Children's Group

What is the Children's Group?
The Children's Group is a programme that provides children with the opportunity to process and understand the violence and the abuse of power and control that they have witnessed.

The group helps children:

	To identify and express emotions surrounding violence, seperation, shame, guilt and/or loss
	To learn to recognise their feelings and understand that their feelings are very important
	To be given opportunities to deal with their feelings constructively
	To dispel the destructive myths regarding violence and gender stereotyping
	To discuss power and control in relationships
	To learn new ways of solving problems
	To enhance self-esteem

The groups guidelines help creat a safe, confidential (subject to the Children's Act) and predictable environment for children to talk about their experiences and deal with their feelings. Safety planning in the event of further violence helps children make safe choices for personal protection.

How long is the programme?
The programme lasts for 12 weeks and the group will meet for an hour and a half once a week. There is a maximum of 8 children allowed in each group.

Who is the group for?
The group is for children who are of primary school age i.e. 7-11 years who are not living in a 'refuge' or 'safe house'. The children need to be able to work in a group setting and this group is not crisis intervention.

Is there any support for the mother?
The programme also offers the opportunity for mothers to participate in an adult group. This group take splace on a different day to the children's group and meets for two hours once a week. This group is a supportive environment for mothers to explore and reflect about how to best help their children.

The nature of this group is that by making a connection with other mothers who have survived abuse, women experience a decrease in the sense of their isolation and are given the opportunity to enhance their personal support network.

Next steps
If you would like to make a referral to the programme then please call the Referral Co-ordinator on (01803) 402782. The Co-ordinator will then ask you a few questions and send you a referral form to be completed and returned. The Co-ordinator will also inform you of the porcess after the form has been returned.

Referrals to this programme are only made through an agency. If you are a parent and would like to refer your child, please contact an agency e.g. Children's Services, Sure Start, CAMHS who will assist in referring you to the children's group.