF can also now be found on the website.

Emmott Snell & Co Solicitors
Lawyers specialising in child abuse compensation claims based in Bedfordshire.

Extended Schools in Bedford Borough
Extended Services aims to help meet the wider needs of children, young people, families & their community based around the principles of Every Child Matters. Click here for more information on the Bedford Borough Learning Exchange.

Families United Network
Families United Network have released a film about the work that they do and it is available for viewing here.

Family Voice
Family voice has been formed to help parents and families, who have children with additional needs, to help shape the future of services in Bedfordshire. Their website has recently been re-designed and is available to be viewed in a number of different languages.

Home Start Bedford Borough
Home-Start Bedford Borough supports parents with at least one child under 5 who are dealing with issues such as isolation, sickness and disability.

VoluntaryWorks
A gateway to local VCS infrastructure organisations providing a wide range of support services across Bedfordshire & Luton. Includes links to:

• Community and Voluntary Service
• Voluntary Action Luton
• Bedford Race Equality Council
• Voluntary and Community Action
• Volunteer Centre Bedford
• Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity

Regional & National

Children Matter East
Operates through regular meetings, conferences and newsletters for the purposes of networking, information exchange and development support.

Childrens Workforce Development Council
CWDC have recently updated the 'CWDC and the voluntary and community sector' on their website. Please visit to find out more.

Department for Children, Schools and Families
News, Information and 'Hot Topics' regarding children, young people and families.

Info4Local
Get quick and easy access to the information you need from central government departments, agencies and public bodies.

National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service
Providing networking opportunities, specialist advice, support, policy information and training.

National Children’s Bureau
NCB provides essential information on policy, research and best practice.

National Council for Voluntary Youth Service
NCVYS is the independent voice of the voluntary youth sector in England.

National Family & Parenting Institute
NFPI researches what matters to families and parents and develop ideas to improve the services families use and the environment in which children grow up.

Parentline Plus
Thursday 20 January will mark the start of an exciting new phase for Parentline Plus as it becomes Family Lives. As part of this activity, they are launching a brand new website. As their registered charity name has always been Family Lives, they've decided to go back to it, as they feel it’s a better reflection of the wide range of services that are offerered to children, families and professionals. All the services currently offered will remain, including the FREE 24/7 helpline.

Play England
The new Play England website has been redesigned to make it quicker and easier for visitors to find resources on children's play and find out about how to get involved to help create better community play spaces for everyone.

Public Law Advice Project
The Public Law Project Advice Line provides free detailed legal advice to voluntary and community organisations on disputes involving public bodies' decisions and failures.

Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) Helpline
The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) has launched a freephone number 0808 802 9999 for their helpline service together with extended opening hours of 12-14.30pm and 19.00-21.30pm every day of the year including weekends and bank holidays.

Stalking Helpline
The National Stalking Helpline provides practical advice and information to anybody who is currently or has previously been affected by harassment or stalking. The telephone number is 0300 636 0300 and is open weekdays from 9.00am to 4.00pm (except Wednesday 1.00pm-4.00pm).

Strengthening Families 10-14
The Strengthening Families programme is there for all families with young people aged between 10 and 14 years of age to help prepare them for their teenage years. This 7 week evidence-based programme is aimed at reducing alcohol and drug use, behavioural problems in adolescence and strengthening the parent/carer child relationship.

Teacher Net
Although education based, there are useful summaries of latest ECM developments.

Together for Children
Committed to supporting the provision of quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all learners and their communities through the provision of leadership advice, support and technology in the UK and overseas.

Triple P
The Positive Parenting Programme works for many different families, in many different circumstances, with many different problems, in many different places. Visit the website for more information.

Understanding Individual Needs
Information for the parents of children and young people with learning disabilities.

VCS Jargon Buster
A useful website to help you find a variety of acronyms and abbreviations.