B&Q Tamworth

Willows Primary Academy is a large primary school in the north of Lichfield. We pride ourselves on being a very successful school. Staff enjoy working here and children enjoy learning here. It all goes towards providing children with a caring and secure environment. Children are given a wide range of opportunities at The Willows Academy. A considerable number (currently about 50%) of our pupils are in receipt of Pupil Premium funding. This is used to support and enhance these children in their learning. An important part of this is enrichment and providing our Pupil premium pupils with extra opportunities. We strive to ensure that none of our children are hungry. We provide breakfast for children that have not had any before arriving at school. We also provide a mid-morning snack of toast or fruit for any child that is hungry during the school day. We provide food support for families that need help with having sufficient food supplies. Our full-time Family Support Worker supports families in times of need to access our Local Food Bank. We run a free after-school cooking club to educate children in the cooking of healthy and wholesome foods.

Our homes provide safe accommodation for young mums and mums to be to live independently with 24 hour support. We nurture young parents in life skills to build confidence in themselves to achieve emotional, practical and financial security for life. We support them in parenting, healthy relationships, home care and self care, education and training, budgeting and finance. We provide cooking sessions and how to cook for themselves and their babies using fresh ingredients on a budget without relying on convenience foods and take outs. The girls come to us with very little, we provide new bedding and essential personal items so any shower gel, shampoo, face wipes double bedding, (they have double beds because pregnant girls don't fit in singles) duvets and pillows are always useful. The homes are well furnished but obviously soft furnishings and rugs need replacing quite frequently with 12 babies living with us. The girls are responsible for all the cleaning on a rota basis and do their own laundry, any items to help with this will always be useful. We have tutors who teach English and Maths to enable the young mums to gain basic qualification to go to college or into employment, Knit and natter sessions take place with a volunteer who actively listens to the girls, taking an interest in them as people and not just mums. We have budgeting sessions where we not only discuss essentials such as rent and utilities, we compare prices across baby basic I.e nappies, cot bedding, clothing, to help a low income stretch further. Any baby equipment, nappies etc. would be well utilized. We also remember that the young mums require a treat sometimes so we organize a pamper night where we provide basics such as face packs, nail varnish, bubble bath and they have a girlie evening. We have a large walled garden which we encourage the girls to take care of so that they can enjoy summer evenings, any gardening equipment, plants, bark etc. would be fantastic. You would be very welcome to come along for a visit, our young mums enjoy showing visitors the positive side of the situation they are in.

Lichfield Family Hub is the central hub for delivering services for 0-19 years and up to 25 with SEN throughout the Lichfield and Burntwood District. Our aim is to improve outcomes for young children and their families with a particular focus on the most disadvantaged families, in order to reduce inequalities and improve children's outcomes. We deliver various sessions at the centre and within the local community to ensure families feel supported by professionals and members of their own community. The aim of these groups is to ensure young children get the best start in life and that their families are supported to help them achieve this. Family Hubs in Staffordshire are designed to serve the local community and ensure families have a single point of access to services. We have a range of community run groups that support families in the community such as, grandparents, children with additional needs, stay and plays, child-minders, parenting programmes, twins, breastfeeding, weigh in clinics, youth groups, mental health support etc..... we are hoping to support these children and their families by offering refreshments which introduce healthy food options to them. The aim of this is to educate and support families to make healthy choices for their children and instilling an ethos of good eating equals healthy lifestyles. We also wish to support those families that are at risk throughout the school holidays who may fall victim to holiday hunger by offering a lunch prepared by our supportive volunteers. This may also lead into identifying additional support we can offer to these families to improve their circumstances and ultimate outcomes.